1977 Winston 500
# 1977 Winston 500

The 1977 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on May 1, 1977, at Alabama International Motor Speedway (now Talladega Superspeedway) in Talladega, Alabama. The tenth of 30 races of the 1977 Winston Cup Grand National season, the Winston 500 started 41 cars.

The race's pole was won by A. J. Foyt, driving a Chevrolet Laguna racecar. His pole speed was 192 miles per hour or 309 kilometres per hour. Benny Parsons qualified second while the race's defending champion Buddy Baker timed in 20th. Darrell Waltrip qualified 11th a month following a breakthrough win in the Rebel 500 at Darlington; it was the only time all season a Cup driver started outside the top-8 and ended up in victory lane.

## Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.

## Race report

The race lead changed 63 times among 11 drivers. Donnie Allison, driving a Chevrolet for Hoss Ellington, raced to the lead on the opening lap and would lead 71 laps total. Foyt fell out on Lap 18 when his engine blew and he spun through Turns Three and Four. Richard Petty, who passed seven cars on Lap Six to take the lead, fell out in the final 35 laps with engine failure, while Baker, who passed both Petty and Foyt for the lead on Lap Seven, fell out 90 laps in with engine failure.

Coming across the stripe at the white, Waltrip led with Allison in second, Yarborough third, Parsons fourth. In turn one, Waltrip broke the draft and drove to the bottom of the track, gaining a five or six car length advantage. The advantage disintegrated on the backstretch, as Allison showed his hand first, trying vainly to get by Waltrip but was trained by Yarborough who drove up the center and Parsons who rocketed on the inside. Yarborough swept up Allison's draft high and banged into Waltrip as he tried to beat him out of four but nearly lost it as he kept his foot in the throttle of his ill-handling car. When Yarborough slipped, Parsons took it and as they came through the trioval, Waltrip drove away from the battle for second as Parsons and Yarborough slammed into each other for second and Allison tried to steal it up high. It was Yarborough beating out Parsons by inches with Allison fourth and Waltrip taking the victory. The win was Waltrip's second of the 1977 season and second on a superspeedway; Darrell Waltrip's win here was the first of four points-paying victories for him at Talladega, all coming between 1977 and 1982.

Individual earnings for each driver varied from the winner's portion of $26,875 ($129,785 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's portion of $1,705 ($8,234 when adjusted for inflation). A grand total of $211,405 for all the qualifying drivers ($1,020,920 when adjusted for inflation).

### Top 10 finishers

| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Points | Time/Status |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 11 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | 188 | 18 | 180 | 3:01:59 |
| 2 | 5 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet | 188 | 29 | 175 | +0.29 seconds |
| 3 | 2 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | 188 | 16 | 170 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | Donnie Allison | Chevrolet | 188 | 71 | 170 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 5 | 6 | 2 | Dave Marcis | Mercury | 188 | 3 | 160 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 6 | 8 | 36 | Ron Hutcherson | Chevrolet | 187 | 0 | 150 | +1 lap |
| 7 | 19 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Ford | 187 | 0 | 146 | +1 lap |
| 8 | 17 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Chevrolet | 186 | 0 | 142 | +2 laps |
| 9 | 32 | 80 | Terry Bivins | Chevrolet | 183 | 0 | 138 | +5 laps |
| 10 | 3 | 27 | Sam Sommers | Chevrolet | 183 | 0 | 134 | +5 laps |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points | Differential |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Cale Yarborough | 1725 | 0 |
| 2 | Richard Petty | 1558 | -167 |
| 3 | Darrell Waltrip | 1502 | -223 |
| 4 | Benny Parsons | 1497 | -228 |
| 5 | Buddy Baker | 1302 | -423 |
| 6 | Dave Marcis | 1300 | -425 |
| 7 | Richard Childress | 1236 | -489 |
| 8 | Cecil Gordon | 1217 | -508 |
| 9 | Dick Brooks | 1187 | -538 |
| 10 | James Hylton | 1156 | -569 |
