1974 Dixie 500
# 1974 Dixie 500

The 1974 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on July 28, 1974, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.

Souvenir programs of this event were $2 USD per copy ($11.87 when adjusted for inflation).

## Background

Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate track to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.

The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.

## Race report

There were 36 drivers in this 328-lap race; Dan Daughtry was the last-place finisher due to troubles with his engine on lap 10. Cale Yarborough earned the pole position at a speed of 156.75 miles per hour (252.26 km/h). Earl Ross, a Canadian NASCAR driver, was the only foreigner on the starting grid. Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker and Richard Petty would dominate the opening laps of this event. This would be the last time that a Winston Cup Atlanta race was run during the summer.

The average speed was 131.651 miles per hour (211.872 km/h) for three-hour-and-forty-two-minute race. Buddy Baker, David Pearson, and Richard Petty would dominate the final laps of the race. In the end, Richard Petty went on to defeat David Pearson by exactly 21 seconds. 38,000 spectators would see other notable drivers such as Elmo Langley, J.D. McDuffie, James Hylton, Donnie Allison and Bill Champion.

Jimmy Crawford would make his final NASCAR Winston Cup Series start in this race; he finished in 31st place.

Individual winnings ranged from the winner's share of $19,350 ($114,820 when adjusted for inflation) to $875 for the last-place finisher ($5,192 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse was $101,295 ($601,072 when adjusted for inflation).

### Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | '74 Chevrolet |
| 2 | 43 | Richard Petty | '74 Dodge |
| 3 | 15 | Buddy Baker | '73 Ford |
| 4 | 54 | Lennie Pond | '74 Chevrolet |
| 5 | 88 | Donnie Allison | '74 Chevrolet |
| 6 | 72 | Benny Parsons | '74 Chevrolet |
| 7 | 90 | Charlie Glotzbach | '72 Ford |
| 8 | 21 | David Pearson | '73 Mercury |
| 9 | 52 | Earl Ross | '74 Chevrolet |
| 10 | 12 | Bobby Allison | '74 AMC Matador |
| 11 | 93 | Jackie Rogers | '74 Chevrolet |
| 12 | 95 | Darrell Waltrip | '74 Chevrolet |
| 13 | 96 | Richard Childress | '73 Chevrolet |
| 14 | 98 | Richie Panch | '72 Chevrolet |
| 15 | 28 | Bobby Isaac | '74 Chevrolet |
| 16 | 2 | Dave Marcis | '73 Dodge |
| 17 | 35 | Dan Daughtry | '72 Ford |
| 18 | 48 | James Hylton | '74 Chevrolet |
| 19 | 30 | Walter Ballard | '74 Chevrolet |
| 20 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | '72 Chevrolet |
| 21 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | '73 Chevrolet |
| 22 | 49 | G.C. Spencer | '74 Dodge |
| 23 | 79 | Frank Warren | '74 Dodge |
| 24 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | '72 Chevrolet |
| 25 | 7 | Dean Dalton | '74 Chevrolet |

## Top 10 finishers

| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Time/Status |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge | 328 | 94 | 3:42:31 |
| 2 | 8 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury | 328 | 114 | +21 seconds |
| 3 | 3 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Ford | 327 | 9 | +1 lap |
| 4 | 12 | 95 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | 324 | 0 | +4 laps |
| 5 | 4 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Chevrolet | 319 | 0 | +9 laps |
| 6 | 16 | 2 | Dave Marcis | Dodge | 317 | 0 | +11 laps |
| 7 | 32 | 18 | Joe Frasson | Dodge | 316 | 0 | +12 laps |
| 8 | 6 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | 316 | 0 | +12 laps |
| 9 | 21 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Chevrolet | 314 | 0 | +14 laps |
| 10 | 20 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Chevrolet | 314 | 0 | +14 laps |
