The 1973 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on July 22, 1973, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.
Background
Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate tracks 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 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
It took three hours and fifty minutes for David Pearson to defeat Cale Yarborough by more than one lap. Pearson would take home $16,650 in prize money ($ when adjusted for inflation) while last-place finisher Charles Barrett would receive $880 ($ when adjusted for inflation).
Though running a limited schedule, this was David Pearson's ninth win in the last ten races that he and the Wood Brothers entered, with a second in the other race. In the NASCAR Cup Series after 1972, nobody has ever matched this.
Jabe Thomas, finished 9th in a 40 car field. He had higher finishes but many were at small tracks no longer used after 1971.
Fourteen lead changes were exchanged among six drivers (Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Bobby Isaac, Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, and David Pearson). Six cautions lasted 47 laps and the average speed of the race was . Thirty-thousand people would see a racing grid of 39 American drivers and one Canadian driver (Vic Parsons). Richard Petty would win the pole position with a speed of .
Qualifying
Failed to qualify: Phil Finney (#80), Richard D. Brown (#44)
Finishing order
David Pearson† (No. 21) Cale Yarborough (No. 11) Donnie Allison (No. 88) Joe Frasson† (No. 18) Jody Ridley (No. 90) Lennie Pond† (No. 54) J.D. McDuffie† (No. 70) G.C. Spencer† (No. 49) Jabe Thomas† (No. 25) Larry Smith† (No. 92) Buddy Arrington (No. 67) Rick Newsom† (No. 20) Henley Gray (No. 19) Frank Warren (No. 79) Walter Ballard (No. 30) Randy Tissot (No. 32) Bill Champion† (No. 10) Ed Negre† (No. 8) Charlie Roberts (No. 77) Raymond Williams (No. 47) James Hylton† (No. 48) Dean Dalton (No. 7) Richard Childress (No. 96) Cecil Gordon*† (No. 24) Benny Parsons*† (No. 72) David Sisco*† (No. 05) Bobby Allison* (No. 12) Ed Sczech* (No. 61) Vic Parsons* (No. 45) Coo Coo Marlin*† (No. 14) Darrell Waltrip* (No. 95) Dave Marcis* (No. 2) Richard Petty* (No. 43) Buddy Baker*† (No. 71) Bobby Isaac*† (No. 15) John Sears*† (No. 4) Tommy Gale*† (No. 03) Elmo Langley*† (No. 64) H.B. Bailey*† (No. 39) Charles Barrett* (No. 09)