1976 Riverside 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
The 1976 Riverside 400 was the 14th race of the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Occurring on 13th June at the Riverside International Raceway, the race would ultimately be won by pole sitter David Pearson, defeating fellow Mercury driver Bobby Allison by 1.6 seconds at the end. It was also the first NASCAR race to utilise the metric system.
Background
The 1976 Riverside 400 was the the 8th running of the event. For this race, plans changed when the "400" race distance was measured in km instead of miles, following a request by CBS.[1][2][3] Thus, instead of being 400 miles, the race distance 400km, roughly just under 250 miles to the relief of some drivers.[4][1][2] It was one of two 1976 Winston Cup Series races conducted at Riverside International Raceway, the other being the Winston Western 500,[5] which in 1976 occurred on 18th January and was won by David Pearson.[6] The annual race ran until 1988 as the Budweiser 400,[7] before it was dropped off the Cup Series schedule a year later as the land the raceway was on was being sold off so that housing and a shopping mall could be established on it.[8]
Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Pearson winning the pole position with a speed of 111.437 mph.[4][2][1] Directly behind him was Bobby Allison, with Chevrolet's Benny Parsons lining up third.[4][2][1] Pearson was seeking to achieve the Riverside double for the season, after having won the Winston Western 500 earlier in the year.[1][6] The use of the metric system was a first for American stock car racing, with drivers like Pearson supporting the concept of having all future NASCAR events measure via metric distance.[1]
The Race
With the starting order decided, the 1976 Riverside 400 commenced on 13th June.[4] Pearson led until lap five, when Bobby Allison took over.[2][1][4] Allison would drop it to Chevrolet's Cale Yarborough on lap 7, only to briefly regain it on lap 8, then drop it immediately to Yarborough a lap later.[4] Yarborough then led for 22 consecutive laps, with his main challenger being Allison.[1][2][4] Pearson seemingly dropped back a few seconds with the intent to allow the two to duel.[1] However, Pearson admitted that the reason he was falling behind was simply because he was being outpaced, stating "I was runnin' hard all day. I couldn't do anything about it when they were pullin' away from me."[1]
Allison retook the lead from Yarborough on lap 31, over for the latter to regain it on lap 35, holding it for another 25 laps.[4][1] But in the final third of the race, Pearson began to charge back towards the leaders, overtaking Allison on lap 60.[1][2] Then, on the same lap, Yarborough began to slow considerably on the long back straightaway, enabling the Silver Fox to move into the first position.[1][4] Pearson ultimately extended his lead to Allison by six seconds at one point, but the latter was able to cut it down to 1.6 by the end.[1][4] However, it was not enough to stop Pearson, who claimed his second consecutive Riverside victory and $15,150 in prize money.[1][2][4] Allison held on to finish second, with Parsons taking third.[4][1] Yarborough ultimately continued to fall back, finishing two laps down in 7th.[4][1] Pearson meanwhile set a record average speed of 105.256 mph at the raceway.[1][4]
Availability
According to NASCAR on TV, 30 minutes of highlights were televised by CBS on 19th June 1976 as part of its CBS Sports Spectacular, alongside the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix and the Royal Ascot horse race.[3] However, the broadcast has yet to resurface, and currently no footage of the race is publicly available. Nevertheless, newspaper clippings and photos of the event, including how it was filmed, are publicly viewable.[2]
Gallery
Images
See Also
- 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
- 1961 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1961)
- 1962 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
- 1963 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1963)
- 1964 Atlanta 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
- 1964 National 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
- 1965 Rebel 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
- 1966 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
- 1966 Southern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
- 1967 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
- 1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
- 1970 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
- 1970 Wilkes 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
- 1970 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
- 1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)
- 1972 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 Firecracker 400 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 Rebel 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1973 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
- 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
- 1974 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
- 1974 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
- 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
- 1975 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1975 Dixie 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1975 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1975 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1975 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1975)
- 1975 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1976 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Dixie 500 (lost CBS footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Rebel 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Talladega 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Winston 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1978 NAPA National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1978)
- 1979 Dixie 500 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1979)
- 1979 Southeastern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
- 1982 Twin 125s race 1 (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
- 1984 Delaware 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1984)
- 1984 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1984)
- 1985 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1985)
- 1986 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1986)
- 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 (partially found televised footage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; 1996)
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 Spartanburg Herald Journal reporting on Pearson winning the race and the usage of the metric system (article found on RacersReunion). Retrieved 7 Apr '22
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 RacersReunion detailing the race and providing photos of it. Retrieved 7 Apr '22
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 NASCAR on TV detailing the CBS broadcast of the race. Retrieved 7 Apr '22
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 Racing-Reference detailing qualifying and race results for the event. Retrieved 7 Apr '22
- ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series calendar. Retrieved 7 Apr '22
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1976 Winston Western 500. Retrieved 7 Apr '22
- ↑ DriverAverages listing the races at Riverside International Raceway. Retrieved 7 Apr '22
- ↑ Racing Circuits detailing the history and the end of the Riverside International Raceway. Retrieved 7 Apr '22