1976 Talladega 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
The 1976 Talladega 500 was the 19th race of the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Occurring on 8th August at the Alabama International Motor Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by polesitter Dave Marcis in a Dodge after a duel with Ford's Buddy Baker, becoming the first polesitter at the speedway to go on to win the event.
Background
The 1976 Talladega 500 was the 8th running of the event, with the annual race typically lasting around 500 miles in length.[1] It was one of two 1976 Winston Cup Series races conducted at Alabama International Motor Speedway, the other being the Winston 500,[2] which in 1976 occurred on 2nd May and was won by Buddy Baker.[3] The race also has ties to the modern YellaWood 500, having dropped the Talladega title from 2002.[4]
Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Marcis winning the pole position with a speed of 190.651 mph.[5][1] He was therefore aiming to break the curse of every pole winner at the Alabama International Motor Speedway being unable to win the subsequent race.[5] Directly behind him were the Chevrolets of Coo Coo Marlin and A.J. Foyt, who qualified second and third respectively.[1] Baker would line up 7th out of 40 runners.[1]
The Race
With the starting order decided, the 1976 Talladega 500 commenced on 8th August.[1] Mercury's Bobby Allison, who qualified fifth, shot into the lead on lap 1.[1] However, Chevrolet's Cale Yarborough moved passed him into the first position a lap later, defending it for ten laps.[1] This would be one of only five instances where a leader was able to hold position into the double figures.[1] Indeed, there would be 57 lead changes throughout the race, with Marcis, Baker, Foyt, Chevrolet's James Hylton, Dodge's Richard Petty, and Mercury's David Pearson all vying for the first position.[1] Several would not finish the race; Pearson suffered an ignition failure after 12 laps, Allison's engine blew after completing 152 laps, as did Foyt's after the 163 mark.[1] Yarborough would finish the race, albeit only completing 137 of the 188 laps.[1]
In the final 35 laps, Marcis passed Foyt for the lead, only to quickly drop it to Petty a lap later.[1] The King held the lead until lap 160 when Baker took over for the next seven.[1] Petty finally moved back into the first position on lap 167, but ultimately retired a lap later after his Dodge's engine failed.[1] Baker again led, but after a further six laps, he was again passed by Marcis on lap 174.[1] It seemed like the duel between Marcis and Baker, which began in the final 80 miles of the race, would end at the chequered flag.[5] However, Baker was forced to make a pitstop with fewer than three laps remaining, as his car ran out of fuel.[5] This enabled Marcis to take his first superspeedway victory of his career and $26,110 in prize money.[5][1] He therefore ended the pole sitter's curse at Alabama. Baker's refuel stop enabled him to finish second, still on the lead lap as Marcis albeit 29.5 seconds behind.[5][1] Ford's Dick Brooks finished third, a lap down from the leaders.[5] Hylton meanwhile finished fourth, a further lap down from the leaders.[1][5] He almost failed to complete the event, when during a pit stop, two of his tyres blew as he entered the pit road.[5] Despite his car spinning out of control, it did not make contact with anything, although nearly did hit Brook's car as it was being serviced.[5]
Availability
According to NASCAR on TV, 30 minutes of highlights were televised by CBS on 14th August 1976, as part of its CBS Sports Spectacular, alongside a boxing match pitting George Foreman.[6] However, this broadcast has yet to resurface, and no footage of the race is currently publicly available. Nevertheless, a few photos of the event are publicly viewable.
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 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
- 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
- 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 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 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 Racing-Reference detailing qualifying and race results for the event. Retrieved 3 Apr '22
- ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series calendar. Retrieved 3 Apr '22
- ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1976 Talladega 500. Retrieved 3 Apr '22
- ↑ The New York Times Stats detailing the history of the Alabama International Motor Speedway/Talladega Superspeedway races. Retrieved 3 Apr '22
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 The New York Times reporting on Marcis winning the pole position and the race. Retrieved 3 Apr '22
- ↑ NASCAR on TV detailing the CBS broadcast of the race. Retrieved 3 Apr '22