NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Winston Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
racing event that took place on June 13, 1976, at
Riverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Rivers ...
in
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...
. The California 150 for sportsman cars was run prior to this race. The winner was Ivan Baldwin followed by Dan Clark and Jim Sanderson.
Most of the vehicles that raced in this event had Chevrolet as their manufacturer.''1976 Riverside 400'' racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat SheetRoy Smith was the only
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
competitor out of the 35-driver grid; the rest of them were
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
-born males.
This was the first Riverside race whose distance was measured in kilometers instead of miles. From the driver's standpoint, it sure beat the 400-and-500 mile marathons that they had endured for so many years.
Background
Riverside International Raceway was a
race track
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...
or
road course
Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...
in Moreno Valley, California. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989. The original course design proved to be dangerous, and it was partially reconfigured in 1969.
Race report
The five drivers that dominated the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season were David Pearson (average finish of 7th place), Cale Yarborough (average finish of 8th place), Richard Petty (average finish of 9th place), Benny Parsons (average finish of 10th place) and Bobby Allison (average finish 12th place).
Pearson's qualifying speed of would earn him the pole position while the average speed of the actual race was . Richard Petty would become proficient on turn 6 throughout the race; despite ending the race outside of the "top five."
Junie Donlavey's #90 Truxmore Ford team and driver Dick Brooks missed this race because they were in France competing in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans the same weekend. The team became the first, and only, Winston Cup team ever to enter the 24-hour classic but Brooks, retired NASCAR racer Dick Hutcherson, and French local Marcel Mignot were sidelined during the first half of the race by a gearbox failure.
Hershel McGriff also missed this race to enter his NASCAR Winston West team at Le Mans partnered with his son Doug McGriff. His Olympia Beer Dodge Charger blew an engine right after the start of the race.
David Pearson managed to defeat
Bobby Allison
Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks ...
by a time of 1.6 seconds in front of 29,500 people. As a result, Pearson would to sweep the Winston Cup series' two visits to Riverside in 1976. Pearson won three races and seven poles at Riverside but this was the only time he ever won from the pole on the twisty SoCal road course. The race took two hours and twenty minutes to complete; with the event's only caution flag lasting for a duration of four laps. The victor would take home $15,150 in winnings ($ when adjusted for inflation) while last-place paid a meager $665 ($ when adjusted for inflation).
Ron Esau
Ron Esau (October 9, 1954 – January 24, 2022) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who competed from 1975 to 1990.clutch problem on lap 6 out of the 95 that made up the regulation length of the course.
Safe driving habits and remarkable efforts with keeping the oil products away from the track helped to keep most of the race under the green flag.
John Dineen and Ernie Stierly would make their NASCAR Cup Series debut at this racing event. Final NASCAR appearances by
Jim Danielson
''Jim Danielsen'' (December 11, 1930 – ) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1972 to 1976.Bill Polich, and Don Reynolds were also memorable moments from this racing event. Notable crew chiefs on attendance for this race included
Richard Elder
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
Travis Carter
Travis Carter (born November 21, 1949) is a former car owner and crew chief in the NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known fo ...
Len Wood
Leonard Wood (born February 4, 1942) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1999, sitting for the New Democratic Party of Ontario.
Background
Wood completed a four-year mi ...
.
A little-known fact was that Darrell Waltrip was listed down as a resident of Daytona Beach,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
for the purpose of tracking the starting grid instead of using his hometown of
Owensboro
Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
that Waltrip would end up winning later in his career would have him as listed as a resident
Franklin
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
- which is located exactly to the south of Owensboro.
Bobby Allison
Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks ...
(No. 2)
#
Benny Parsons
Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, ...
(No. 72), 1 lap down
#
Ray Elder
Raymond Marvin Elder (August 19, 1942 – November 24, 2011) was a NASCAR Nextel Cup, Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver.
He participated primarily in west coast races at Riverside International Raceway and Ontario Motor Speedway from ...
Jimmy Insolo
Jimmy Insolo (born February 4, 1943) is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race driver whose career spanned from 1970 to 1983.
Career
Insolo began his career at Saugus Speedway, where he became one of the top drivers at the track. In addition to his W ...
Section reference:
* Start of race: David Pearson had the pole position to begin the race.
* Lap 5: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson.
* Lap 6: Ron Esau had a hard time handling his vehicle's clutch, forcing him out of the race prematurely.
* Lap 7: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
* Lap 9: Jim Thirkettle's engine stopped working.
* Lap 8: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
* Lap 9: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
* Lap 21: Ernie Stierly's vehicle had transmission issues.
* Lap 26: John Hamson had to leave the race because his vehicle's engine started acting up.
* Lap 29: Rusty Sanders had a terminal crash.
* Lap 31: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
* Lap 32: Hugh Pearson had to leave the race because his vehicle's engine started acting up.
* Lap 35: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
* Lap 36: Neil Bonnett noticed that his vehicle's brakes were acting shoddy.
* Lap 39: Jim Danielson had to leave the race because his vehicle's engine started acting up.
* Lap 54: Oil pressure issues managed to overcome Roy Smith's vehicle.
* Lap 57: D.K. Ulrich had to leave the race because his vehicle's engine started acting up.
* Lap 60: David Pearson took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
* Lap 70: Oil pump issues forced Lennie Pond to leave the race promptly.
* Lap 71: Gary Matthews lost the rear end of his vehicle, forcing him to exit the race.
* Lap 81: Frank Warren fell out with engine failure while racing at competitive speeds.
* Finish: David Pearson was officially declared the winner of the event.