The 1972 Miller High Life 500 was a

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 hi ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, 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. ...

racing event that took place on March 5, 1972, at

Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located in Ontario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: USAC (and now In ...

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

Race report

Two hundred laps took place on a paved track spanning ; the race was resolved in three hours and fifty-six minutes. With a purse larger than the previous month's

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

, 113 cars were waiting in line to compete in three qualifying sessions to fill the 51-car grid.''1972 Miller High Life 500''
qualifying information at NASCAR An unprecedented number of teams failed to qualify for the race. Given the economic outlook of that era, it was amazing that 113 cars would try to earn a spot on the racing grid (with only a 45% chance of actually qualifying for the race). Clem Proctor won the 100-lap Sportsman race that was held the day before this race in a 1963 Thunderbird. The 1971 winner George Follmer withdrew after his owner had a dispute with the way NASCAR was inspecting the cars, seems like only two cars (Follmer's and Sonny Easley's) were being checked with templates as both were 1968 models and everything else was older. This would be the first of five consecutive races where the pole winner won the race, only time in NASCAR this has happened.

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...

defeated

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 track ...

by 4.2 seconds in front of nearly 69,000 live spectators. This victory would be as equally impressive as his wins at the 1964 Firecracker 400 and the 1972 Daytona 500. The pole position was achieved by the race winner qualifying at a speed of . Four cautions slowed the race for 31 laps and the average racing speed was .

Jim Vandiver Jim Vandiver (December 13, 1939June 18, 2015) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1968 to 1983. As an independent driver, he had limited financial resources but enjoyed a level of success that relatively few independent drivers ...

would earn the last-place finish due to an

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

issue on the very first lap of the race. Country music legend

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

would compete in this race in a 1972

Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. The Charger has ...

vehicle; he started in 22nd and ended in 8th place.''Marty Robbins''
information at MartyRobbins.net After the race, Robbins was named as the "Sportsman of the Race." The winner's purse for the 1972 Miller High Life 500 was $31,695 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Drivers that made what would be their final start in NASCAR's top series were:

Cliff Garner In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coa ...

Ron Gautsche Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media *Big Ron (EastEnders), Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character *Ron (King of Fighters), Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the pr ...

, Les Loeser, and Don White.''1972 Miller High Life 500''
information at Race Database The drivers who commenced their NASCAR Cup Series careers during this race were: Carl Adams, Bill Butts, former USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

series driver

George Follmer George Follmer (born January 27, 1934) is an American former auto racing driver, and one of the most successful road racers of the 1970s. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona. His family moved to California when he was just an infant. Career Follmer ...

, and Jim Whitt. Follmer would eventually go back to USAC Championship Car racing for its 1974 season. Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in the race were

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 ...

Junie Donvaley Junie is a given name and nickname. Notable people with the given name include: * Junie B. Jones, fictional character in a children's series written by Barbara Park *Junie Cobb (1896–1970), American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader *Juni ...

Harry Hyde Harry Hyde (January 17, 1925 – May 13, 1996) was a leading crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing in the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions. He was the 1970 championship crew chief for Bobby Isaac. He inspired t ...

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three de ...

, and

Tom Vandiver Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

.1972 Miller High Life 500 crew chiefs information
at Racing Reference

Qualifying

Failed to qualify: Pat Fay (#99),

Bill Shirey Bill Shirey (born February 28, 1932) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver. Career Shirey accomplished three finishes in the "top ten" ( 1970 Richmond 500, 1971 Asheville 300, and 1971 Kingsport 300) and has driven for 9588 laps - the eq ...

(#74), Perry Cottingham (#73), Dale Lee (#65), Tru Cheek (#62), Don Graham (#57W), Ken Shoemaker (#56), Jerry Barnett (#55), John Fairchild (#50), Sam Stanley (#47W),

Bill Seifert William John Seifert (born July 2, 1939 - Skyland, North Carolina, Skyland, North Carolina) is a retired NASCAR Sprint Cup Series who raced from 1966 in NASCAR, 1966 to 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1979.

(#45), D.K. Ulrich (#40), George Wiltshire (#39),

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 ...

(#38),

Joe Frasson Joseph "Joe" Frasson (September 3, 1935November 21, 2016) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver.' ...

(#78), Marion Collins (#78W),

Dick May Richard May (November 7, 1930June 9, 2009) was a NASCAR driver who competed in 185 races in the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series between 1967 and 1985. In the 1975 running of the Mason-Dixon 500, May drove five different cars but did ...

(#84),

Richard Childress Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. As the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), he became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. In 2004, he opene ...

(#96), Harry Jefferson (#94), Larry Smith (#92), Verlin Eaker (#91), Richard D. Brown (#91), Bill Dennis (#90), Clint Hutchins (#89W), Les Covey (#89), Mike Saint (#88W),

Ron Keselowski Ronald William Keselowski (born September 12, 1946) is a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Winston Cup driver who raced from 1970 in NASCAR, 1970 to 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1974. He is the uncle of current and retired NASCAR Cup Series driv ...

(#88), Allen Jennings (#86), Dan Geiger (#85), Harry Schilling (#84W),

Don Tarr Donald James Tarr (11 March 1910 – 4 June 1980) was a Welsh international hooker who played club rugby for Swansea and Cardiff, county rugby for Hampshire and invitational rugby for the Barbarians. Tarr was a career naval officer, reaching t ...

(#37), Frank Burnett (#36), Ed Negre (#8), Bob England (#8W), Steve Pfeifer (#08), Ivan Baldwin (#07), Charlie Glotzbach (#6), Jerry Oliver (#6W),

Neil Castles Henry Neil Castles (October 1, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver. He raced from 1957 to 1976, and won the NASCAR Grand National East Series in 1972. Early life Castles was born in Ma ...

(#06),

Doc Faustina Doc Faustina (born February 1, 1939 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who competed from 1971 to 1976. Career Faustina competed in 1502 laps, earned $7,995 in winnings (over $36,500 when adjusted for inflation), and rac ...

(#5), John Sears (#4), Emiliano Zapata (#04), Tommy Gale (#03), Johnny Steele (#2), Frank James (#00W), John Lyons (#9), Phillip Pedlar (#11W), Larry Esau (#12W), Bub Strickler (#35), Gene Riniker (#34W),

Wendell Scott Wendell Oliver Scott (August 29, 1921 – December 23, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver. He was one of the first African-American drivers in NASCAR and the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series, NASCAR's h ...

(#34), Glenn Francis (#33), Johnny Halford (#32), Carl Joiner (#26), Chuck Hetrick (#25W),

Jabe Thomas Cerry Ezra "Jabe" Thomas (May 12, 1930 – June 4, 2015) was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series driver who competed from the mid-1960s through the late 1970s. His son Ronnie was also a NASCAR Cup Series driver; competing from 1977 to 1989 ...

(#25), Jim Gilliam (#24W), Nels Miller (#21W), Paul Dorrity (#15), Arnie Krueger (#14W), Willie McNeal (#14), Bobby Mausgrover (#00)

Finishing order

Section reference: # A.J. Foyt # Bobby Allison #

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 198 ...

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

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 ...

Hershel McGriff Hershel Eldridge McGriff Sr. (born December 14, 1927) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A long-time competitor in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, formerly known as the Winston West Series, he won the series' 1986 championship, a ...

James Hylton James Harvey Hylton (August 26, 1934 – April 28, 2018) was an American stock car racing driver. He was a two-time winner in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition and was a long-time competitor in the ARCA Racing Series. Hylton finished second i ...

Elmo Langley Elmo Harold Langley (August 21, 1928 – November 21, 1996) was a NASCAR driver and owner. Langley primarily used the number 64 on his race cars during his NASCAR career. Racing career Langley began his racing career racing modified cars in Vir ...

Ramo Stott Ramo Stott (April 6, 1934 – August 19, 2021) was an American stock car racing driver from Keokuk, Iowa. He competed in NASCAR Winston Cup, USAC stock car, and ARCA. He was a 2011 inductee in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Career ...

# Jimmy Finger #

Jack McCoy John James McCoy is a fictional character in the television drama ''Law & Order''. He was created by Dick Wolf and Michael S. Chernuchin and has been portrayed by Sam Waterston during both the show's original run from 1994 to 2010 and since it ...

# John Soares, Jr. #

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, and ...

# Bill Butts #

# Johnny Anderson # Dick Bown #

Jim Danielson ''Jim Danielsen'' (December 11, 1930 – ) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1972 to 1976.Bill Champion # Ben Arnold # Kevin Terris #

J.D. McDuffie John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 top-10 finishes during his career, despite never finishing on the lead ...

# Mike James # Dean Dalton #

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...

# Jim Whitt # George Altheide # Bob Kauf # Carl Adams #

Henley Gray Clarence Henley Gray Jr. (born January 12, 1933) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1964 to 1977. Career Out of the 76045 laps committed in his career, Gray only led two of them. Gray's total career earnings ...

Charlie Roberts Charles Roberts (6 April 1883 – 7 August 1939) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-half in the Football League for Grimsby Town, Manchester United and Oldham Athletic. He spent nine years at United, where he was c ...

Chuck Bown Richard Charles "Chuck" Bown Jr. (born February 22, 1954) is a former NASCAR champion. His last ride came in 1999. He lives with his wife in Asheboro, North Carolina. He is the brother of former fellow NASCAR competitor Jim Bown. 1970s Bown mad ...

# Les Loeser, Jr. #

# Cecil Gordon # Dick Kranzler # Don White #

Gene Romero Gene Romero (May 22, 1947 – May 12, 2019) was an American professional motorcycle racer.

# G.T. Tallas #

Red Farmer Charles "Red" Farmer (born October 15, 1932) is a former NASCAR race car driver. He is a member of the Alabama Gang. Racing career His first race was at Opa-locka Speedway near Miami, Florida in a 1934 Ford in 1948. He became famous as a member ...

# Earle Canavan # Frank Warren #

Mark Donohue Mark Neary Donohue Jr. (March 18, 1937 – August 19, 1975), nicknamed "Captain Nice," and later "Dark Monohue," was an American race car driver and engineer known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. D ...

Bobby Isaac Robert Vance Isaac (August 1, 1932 – August 14, 1977) was an American stock car racing driver. Isaac made his first NASCAR appearance in 1961, and quickly forged a reputation of one of the toughest competitors of the 1960s and 1970s. He was most ...

Bill Osborne William Michael Osborne (born 24 April 1955) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A second five-eighth and centre, Osborne represented Wanganui and Waikato at a provincial level. Started his club career with the local Kaierau Rugby Union ...

Walter Ballard Walter Harvey Ballard Sr. (born January 12, 1933) is a former NASCAR driver from Houston, Texas. In 1971, he won the Rookie of the Year Award in the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Series (known as the NASCAR Cup Series as of 2021), in its fir ...

# Don Noel #

David Ray Boggs David Ray Boggs (born September 8, 1943) is an American stock car racing driver. Now retired, he is a former competitor in the NASCAR Grand American Series, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and the ARCA Racing Series. NASCAR career Boggs made ...

Timeline

Section reference: * Start: A.J. Foyt had the pole position as the green flag was waved in the air. * Lap 6: George Follmer blew his vehicle's engine; starting a caution which ended on lap 16. * Lap 37: Walter Ballard had a terminal crash on turn three; caution ended on lap 41. * Lap 47: Mark Donohue and Bobby Isaac had an accident on turn one; caution ended on lap 55. * Lap 150: Cecil Gordon had a terminal crash on turn four; caution ended on lap 155. * Finish: A.J. Foyt was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

{{Los Angeles Times 500 Miller High Life 500 Miller High Life 500 NASCAR races at Ontario Motor Speedway