1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400

The 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on July 4, 1973, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400
Race details[1]
Race 17 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Track map of Daytona International Speedway.
Date July 4, 1973 (1973-07-04)
Official name Medal of Honor Firecracker 400
Location Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Course 2.500 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643 km)
Weather Temperatures between 72.9 °F (22.7 °C) and 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speeds of 11.8 miles per hour (19.0 km/h)
Average speed 158.468 mph (255.030 km/h)
Attendance 60,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
  • Bobby Allison
 Allison Racing
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 51
Winner
No. 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing

This race - and the 1969 and 1971 runnings of this race - was actually called the "Medal of Honor Firecracker 400", in an effort to honor Congressional Medal of Honor winners.[3]

Race report

This was the first race with new rules regarding carburetor restrictors. It was widely assumed that these ruled helped volume production wedge engines, especially that used by Chevrolet.

This race eventually became Marty Robbins' most iconic race during his career in NASCAR. While he would start in 36th place (out of the 40 drivers who made up the racing grid), he would finish the race in eighth place, seven laps down. J.D. McDuffie ended up being the last-place finisher of this race due to an engine problem on lap 2 of 160. It took more than 160 minutes and two caution flags for David Pearson to defeat Richard Petty in front of sixty thousand fans. Six car lengths was the distance between Petty and Pearson. Bobby Allison secured the pole position at 179.619 miles per hour (289.069 km/h) during qualifying.[2]

The race averaged 158.468 miles per hour (255.030 km/h). Engine problems took numerous other drivers out of the race. All competitors (except for Canadian-born Vic Parsons) were born in the United States. Mercury, Dodge, and Chevrolet made up the majority of the grid. Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty and David Pearson were the only lap leaders. The Chevrolet vehicles dominated the race, but after Yarborough and Allison retired it was David Pearson's show.[2]

Notable crew chiefs in the race were Tim Brew, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, and Bud Moore.[4]

Vic Parsons scored his best NASCAR finish in seventh place.[2] Gordon Johncock, fresh from his Indy 500 win, finished 4th at this race.[2]

The winner of the race won $16,100 ($92,725.86 when considering inflation) while the last-place winner received $1,270 ($7,314.4 when considering inflation). All the prize winnings from this race were $105,080 ($605,194.63 when considering inflation).[5]

Qualifying
Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 12Bobby Allison'73 ChevroletBobby Allison
2 11Cale Yarborough'73 ChevroletRichard Howard
3 15Bobby Isaac'73 FordBud Moore
4 43Richard Petty'73 DodgePetty Enterprises
5 14Coo Coo Marlin'72 ChevroletH.B. Cunningham
6 21David Pearson'71 MercuryWood Brothers
7 72Benny Parsons'73 ChevroletL.G. DeWitt
8 31Jim Vandiver'72 DodgeO.L. Nixon
9 95Darrell Waltrip'71 MercuryDarrell Waltrip
10 88Donnie Allison'73 ChevroletDiGard

Finishing order
  1. David Pearson
  2. Richard Petty
  3. Buddy Baker
  4. Gordon Johncock
  5. Benny Parsons
  6. Dave Marcis
  7. Vic Parsons
  8. Marty Robbins
  9. Dick Brooks
  10. Joe Frasson
  11. David Sisco
  12. James Hylton
  13. Cecil Gordon
  14. G.C. Spencer
  15. Roy Mayne
  16. Elmo Langley
  17. Dean Dalton
  18. Buddy Arrington
  19. Frank Warren
  20. Lennie Pond
  21. Larry Smith
  22. Raymond Williams
  23. Henley Gray
  24. Bill Champion
  25. Darrell Waltrip
  26. Walter Ballard
  27. Richard Childress
  28. Donnie Allison
  29. Ed Negre
  30. Bobby Allison
  31. Jabe Thomas
  32. Jim Vandiver
  33. John Sears
  34. Ed Sczech
  35. Dick Simon
  36. Cale Yarborough
  37. A. J. Foyt
  38. Coo Coo Marlin
  39. Bobby Isaac
  40. J.D. McDuffie

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

  • Start: David Pearson officially had the lead position as the green flag was waved, Bobby Allison took over the lead prior to the end of the first lap, Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
  • Lap 2: J.D. McDuffie fell out with engine failure.
  • Lap 4: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Bobby Isaac.
  • Lap 5: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Isaac.
  • Lap 8: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 9: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
  • Lap 11: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 13: Bobby Isaac fell out with engine failure.
  • Lap 14: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
  • Lap 35: Coo Coo Marlin fell out with engine failure, David Pearson took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 36: Bobby Alliston took over the lead from David Pearson.
  • Lap 37: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
  • Lap 42: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 45: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
  • Lap 46: A.J. Foyt managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle.
  • Lap 47: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 65: Cale Yarborough had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 66: David Pearson took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
  • Lap 79: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson.
  • Lap 82: Dick Simon could not handle his vehicle in a proper manner.
  • Lap 83: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty.
  • Lap 87: An oil leak forced Ed Sczech out of the race.
  • Lap 96: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
  • Lap 100: David Pearson took over the lead from Richard Petty.
  • Lap 102: John Sears fell out with engine failure, Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson.
  • Lap 105: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
  • Lap 110: David Pearson took over the lead from Richard Petty.
  • Lap 116: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson.
  • Lap 118: Jim Vandiver managed to overheat his vehicle.
  • Lap 125: Bobby Allison fell out with engine failure.
  • Lap 129: David Pearson took over the lead from Richard Petty.
  • Lap 131: Donnie Allison's windshield was severely damaged.
  • Lap 132: Richard Childress managed to overheat his vehicle.
  • Lap 138: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson.
  • Lap 141: David Pearson took over the lead from Richard Petty.
  • Finish: David Pearson was officially declared the winner of the event.

References
  1. Weather information for the 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 racing event at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. Racing information for the 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 at Racing Reference
  3. The Reason for the Race's Name at NASCAR.com
  4. 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  5. 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
Preceded by
1973 Motor State 400		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races
1973		 Succeeded by
1973 Volunteer 500
Preceded by
1972		 Firecracker 400 races
1973		 Succeeded by
1974
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