The 1975 Los Angeles Times 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on November 23, 1975, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.1975 Los Angeles Times 500 information at Racing Reference1975 Los Angeles Times 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
This was the last race where the car's model year was part of the race info. From 1975 onwards, the passenger vehicles that people actually drove in real life started to deviate from the stock cars exhibited in NASCAR due to environmental regulations on the automobile industry. The gulf between NASCAR vehicles and regular passenger automobiles started to become even greater throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. By the 21st century, regular passenger vehicles had nothing to do with the NASCAR vehicles except for the manufacturer name and the model of the vehicle.
Race report Two hundred laps were completed in three hours and thirty-three minutes on the paved track spanning . More than 50,000 spectators see Buddy Baker defeat David Pearson by 29.4 seconds in the #15 Norris Industries Ford machine.Tracks of Yesterday, Ontario Motor Speedway at Insider Racing News Only one caution for nine laps slowed the action. Pearson would earn the pole position with a speed of , the average race of the speed would be . The total prize purse was $140,775 ($ when adjusted for inflation); Baker would receive $35,300 of it ($ when adjusted for inflation) while Negre earned $1,050 ($ when adjusted for inflation).
Out of the 40-driver grid, 39 were American-born while Roy Smith was a Canadian. Cecil Gordon had engine problems that put him out of the race on lap 141; which nearly destroyed his vehicle. A tie-rod end had backed out and was just hanging on.
Ed Negre would be the last-place finisher due to an engine problem on the second lap. Richard Childress finished tenth in his final race at the wheel of Tom Garn's #96. Childress became an owner-driver for 1976 and changed numbers to #3.
Notable crew chiefs in this race were Tim Brewer, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Bud Moore among others.1975 Los Angeles Times 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference Carl Adams; Jim Boyd; Don Hall and John Martin all made what would be their final starts in NASCAR's top series.Retirement information at Race Database
Richard Petty had already clinched his sixth NASCAR championship; defeating Dave Marcis in the standings by more than 700 points.Richard Petty's Championship Ride at HowStuffWorks.com
Qualifying Grid Driver Manufacturer 1 21 David Pearson '73 Mercury 2 15 Buddy Baker '75 Ford 3 71 Dave Marcis '74 Dodge 4 16 Bobby Allison '75 AMC Matador 5 28 A.J. Foyt '75 Chevrolet 6 43 Richard Petty '74 Dodge 7 11 Cale Yarborough '75 Chevrolet 8 38 Jimmy Insolo '75 Chevrolet 9 72 Benny Parsons '75 Chevrolet 10 90 Dick Brooks '73 Ford 11 47 Bruce Hill '75 Chevrolet 12 54 Lennie Pond '75 Chevrolet 13 98 Richie Panch '75 Mercury 14 96W Ray Elder '74 Dodge 15 68 Sonny Easley '73 Ford 16 24 Cecil Gordon '75 Chevrolet 17 70 J.D. McDuffie '75 Chevrolet 18 29 Roy Smith '75 Chevrolet 19 26 Hershel McGriff '75 Chevrolet 20 03 Chuck Bown '74 Dodge 21 64 Elmo Langley '73 Ford 22 5 Jim Thirkettle '75 Chevrolet 23 63 Don Hoffman '75 Chevrolet 24 79 Frank Warren '74 Dodge 25 39 Tom Williams '74 Chevrolet
Finishing order Section reference:
Buddy Baker (No. 15) David Pearson (No. 21) Dave Marcis (No. 71) Cale Yarborough (No. 11) Bobby Allison (No. 16) Lennie Pond (No. 54) Jimmy Insolo (No. 38) Dick Brooks† (No. 90) James Hylton† (No. 48) Richard Childress (No. 96) Don Hall (No. 01) David Sisco (No. 05) D.K. Ulrich (No. 40) A. J. Foyt* (No. 28) Don Huffman (No. 63) Richard Petty* (No. 43) Frank Warren* (No. 79) Hugh Pearson* (No. 76) Cecil Gordon*† (No. 24) Walter Ballard* (No. 30) J.D. McDuffie*† (No. 70) Elmo Langley*† (No. 64) Tom Williams* (No. 39) John Kieper* (No. 98W) Ray Elder*† (No. 96W) Bruce Hill* (No. 47) Jim Boyd* (No. 31) Carl Adams* (No. 65) Roy Smith*† (No. 29) John Martin* (No. 2) Hershel McGriff* (No. 26) Jim Thirkettle* (No. 5) Bill Schmitt* (No. 73) Benny Parsons*† (No. 72) Chuck Wahl* (No. 37) Richie Panch*† (No. 98) Don Puskarich* (No. 10) Chuck Bown* (No. 03) Sonny Easley*† (No. 68) Ed Negre* (No. 8)
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased * Driver failed to finish race
Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Richard Petty 4783 0 2 Dave Marcis 4061 -722 3 James Hylton 3914 -869 4 Benny Parsons 3820 -963 5 Richard Childress 3818 -965 6 Cecil Gordon 3702 -1081 7 Darrell Waltrip 3462 -1303 8 Elmo Langley 3399 -1321 9 Cale Yarborough 3295 -1384 10 Dick Brooks 3182 -1601
References