The 1973 World 600, the 14th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on May 27, 1973, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
Summary The grid consisted of 40 drivers. Alton Jones would finish in last place due to an engine problem on lap 2 out of the 400 laps that made up the race. Buddy Baker defeated David Pearson by 1.8 seconds in front of 85,000 spectators. Baker made history as he became the first driver to both win this race two years in a row and win the race three times. Six cautions slowed the race for 48 laps. There were 23 different leaders. The race lasted four hours and twenty-six seconds.
Baker would qualify for the pole position with a speed of while the average race speed was . Other drivers in the top ten included: Cale Yarborough, Bobby Isaac, Benny Parsons, Jim Vandiver, Darrell Waltrip, Cecil Gordon, Dick Brooks, and David Sisco. Ed Negre (#08), David Ray Boggs (#8) and Charlie Roberts failed to qualify for the race.
Peter Gregg had a terrible crash early in the race in the final race for Cotton Owens' famous red #6 Dodges, then Vic Parsons would have a hard crash later on in the race.
Notable crew chiefs in the race were Tim Brewer, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Vic Ballard, Tom Vandiver, and Bud Moore.
On the day of the race, 0.01 inches of precipitation would be recorded around the speedway.Climatology information at SERCC It would be enough rain to delay the race under the caution flag from lap 241 to lap 256.
Cotton Owens would retire as a NASCAR race car owner after this race. David Pearson would be prevented from tying Richard Petty's record of ten consecutive wins at this race. Pearson would end up racking a 105 victories. Bobby Allison skipped this race to do the 1973 Indianapolis 500.
Introductions to NASCAR Peter Gregg would make his only NASCAR Cup Series start at this event. Billy Scott and Charlie Blanton would start their respective NASCAR careers at this race and would race for several others.
Race results Source:FinSt#DriverSponsorMakeLapsLedStatus1171Buddy BakerK & K Insurance'73 Dodge400220running2221David PearsonPurolator'71 Mercury40029running3411Cale YarboroughKar-Kare'73 Chevrolet39915running41515Bobby IsaacSta-Power Industries'73 Ford3970running5872Benny ParsonsUnion 76 Racing Oil'73 Chevrolet3931running61631Jim VandiverBradford Enterprises'72 Dodge3920running71395Darrell WaltripKmart, Terminal Transport'71 Mercury3910running8624Cecil GordonPanasonic'72 Chevrolet3840running92690Dick BrooksTruxmore Industries'73 Ford3780engine103205David SiscoSisco Racing'72 Chevrolet3780running112896Richard ChildressL.C. Newton Trucking'73 Chevrolet3730engine122548James HyltonHylton Engineering'71 Mercury3730running13343Richard PettySTP'73 Dodge370134running143464Elmo LangleyLangley Racing'72 Ford3680running152192Larry SmithCarling Black Label'71 Mercury3680running163010Bill ChampionEarl Powell Auto Parts'71 Ford3660running174047Raymond WilliamsJet Way Wax'72 Ford3660running181030Walter BallardBallard Racing'71 Mercury3540running19314Ed NegreMills Air Conditioning'71 Dodge3540running20195Charlie BlantonTravelLodge Motels'73 Dodge3510engine212070J.D. McDuffieMcDuffie Racing'72 Chevrolet3500running22231Billy ScottBig Chance Special, Ranger Motor Homes'73 Chevrolet3400running233579Frank WarrenWarren Racing'73 Dodge2870engine24528Charlie GlotzbachLemon Tree Inn'73 Chevrolet2810engine25918Joe FrassonPizza Hut'73 Dodge2781engine263945Vic ParsonsSeifert Rent-A-Racer'71 Ford2410crash272209Charles BarrettDahlonega Ford Sales'71 Ford2410overheating28122Dave MarcisAMC'73 Matador2040engine291749G.C. SpencerSpencer Racing'72 Dodge1630steering30377Dean DaltonBelden Asphalt'71 Mercury1450driveshaft312725Jabe ThomasRobertson Racing'73 Dodge1170oil leak322467Buddy ArringtonCherokee Construction'72 Plymouth1000transmission331414Coo Coo MarlinCunningham-Kelley'72 Chevrolet710engine343806Neil CastlesHoward Furniture'73 Dodge640rear end351883Paul TylerSmithville Farms'71 Mercury520alternator362955Tiny LundPrice Construction'72 Chevrolet500engine3776Peter GreggJacksonville Dealers, Owens Racing'72 Dodge340crash381154Lennie PondMaster Chevy Sales'73 Chevrolet140engine393644Richard D. BrownBrown Racing'72 Chevrolet40transmission40333Alton JonesCrimson Dale Nursery'73 Chevrolet20engine
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