1973 Rebel 500


The 1973 Rebel 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on April 15, 1973, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

Race report

Three hundred and sixty seven laps took place on the paved oval track spanning for a total of. The total time of the race was four hours and four minutes. Speeds were: for the average and for the pole position. There were eleven cautions for seventy-one laps. David Pearson defeated Benny Parsons by thirteen laps in front of forty-eight thousand people.
Early in the race on lap 2, a 5 car accident happened in Turn 2. Buddy Arrington, Richie Panch, Dave Marcis, Lennie Pond, and Dean Dalton were involved. Marcis and Pond would eventually go on to retire due to crash related problems. Cale Yarborough would also suffer a spin early in the race. Paul Tyler and Bobby Issac would also spin in the race. James Hylton would smash into the wall, causing a caution. Charlie Roberts would also suffer engine failures, causing another caution. The 10th caution would come out with an accident including Cale Yarborough and G.C. Spencer. With Pearson leading the next restart, it only took one turn to turn Turn 1 into a "junkyard", with a 7 car crash, including Parsons, Petty, Arrington, Mayne, Brooks, and more involved, causing the 11th caution. Twelve cars finished this race out of the 40 starters.
This race stands as the second largest margin of victory in Cup history, falling just short of Ned Jarrett and his 14 lap differential in the 1965 Southern 500.
Notable crew chiefs for this race were Tim Brewer, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, and Bud Moore.

Finishing order

Section reference:
FinSt#DriverSponsorMakeLapsLedStatus
1121David PearsonPurolator Special'71 Mercury367246running
2672Benny ParsonsDeWitt Racing'72 Chevrolet35412running
3312Bobby AllisonCoca-Cola'73 Chevrolet34996engine
42196Richard ChildressL.C. Newton Trucking'73 Chevrolet3460running
52670J.D. McDuffieMcDuffie Racing'72 Chevrolet3440running
6107Dean DaltonBelden Asphalt'71 Mercury3410running
7843Richard PettySTP'73 Dodge3404crash
8571Buddy BakerK & K Insurance'73 Dodge3320running
91925Roy MayneClyde Lynn Inc.'73 Dodge3310running
103347Raymond WilliamsJet Way Wax'72 Ford3300running
112598Dick BrooksTruxmore Industries'71 Ford3280crash
122201Earle CanavanKosin's Auto Parts'72 Plymouth3260running
131667Buddy ArringtonKFC Bacon Center Fries Special'72 Dodge3240crash
143934Wendell ScottScott Racing'71 Ford3190running
152849G.C. SpencerSheffield Auto Mart'72 Dodge3170crash
163019Jabe ThomasGray Racing'71 Mercury3150running
171790Richie PanchTruxmore Industries'71 Mercury3090running
183889Johnny BarnesHopper-Crews'71 Mercury2910running
19211Cale YarboroughKar-Kare'73 Chevrolet2750engine
20318Ed NegreClyde Lynn's Inc.'71 Mercury2560oil line
21724Cecil GordonCecil Gordon Racing'72 Chevrolet2510engine
22354John SearsJ. Marvin Mills Heating & Air'71 Dodge2500engine
231148James HyltonHylton Engineering'71 Mercury2500running
241395Darrell WaltripTerminal Transport'71 Mercury1999engine
252730Walter BallardBallard Racing'71 Mercury1780engine
263477Charlie RobertsSunny King Ford'71 Ford1700engine
272083Paul TylerSmithville Farms'71 Mercury1590overheating
282345Vic ParsonsSeifert Rent-A-Racer'71 Ford1500overheating
292979David Ray BoggsWinston 500'73 Dodge1160engine
301861Clarence LovellB & B Racing'73 Chevrolet950engine
31928Charlie GlotzbachEllington Racing'72 Chevrolet860engine
324084Frank WarrenDavis Racing'71 Dodge780brakes
33415Bobby IsaacSta-Power Industries'72 Ford770engine
341218Joe FrassonFrasson Cement'73 Dodge670engine
353264Elmo LangleyLangley Racing'72 Ford540oil pan
361454Lennie PondMaster Chevy Sales'73 Chevrolet390crash
372492Larry SmithCarling Black Label'71 Mercury230overheating
383626Earl BrooksBrooks Racing'71 Ford200oil leak
393710Bill ChampionChampion Racing'71 Mercury180engine
40152Dave MarcisMarcis Racing'71 Dodge20crash