1973 Daytona 500
The 1973 Daytona 500, the 15th running of the event, was won by Richard Petty on February 18, 1973, at Daytona International Raceway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
|
1973 Daytona 500 program cover | |||
| Date | February 18, 1973 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Cold with temperatures of 54.9 °F (12.7 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 157.205 miles per hour (252.997 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 103,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | K&K Insurance Racing | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Buddy Baker | Nord Krauskopf | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Coo Coo Marlin | H.B. Cunningham | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Buddy Baker | K&K Insurance Racing | |
| Laps | 156 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC's Wide World of Sports | ||
| Announcers |
Jim McKay Jackie Stewart Chris Economaki | ||
Four cautions slowed the race for 28 laps. A crowd of over one hundred thousand came to see a field of 38 American and two Canadians (Earl Ross and Vic Parsons). The average speed for the race was 157.205 miles per hour (252.997 km/h) while Buddy Baker achieved the pole position with a speed of 185.662 miles per hour (298.794 km/h). Bobby Isaac would finish second to Richard Petty by more than two laps.
Both Hollar and Jett participated in qualifying and were supposed to start in the 125s (Hollar was supposed to start 38th in race 1 and Jett was supposed to start 26th in race 2), but for whatever reason neither driver ended up participating.