# 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 1.366 miles (2.198 km) for a total of 501.3 miles (806.8 km). The total time of the race was four hours and four minutes. Speeds were: 122.655 miles per hour (197.394 km/h) for the average and 153.463 miles per hour (246.975 km/h) 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 suffer a spin also 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.

## Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 21 | David Pearson | '71 Mercury |
| 2 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | '73 Chevrolet |
| 3 | 12 | Bobby Allison | '73 Chevrolet |
| 4 | 15 | Bobby Isaac | '72 Ford |
| 5 | 71 | Bobby Baker | '73 Dodge |
| 6 | 72 | Benny Parsons | '72 Chevrolet |
| 7 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | '72 Chevrolet |
| 8 | 43 | Richard Petty | '73 Dodge |
| 9 | 28 | Charlie Glotzbach | '72 Chevrolet |
| 10 | 7 | Dean Dalton | '71 Mercury |
| 11 | 48 | James Hylton | '71 Mercury |
| 12 | 18 | Joe Frasson | '73 Dodge |
| 13 | 95 | Darrell Waltrip | '71 Mercury |
| 14 | 54 | Lennie Pond | '73 Chevrolet |
| 15 | 2 | Dave Marcis | '71 Dodge |
| 16 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | '72 Dodge |
| 17 | 90 | Richie Panch | '71 Mercury |
| 18 | 61 | Clarence Lovell | '73 Chevrolet |
| 19 | 25 | Roy Mayne | '73 Dodge |
| 20 | 83 | Paul Tyler | '71 Mercury |
| 21 | 96 | Richard Childress | '73 Chevrolet |
| 22 | 01 | Earle Canavan | '72 Plymouth |
| 23 | 45 | Vic Parsons | '71 Ford |
| 24 | 92 | Larry Smith | '71 Mercury |
| 25 | 98 | Dick Brooks | '71 Ford |
| 26 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | '72 Chevrolet |
| 27 | 30 | Walter Ballard | '71 Mercury |
| 28 | 49 | G.C. Spencer | '72 Dodge |
| 29 | 79 | David Ray Boggs | '73 Dodge |
| 30 | 19 | Jabe Thomas | '71 Mercury |

## Finishing order

Section reference:
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Sponsor | Make | Laps | Led | Status |
| 1 | 1 | 21 | David Pearson | Purolator Special | '71 Mercury | 367 | 246 | running |
| 2 | 6 | 72 | Benny Parsons | DeWitt Racing | '72 Chevrolet | 354 | 12 | running |
| 3 | 3 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Coca-Cola | '73 Chevrolet | 349 | 96 | engine |
| 4 | 21 | 96 | Richard Childress | L.C. Newton Trucking | '73 Chevrolet | 346 | 0 | running |
| 5 | 26 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | '72 Chevrolet | 344 | 0 | running |
| 6 | 10 | 7 | Dean Dalton | Belden Asphalt | '71 Mercury | 341 | 0 | running |
| 7 | 8 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP | '73 Dodge | 340 | 4 | crash |
| 8 | 5 | 71 | Buddy Baker | K & K Insurance | '73 Dodge | 332 | 0 | running |
| 9 | 19 | 25 | Roy Mayne | Clyde Lynn Inc. | '73 Dodge | 331 | 0 | running |
| 10 | 33 | 47 | Raymond Williams | Jet Way Wax | '72 Ford | 330 | 0 | running |
| 11 | 25 | 98 | Dick Brooks | Truxmore Industries | '71 Ford | 328 | 0 | crash |
| 12 | 22 | 01 | Earle Canavan | Kosin's Auto Parts | '72 Plymouth | 326 | 0 | running |
| 13 | 16 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | KFC Bacon Center Fries Special | '72 Dodge | 324 | 0 | crash |
| 14 | 39 | 34 | Wendell Scott | Scott Racing | '71 Ford | 319 | 0 | running |
| 15 | 28 | 49 | G.C. Spencer | Sheffield Auto Mart | '72 Dodge | 317 | 0 | crash |
| 16 | 30 | 19 | Jabe Thomas | Gray Racing | '71 Mercury | 315 | 0 | running |
| 17 | 17 | 90 | Richie Panch | Truxmore Industries | '71 Mercury | 309 | 0 | running |
| 18 | 38 | 89 | Johnny Barnes | Hopper-Crews | '71 Mercury | 291 | 0 | running |
| 19 | 2 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Kar-Kare | '73 Chevrolet | 275 | 0 | engine |
| 20 | 31 | 8 | Ed Negre | Clyde Lynn's Inc. | '71 Mercury | 256 | 0 | oil line |
| 21 | 7 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Cecil Gordon Racing | '72 Chevrolet | 251 | 0 | engine |
| 22 | 35 | 4 | John Sears | J. Marvin Mills Heating & Air | '71 Dodge | 250 | 0 | engine |
| 23 | 11 | 48 | James Hylton | Hylton Engineering | '71 Mercury | 250 | 0 | running |
| 24 | 13 | 95 | Darrell Waltrip | Terminal Transport | '71 Mercury | 199 | 9 | engine |
| 25 | 27 | 30 | Walter Ballard | Ballard Racing | '71 Mercury | 178 | 0 | engine |
| 26 | 34 | 77 | Charlie Roberts | Sunny King Ford | '71 Ford | 170 | 0 | engine |
| 27 | 20 | 83 | Paul Tyler | Smithville Farms | '71 Mercury | 159 | 0 | overheating |
| 28 | 23 | 45 | Vic Parsons | Seifert Rent-A-Racer | '71 Ford | 150 | 0 | overheating |
| 29 | 29 | 79 | David Ray Boggs | Winston 500 | '73 Dodge | 116 | 0 | engine |
| 30 | 18 | 61 | Clarence Lovell | B & B Racing | '73 Chevrolet | 95 | 0 | engine |
| 31 | 9 | 28 | Charlie Glotzbach | Ellington Racing | '72 Chevrolet | 86 | 0 | engine |
| 32 | 40 | 84 | Frank Warren | Davis Racing | '71 Dodge | 78 | 0 | brakes |
| 33 | 4 | 15 | Bobby Isaac | Sta-Power Industries | '72 Ford | 77 | 0 | engine |
| 34 | 12 | 18 | Joe Frasson | Frasson Cement | '73 Dodge | 67 | 0 | engine |
| 35 | 32 | 64 | Elmo Langley | Langley Racing | '72 Ford | 54 | 0 | oil pan |
| 36 | 14 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Master Chevy Sales | '73 Chevrolet | 39 | 0 | crash |
| 37 | 24 | 92 | Larry Smith | Carling Black Label | '71 Mercury | 23 | 0 | overheating |
| 38 | 36 | 26 | Earl Brooks | Brooks Racing | '71 Ford | 20 | 0 | oil leak |
| 39 | 37 | 10 | Bill Champion | Champion Racing | '71 Mercury | 18 | 0 | engine |
| 40 | 15 | 2 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Racing | '71 Dodge | 2 | 0 | crash |