1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Season: Pearson's Eleven Wins and Parsons' Title

The 1973 Winston Cup season was the 25th year of top-tier stock car racing in America and only the second of the modern era. It ran from January 21 to October 21, and 28 of the 31 scheduled races were held. David Pearson dominated the wins column with 11 victories from 18 starts, but Benny Parsons took the championship with just one win.

Who won the 1973 Winston Cup championship?

Benny Parsons won the 1973 Winston Cup championship by 67 points over Cale Yarborough. His only victory of the year came at Bristol in July, but he stayed near the front of the points table through the later races and turned a consistent season into the title.

The Bristol win came in the Volunteer 500, where Parsons led 320 laps with John A. Utsman taking over the car in relief. Parsons then ran well in the closing months, collecting several top-five finishes, and his position in the standings grew with each strong result.

Pearson, by contrast, was the year's dominant driver. He won 11 of the 18 races he entered, yet the points system of the period valued completed laps and a top-50 finish as much as outright speed. That structure let a steady driver like Parsons overtake a faster rival in the standings.

Eleven wins for David Pearson, one for Benny Parsons and a championship that went to the driver who kept finishing.

How did the 1973 points system work?

The 1973 points system was new. In 1972 only the laps a driver completed were counted, regardless of where he finished. From 1973, a driver earned points for laps completed and for finishing inside the top 50, and a higher placing earned more points than a lower one.

The winner also received a 25-point bonus. That bonus made victories count for more, but it was not enough on its own to decide the title, because a driver who finished consistently could still build a large points total across the year.

Manufacturers had their own scoring. Each make received points from its best-placed driver in every race, with nine points for a win and one point for a sixth-place finish. The manufacturer's points were reduced if its best driver finished behind the manufacturer's placing, or if a penalty applied.

What changed before the 1973 season began?

Maximum carburetor sleeve sizes were adjusted by engine type and maker as part of a phase-out of the seven-litre formula. The larger 427 cubic inch (7,000 cc) engines were being replaced by 358 cubic inch (5,870 cc) units, and the change was to be completed by the end of the season.

Several teams changed their line-ups. Bobby Allison left Richard Howard's team to run his own Chevrolet, and his brother Donnie Allison drove for the newly formed DiGard Racing team. Yarborough moved into Howard's team, whose cars were renumbered to No. 11, and Richard Petty ran Dodges exclusively. Buddy Baker signed with Krauskopf Racing for the full season, also in Dodges.

There were also losses. Fred Lorenzen retired at the end of 1972, and Larry Smith, the previous year's Rookie of the Year, was killed in an accident at the Talladega 500 during the 1973 season. Smith's death cast a shadow over the year that no points system could offset.

Which races were cancelled or moved in 1973?

The season's schedule shifted considerably. Bristol and Atlanta swapped their March and April dates, North Wilkesboro's spring event was shifted to the seventh slot on the calendar, and a second race at Fairgrounds Speedway returned after a seven-year absence, held before the World 600.

Some races did not happen at all. The Miller High Life 500 was planned for March 4 at Ontario Motor Speedway, but it was not run because of financial difficulties at the track. The Northern 300 at Trenton was rained out on race day, postponed to August 5 and then cancelled when the promoter said there was not enough time to market it properly. Track owner Roger Penske called off the Yankee 400 in early June, citing a crowded summer calendar.

The Southeastern 500 was the most unusual case. It began on March 4 and was scuttled by rain on March 11, after Cale Yarborough had led all 52 laps. The remaining 448 laps were run on March 18, and Yarborough led every one of them to win by two laps.

How did David Pearson take so many wins?

Pearson won 11 of his 18 starts, with five wins on short tracks, four on intermediate circuits and two on superspeedways. His Carolina 500 win came from leading 491 of 492 laps, and at Atlanta he beat Bobby Isaac by two laps.

The spring Rebel race at Darlington was lengthened to 500 miles. Pearson led the last 176 laps and took the win, although only twelve of forty entries finished. At Martinsville he controlled almost the whole of the last 106 laps after a yellow flag came out for an infield spectator who needed a hospital ride.

Pearson's eighth win came at the Medal of Honor Firecracker 400, where he beat Richard Petty for his second straight Firecracker victory. He added the Winston 500 and the Dixie 500, the Delaware 500 was his tenth win of the year, and his eleventh and final win came in the American 500, where he led 396 laps.

Which races defined the 1973 season?

Mark Donohue, a driver better known for open-wheel racing, made a strong impression in only his fifth Cup start. He led 138 laps and won the Winston Western 500 in an AMC Matador fitted with disc brakes, a new feature for racing at the time. Richard Petty led 39 laps before his engine failed on lap 95.

Richard Petty's fourth Daytona 500 win came after a fast late pit stop. Buddy Baker had led 156 laps and was chased by Yarborough until Yarborough's engine failed, and then Baker's own engine let go with six laps to go.

The Talladega 500 was a tragic race. Early on, Larry Smith crashed in turn one and did not survive. The lead changed 64 times among fourteen drivers, a record for the time, and Dick Brooks took the lead after Baker broke a steering line, scoring the only win of his career from 24th on the grid.

Race results at a glance

How did the championship battle finish?

Benny Parsons won the 1973 title by 67 points over Cale Yarborough, despite having only one win. His championship was settled at the American 500, where a crash that tore into his car could have ended his chances before his crew rebuilt it.

Parsons crashed hard into a lapped car of Johnny Barnes, and the impact tore away the right side of his Chevrolet. Parsons believed his title bid was finished, yet his crew and others rebuilt the car so it could run enough laps to score. He finished 28th, 182 laps down.

Richard Petty had been running strongly, but he broke a camshaft and finished 35th. That was his eighth engine-related failure of the season, and it left the points table in Parsons' favour.

Cale Yarborough had a strong year in his own right, winning four races: the Southeastern 500, the Music City USA 420, the Southern 500 and the National 500. His consistency made him the closest challenger, and he finished second in the standings.

Which other races mattered most in 1973?

Several races in the middle of the year shaped the title chase as much as the big headlines. Bobby Allison's win at the Tuborg 400 ended his winless streak, although Richard Petty had hit a barrier there and Cale Yarborough's engine had failed.

Allison led 85 laps at the Tuborg 400 to Petty's 57, with Yarborough's 11 laps of leadership not enough to keep him in front. Benny Parsons finished third, and he was quietly climbing the points table as the season went on. Allison's win came after a long wait for victory that year.

At the Motor State 400, Buddy Baker grabbed the lead at will and led 119 laps, but David Pearson took the win by leading the last 23. It was the Wood Brothers' fifth victory at that track, and Ron Keselowski finished fifth.

The Volunteer 500 at Bristol gave Parsons his only win of the year. He led 320 laps with John A. Utsman driving in relief, after Allison and Cale Yarborough had crashed while battling for the lead.