| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 30 in the1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Official racing program of the 1976 Los Angeles Times 500 | |||
| Date | November 21, 1976 (1976-11-21) | ||
| Official name | Los Angeles Times 500 | ||
| Location | Ontario Motor Speedway,Ontario, California | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.500 miles (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures of 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 137.101 miles per hour (220.643 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Wood Brothers | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Wood Brothers | |
| Laps | 121 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 21 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier Lee Petty | ||
The1976 Los Angeles Times 500 was aNASCARWinston Cup Series race that took place on November 21, 1976, atOntario Motor Speedway inOntario, California.[2][3] Each copy of the souvenir program was $2 ($11.05 when adjusted for inflation).
The five drivers that dominated the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season were David Pearson (average finish of 7th place), Cale Yarborough (average finish of 8th place), Richard Petty (average finish of 9th place), Benny Parsons (average finish of 10th place), and Bobby Allison (average finish 12th place).
Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located inOntario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies:USAC (and nowIndyCar Series) for open-wheel oval car races;NASCAR for a 500-mile (800 km) oval stock car races;NHRA for drag races; andFIA forFormula One road course races. Constructed in less than two years, the track opened in August 1970 and was consideredstate of the art at the time.[4][5]
The first full year of racing included the Indy-style open-wheel Inaugural California 500 on September 6, 1970; theMiller High Life 500 stock car race on February 28, 1971, the Super Nationals drag race on November 21, 1970 and theQuestor Grand Prix on March 28, 1971. Each of these inaugural races drew attendance second only to their established counterparts, the USACIndianapolis 500, the NASCARDaytona 500, theNHRAU.S. Nationals, and the U.S. Formula One race atWatkins Glen.
There were 40 drivers on the grid;[3][6] 39 of them were born in theUnited States of America whileRoy Smith was born inCanada.[2]Darrell Waltrip would earn the last-place finish of the race due to anengine issue on lap 10 of 200.[2][3][6] A grand total of $155,639 was awarded for this race ($860,019 in when adjusted for inflation); Pearson received $27,715 ($153,146 when adjusted for inflation) while Waltrip won $3,660 ($20,224 when adjusted for inflation).[6]
David Pearson defeatedLennie Pond by one lap in front of 44,702 people; giving Pearson at least one win at each of the 16 tracks in use at that time.[2][3] Petty lacked only Ontario (where he would never win).[2][3] There were four lead changes and two cautions for 19 laps in this three-hour-and-thirty-eight-minute race.[2][3][6][7] Pearson would earn thepole position with a top speed of 153.964 miles per hour (247.781 km/h) while the average speed of the race was 137.101 miles per hour (220.643 km/h).[2][3][6]
Former IndyCar driverMike Hiss would make his only NASCAR start here.[2] This race saw the rare occurrence of both a husband and wife being entered in the same NASCAR race looking to race as IndyCar competitors Mike and Arlene Hiss both attempted to qualify for the race.[2] Arlene Hiss failed to qualify although the late Mike Hiss, as mentioned above, did both qualify for and finish the race.[2]
There was a brutal level of attrition due to mechanical problems in this race, even by 1976 standards.[2] Blown engines in addition to transmission failures and clutch failures forced a lot of the star drivers out of the race; allowing a lot of independent drivers to have decent finishes.[2]
Notable crew chiefs for this race includedBilly Hagan,Junie Donlavey,Jake Elder,Harry Hyde,Dale Inman,Bud Moore among many others.[8]
| Grid[2] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury | Wood Brothers |
| 2 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Dodge | Nord Krauskopf |
| 3 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet | Junior Johnson |
| 4 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Ford | Bud Moore |
| 5 | 2 | Bobby Allison | Mercury | Roger Penske |
| 6 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | DiGard Racing |
| 7 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge | Petty Enterprises |
| 8 | 28 | Donnie Allison | Chevrolet | Hoss Ellington |
| 9 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | L.G. DeWitt |
| 10 | 67 | Sonny Easley | Ford | Jerry Lankford |
| 11 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Chevrolet | Ronnie Elder |
| 12 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Ford | Junie Donlavey |
| 13 | 01 | Chuck Bown | Chevrolet | Gerald Craker |
| 14 | 81 | Terry Ryan | Chevrolet | Bill Monaghan |
| 15 | 50 | Terry Bivins | Chevrolet | Michael Brockman |
Failed to qualify:Bill Osborne (#94),Hugh Pearson (#76),Buddy Arrington (#67),Tom Williams (#52),Don Graham (#52),Jimmy Means (#52),Travis Tiller (#46),Gary Johnson (#44),Marty Robbins (#42),John Weibel (#80),Sumner McKnight (#82),Jack Simpson (#53),Perry Cottingham (#99),Jerry Barnett (#99),Harry Jefferson (#95),Norm Palmer (#93),Chris Monoleos (#92),Don Reynolds (#89),Dick Whalen (#86),Ernie Stierly (#41),Terry Wood (#39),Arlene Hiss (#38),Coo Coo Marlin (#14),Leon Fox (#10),Eddie Bradshaw (#09),Dean Dalton (#7),Doc Faustina (#5),Ross Kusah (#4),Richard White (#2),Earle Canavan (#01),Dennis Wilson (#16),John Dineen (#18),Bruce Jacobi (#37),Chuck Wahl (#37),Ray Elder (#32),Walter Ballard (#30),Sue Williams (#25),Bryce Mann (#24),John Hamson (#22),Ron Esau (#20), andSteve Pfeifer (#0).[9]
Section reference:[2]
Section reference:[2]
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cale Yarborough | 4644 | 0 |
| 2 | Richard Petty | 4449 | -195 |
| 3 | Benny Parsons | 4304 | -340 |
| 4 | Bobby Allison | 4097 | -547 |
5 | Lennie Pond | 3930 | -714 |
6 | Dave Marcis | 3785 | -769 |
| 7 | Buddy Baker | 3745 | -899 |
| 8 | Darrell Waltrip | 3505 | -1139 |
| 9 | David Pearson | 3483 | -1161 |
| 10 | Dick Brooks | 3447 | -1197 |
| Preceded by | NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1976-77 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Los Angeles Times 500 races 1976 | Succeeded by |