1973 Rebel 500

Race details[1][2][3][4]
Race 8 of 28 in the1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1973 Rebel 500 program cover
Date	April 15, 1973 (1973-04-15)
Official name	Rebel 500
Location	Darlington Raceway(Darlington,South Carolina)
Course length	1.366 miles (2.198 km)
Distance	367 laps, 501.3 mi (806.7 km)
Weather	Temperatures of 68.9 °F (20.5 °C); wind speeds up to 10.9 miles per hour (17.5 km/h)
Average speed	122.655 mph (197.394 km/h)
Attendance	48,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	David Pearson	Wood Brothers
Most laps led
Driver	David Pearson	Wood Brothers
Laps	246
Winner
No. 21	David Pearson	Wood Brothers

The1973Rebel 500 was aNASCARWinston Cup Series race that took place on April 15, 1973, atDarlington Raceway inDarlington,South Carolina.

Three hundred and sixty seven laps took place on the pavedoval track spanning 1.366 miles (2.198 km) for a total of 501.3 miles (806.8 km).^[2][3][4] The total time of the race was four hours and four minutes.^[2][4] 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.^[2] There were eleven cautions for seventy-one laps.^[2][3][4]David Pearson defeatedBenny Parsons by thirteen laps in front of forty-eight thousand people.^[2][3][4]

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.^[5] 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 the1965 Southern 500.^[2][3][4]

Notable crew chiefs for this race wereTim Brewer,Jake Elder,Travis Carter,Harry Hyde,Dale Inman, andBud Moore.^[6]

Section reference:^[2]

• 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
• 1973 in sports in South Carolina
• NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2025