1976 Winston Western 500

Race 1 of 30

Riverside
191 laps
Time of race: 5:02:44
Average speed of winner: 99.180 mph
Margin of victory: 35.9 sec.
Lead changes: 17 among 9 drivers
Cautions: 5 for 20 laps
Lap leaders: Allison 1-18, Marcis 19, Petty 20-23, Parsons 24-37, Gordon 38, Wahl 39-41, Marcis 42-47, Yarborough 48-50, D. Pearson 51-65, Petty 66-75, D. Pearson 76-77, Bown 78-80, Yarborough 81, D. Pearson 82-110, Marcis 111-112, D. Pearson 113-158, Yarborough 159, D. Pearson 160-191

Race notes: Debut for Gary Johnson and Bill Polich. Finale for Larry Esau. Only start for Sam Beler.

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	2	David Pearson	21	Purolator	Mercury	Wood Brothers	Leonard Wood		191	5	124	running	17295	185
2	6	Cale Yarborough	11	Holly Farms Poultry	Chevrolet	Johnson	Nab		191	3	5	running	14920	175
3	26	Jimmy Insolo	38	Martin's Union 76	Chevrolet	Paquette			191	0	0	running	8620	165
4	9	Ray Elder	96	Elder Racing	Dodge	Elder			190	0	0	running	6745	160
5	3	Benny Parsons	72	Kings Row Fireplaces	Chevrolet	L.G. DeWitt	Elder		189	1	14	running	7275	160
6	12	Lennie Pond	54	Pepsi-Cola	Chevrolet	Ronnie Elder			183	0	0	running	3115	150
7	16	Richard Childress	3	Kansas Jack	Chevrolet	Childress	Brewer		181	0	0	running	2885	146
8	5	Dave Marcis	71	K&K Insurance	Dodge	Krauskopf	Hyde		180	3	9	running	5705	147
9	22	James Hylton	48	Nitro 9	Chevrolet	Hylton			179	0	0	running	2525	138
10	32	Bill Schmitt	73	Old Milwaukee	Chevrolet	Schmitt			177	0	0	running	2195	134
11	23	Frank Warren	79	Warren Racing	Dodge	Frank Warren			174	0	0	running	2165	130
12	30	D.K. Ulrich	40	Garden State Auto Body	Chevrolet	DeLotto			174	0	0	running	1845	127
13	19	Larry Esau	7	McDuffie Racing	Chevrolet	McDuffie			169	0	0	running	1745	124
14	24	Ron Esau	20	Esau Racing	Chevrolet	Ron Esau			154	0	0	running	1645	121
15	1	Bobby Allison	2	Cam 2	Matador	Penske	Carter	112.416	149	1	18	engine	5705	123
16	11	Chuck Bown	03	Rose Auto Wrecking	Dodge	Craker			141	1	3	rear end	1445	120
17	34	Gary Matthews	8	10,000 RPM Speed Equipment	Dodge	Negre			138	0	0	running	1395	112
18	29	Eddie Bradshaw	04	Bullhead City Sports	Chevrolet				135	0	0	running	1345	109
19	31	J.D. McDuffie	70	McDuffie Racing	Chevrolet	McDuffie			135	0	0	running	1445	106
20	28	Carl Joiner	26	Joiner Racing	Chevrolet	Joiner			116	0	0	engine	1240	103
21	7	Darrell Waltrip	88	Gatorade	Chevrolet	DiGard	Rossi		92	0	0	cylinder head	4305	100
22	15	Chuck Wahl	37	Excel Trailer Co.	Chevrolet	Wahl			92	1	3	valve	1140	102
23	14	Cecil Gordon	24	Pruette Chevrolet	Chevrolet	Cecil Gordon			85	1	1	clutch	1270	99
24	13	Hugh Pearson	76	Wayne's Pump Service	Chevrolet	Hugh Pearson			83	0	0	timing chain	1090	91
25	27	Richard Petty	43	STP	Dodge	Petty	Inman		83	2	14	engine	5660	93
26	35	Bill Polich	12	Bridal Veil Lumber	Chevrolet				81	0	0	accident	990	85
27	20	Don Puskarich	13	Oil Field Construction	Chevrolet	Puskarich			75	0	0	engine	940	82
28	4	Buddy Baker	15	Norris	Ford	Moore	Moore		73	0	0	piston	3990	79
29	21	Gary Johnson	44	Noble Auto Parts	Dodge				72	0	0	engine	840	76
30	8	Hershel McGriff	50	Stock Car Products	Chevrolet	McGriff			71	0	0	oil line	790	73
31	33	Johnny Ray	10	Sunny King Ford	Ford	Bill Champion			34	0	0	engine	735	70
32	10	Sonny Easley	68	San Fernando Lumber/Speedway Engineering	Ford				32	0	0	valve	685	67
33	18	Dick Brooks	95	Miller Racing	Chevrolet				18	0	0	engine	635	64
34	25	Sam Beler	55	Haddick's Towing	Ford				15	0	0	accident	585	61
35	17	Harry Jefferson	90	Jefferson Racing	Ford	George Jefferson			14	0	0	engine	535	58

Points standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s
1	David Pearson	185	1	0	1	1	1
2	Cale Yarborough	175	1	0	0	1	1
3	Jimmy Insolo	165	1	0	0	1	1
4	Ray Elder	160	1	0	0	1	1
5	Benny Parsons	160	1	0	0	1	1
6	Lennie Pond	150	1	0	0	0	1
7	Dave Marcis	147	1	0	0	0	1
8	Richard Childress	146	1	0	0	0	1
9	James Hylton	138	1	0	0	0	1
10	Bill Schmitt	134	1	0	0	0	1
11	Frank Warren	130	1	0	0	0	0
12	D.K. Ulrich	127	1	0	0	0	0
13	Larry Esau	124	1	0	0	0	0
14	Bobby Allison	123	1	1	0	0	0
15	Ron Esau	121	1	0	0	0	0
16	Chuck Bown	120	1	0	0	0	0
17	Gary Matthews	112	1	0	0	0	0
18	Eddie Bradshaw	109	1	0	0	0	0
19	J.D. McDuffie	106	1	0	0	0	0
20	Carl Joiner	103	1	0	0	0	0
21	Chuck Wahl	102	1	0	0	0	0
22	Darrell Waltrip	100	1	0	0	0	0
23	Cecil Gordon	99	1	0	0	0	0
24	Richard Petty	93	1	0	0	0	0
25	Hugh Pearson	91	1	0	0	0	0