1974 - Richard Petty starts on the outside of the front row, leads 278 of 492 laps, and wins his 156th career race in the Carolina 500 at Rockingham. Hershel McGriff, in a second Petty Enterprises Dodge, starts sixth but finishes 32nd because of overheating problems.
As an acknowledgment of the OPEC energy crisis, NASCAR continued its trend of trimming races by 10 percent. As a result, the race was officially 500 miles - but the first 50 laps weren't run or scored.
Cale Yarborough started on the pole. When the checkered flag fell, however, the positions were reversed. The King started second and won the race by one lap over Cale.
Dad was a pilot. From Shallotte, NC we could fly to Rockingham, land on the drag-strip and simply walk across US-1 to the speedway all in about 45 minutes. Richard was on a rail that day and blasted the field in his iconic STP/Petty Dodge Charger.
Photo courtesy of Lynn Hughes at RacersReunion.com
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