Throughout the first half of the 1974 racing season, NASCAR chose to cut its races by 10 percent as an acknowledgment of the nation's energy crisis and rise of OPEC. As a result, the Michigan race was 180 laps / 360 miles vs. 200 laps / 400 miles.
Three of the top 5 finishers were certainly unique. Petty won the race, and David Pearson finished 3rd. The remaining drivers had career days:
- Canadian and Winston Cup rookie driver Earl Ross finished second. It was a career-best finish at the time for Ross; however, he later one-up'd himself. At Martinsville that fall, he became the rare rookie and the only Canadian to win a Cup race.
- Career open-wheeler Gary Bettenhausen finished 4th in Roger Penske's AMC Matador - the top finish of his 8-race Cup career.
- Country singer and part-time racer Marty Robbins scored a career best 5th in his recognizable purple-and-yellow Dodge.
Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers |
Article courtesy of Jerry Bushmire |
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