1977 Daytona 500

1977 Daytona 500

Race details
Race 2 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1977 Daytona 500 program cover
Date	February 20, 1977 (1977-02-20)
Location	Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather	Temperatures of 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds up to 24.1 miles per hour (38.8 km/h)[1]
Average speed	153.218 miles per hour (246.580 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Donnie Allison	Ellington Racing
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
Duel 2 Winner	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps	137
Winner
No. 11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network	ABC's WWOS
Announcers	Jim McKay Jackie Stewart Chris Economaki
Nielsen Ratings	12.9/35 (16.0 million viewers)

The 1977 Daytona 500, the 19th running of the event, was held on February 20, 1977, as the second race of the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season.^[2]

First Daytona 500 starts for Janet Guthrie, Ricky Rudd, Ron Hutcherson, Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Bobby Wawak.^[2] Only Daytona 500 start for Sam Sommers.^[2] Last Daytona 500 starts for Bob Burcham, Terry Ryan, Walter Ballard, Salt Walther, Ramo Stott, Ed Negre, and Jim Hurtubise.^[2]

Cale Yarborough won his second Daytona 500 and it would lead to his second straight Winston Cup title, and Donnie Allison won his second pole position for this event.^[2] Janet Guthrie made history at this race as the first female NASCAR Cup Series driver; getting a 12th place finish in the process.^[2]

Bobby Wawak bailed out of his car while it was still moving and on fire on lap 3.^[2] Seconds later the car slammed the inside wall by the entrance to pit road. Wawak got 15% burns on his body on his face which was second degree, first degree on his hands and one of his legs and was taken to hospital. Chris Economaki who was reporting in the pits for ABC Sports said "The doctors told him if he had fire retardant underwear on (Gloves, socks and a balaclava) he would not be injured at all". Three Time Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart who was commentating on the race for ABC Sports said "The drivers themselves are negligent, drivers should always wear flame resistant underwear and thermal underwear. The accident we seen today is just typical if your not properly protected".

The race resulted in the first Top 10 finish for Jimmy Means, the final Top 10 finish for Bob Burcham, and the last Top 5 finish for the late Coo Coo Marlin.^[2]

Jim Vandiver retired from the NASCAR Winston Cup Series after this race.^[2] Richard Petty started the race 7/8 from pit lane in last place. He caught a break with the caution for Wawak's fire then worked his way through the field back into contention only to later blow the engine and drop out.^[2] Donnie Allison blew a tire at the start/finish line on lap 88, and was forced to limp into the pits, where his team discovered too much damage had been done, so they pulled the car out of the race.^[2]

Defending Daytona 500 David Pearson also had mechanical issues. The Silver Fox led two laps but like Petty, his #21 Purolator Mercury was sidelined with a blown engine before the 3/4 mark.^[2] USAC Champ Car racer Salt Walther's last NASCAR Cup start ended in a backstretch crash. A gust of wind caught Walther's self-owned #4 Chevrolet and caused him to lose it triggering a three-car incident that also included Buddy Baker and Dave Marcis. Baker recovered to finish third but Salt was done for the day.^[2]

Once Petty and Pearson were gone the race came down to a battle between Cale Yarborough and Benny Parsons that saw Yarborough eventually prevail.^[2]

The Daytona 500 was covered by ABC for the sixteenth time. ABC aired reports during the early stages of the race and then live coverage started at 3:00pm and was two thirds into the race and continued into the end of the race. Jim McKay and three time Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart called the race from the broadcast booth. Chris Economaki handled pit road for the television side.