1972 American 500

Race 30 of 31

Rockingham
492 laps
Time of race: 4:13:49
Average speed of winner: 118.275 mph
Margin of victory: 2 laps
Lead changes: 20 among 8 drivers
Cautions: 4 for 35 laps
Lap leaders: Pearson 1-32, Dennis 33, Isaac 34, Allison 35-41, Yarborough 42-50, Baker 51-66, Brooks 67, Dennis 68, Pearson 69-91, Allison 92-96, Pearson 97-99, Baker 100-166, Pearson 167-186, Allison 187-212, Petty 213-250, Allison 251, Petty 252-258, Allison 259-260, Petty 261-268, Pearson 269-316, Allison 317-492

Race notes: Debut for Ron Hutcherson.

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	5	Bobby Allison	12	Coca-Cola	'72 Chevrolet	Howard	Nab		492	6	217	running	19400	0
2	3	Richard Petty	43	STP	'72 Plymouth	Petty	Inman		490	3	53	running	12050	0
3	2	Buddy Baker	71	K&K Insurance	'72 Dodge	Krauskopf	Hyde		489	2	83	running	8425	0
4	1	David Pearson	21	Purolator	'71 Mercury	Wood Brothers	Leonard Wood	137.528	488	5	126	running	5400	0
5	4	Pete Hamilton	9		'72 Plymouth	Housby			486	0	0	running	3850	0
6	6	Cale Yarborough	28		'72 Chevrolet	Ellington			485	1	9	running	2650	0
7	10	Dave Marcis	16		'72 Matador	Penske			475	0	0	running	2250	0
8	18	Larry Smith	92		'71 Ford	Harley Smith			469	0	0	running	1850	0
9	39	David Sisco	05		'72 Chevrolet	Charlie McGee			466	0	0	running	1650	0
10	12	Buddy Arrington	67		'70 Dodge	Arrington			461	0	0	running	1550	0
11	19	John Sears	4		'70 Plymouth	J. Marvin Mills			461	0	0	running	1775	0
12	24	Clarence Lovell	61		'71 Ford	Bierschwale-Haverlah			459	0	0	running	1150	0
13	38	Elmo Langley	64		'71 Ford	Langley			456	0	0	running	1525	0
14	29	Ben Arnold	76		'71 Ford	Ben Arnold			452	0	0	running	1500	0
15	23	Walter Ballard	30		'71 Mercury	Vic Ballard			451	0	0	running	1475	0
16	22	Dean Dalton	7		'71 Mercury	Dean Dalton			446	0	0	running	1450	0
17	37	Ed Negre	8		'70 Dodge	Negre			439	0	0	running	1425	0
18	30	Charlie Roberts	77		'71 Ford	Charlie Roberts			430	0	0	running	1400	0
19	21	James Hylton	48		'71 Ford	Hylton			428	0	0	rear end	1375	0
20	15	Cecil Gordon	24		'71 Mercury	Cecil Gordon			428	0	0	running	1350	0
21	13	Joe Frasson	18		'72 Dodge	Frasson			427	0	0	running	825	0
22	35	Raymond Williams	45		'71 Ford	Seifert			422	0	0	running	1300	0
23	32	Jabe Thomas	25		'70 Plymouth	Don Robertson			418	0	0	engine	1275	0
24	16	J.D. McDuffie	70		'71 Chevrolet	McDuffie			392	0	0	running	1325	0
25	36	Frank Warren	79		'70 Dodge	Frank Warren			360	0	0	alternator	1225	0
26	34	Marty Robbins	42		'72 Dodge	Robbins			332	0	0	battery	700	0
27	14	Coo Coo Marlin	14		'72 Chevrolet	Cunningham-Kelley			331	0	0	transmission	675	0
28	40	Bill Champion	10		'71 Mercury	Bill Champion			297	0	0	oil leak	1125	0
29	31	Roy Mayne	23		'70 Plymouth	Don Robertson			267	0	0	engine	650	0
30	25	Jim Vandiver	31		'72 Dodge	O.L. Nixon			257	0	0	engine	600	0
31	28	Neil Castles	06		'72 Plymouth	Castles			219	0	0	engine	595	0
32	8	Bill Dennis	17		'72 Chevrolet	Brooking			204	2	2	alternator	590	0
33	27	Ron Keselowski	88		'70 Dodge	Lubinski			139	0	0	suspension	585	0
34	7	Dick Brooks	15		'72 Ford	Moore	Moore		119	1	1	engine	580	0
35	11	Benny Parsons	72		'71 Mercury	L.G. DeWitt			90	0	0	accident	1075	0
36	9	Bobby Isaac	27		'71 Chevrolet	Banjo Matthews	Banjo Matthews		67	1	1	engine	570	0
37	26	Henley Gray	29		'71 Mercury	Hollar			57	0	0	engine	565	0
38	17	Tiny Lund	55		'71 Chevrolet				45	0	0	engine	585	0
39	33	Tommy Gale	03		'71 Mercury	Vasko			37	0	0	engine	555	0
40	20	Ron Hutcherson	90		'71 Ford	Donlavey			29	0	0	accident	550	0