1975 NASCAR Race 6 of 16- Atlanta 500

Race six of the 1975 NASCAR season took place at Atlanta Motor Speedway this week. The weather was perfect all weekend with sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's.
This was also the first week in which the top 20 in points were locked in.


This race did not have much excitement as only 3 drivers led in the race and only 4 finished on the lead lap. A.J. Foyt was the polesitter and he led the first two segments, but began to fall back in the field after that and finished the race 3 laps down in 11th. Cale Yarbourough took the lead on segment 3 and held it through segment 7. However, on segment 8, Yarbourough developed problems with the clutch and was forced to the garage, he finished 26th.

The lead on segment 8 was taken by Kenny Brightbill, who led the remainder of the race. Brightbill held his position and kept his car moving as many top 5 drivers began to drop out of the race behind him. Brightbill, a intermiedate track only drive in jsut his third career, took the checkered flag for the first time. Richard Petty, the points leader, finished a distant second. David Pearson and Elmo Langley finished 3rd and 4th as the only other drivers to finish on the lead lap. Jim Vandiver, got a top 5 finish in 5th despite being a lap down.


Bonus Total
POS DRIVER Points Points Points
1 Kenneth Brightbill175 10 185 Running
2 Richard Petty 170 170 Running
3 David Pearson 165 165 Running
4 Elmo Langley 160 160 Running
5 Jim Vandiver 155 155 Running
6 Richard Childress150 150 Running
7 Frank Warren 146 146 Running
8 Coo Coo Marlin 142 142 Running
9 Darel Dieringer 138 138 Running
10 James Hylton 134 134 Running
11 A. J. Foyt 130 5 135 Running
12 Bobby Allison 127 127 Running
13 Sonny Easley 124 124 Running
14 Rick Rudd 121 121 Engine
15 Dick May 118 118 Running
16 David Sisco 115 115 Engine
17 Benny Parsons 112 112 Engine
18 Cecil Gordon 109 109 Overheating
19 Henley Gray 106 106 Clutch
20 Harry Jefferson 103 103 Transmission
21 Carl Van Horn 100 100 Clutch
22 Harry Gant 97 97 Engine
23 Terry Bivens 94 94 Engine
24 Ray Elder 91 91 Engine
25 Johnny Rutherford88 88 Engine
26 Cale Yarborough 85 5 90 Clutch
27 Buddy Baker 82 82 Overheating
28 Lennie Pond 79 79 Engine
29 Jimmy Insolo 76 76 Steering/Handling/Vibrat.
30 Richie Panch 73 73 Engine
31 Dick Brooks 70 70 Engine
32 Carl Adams 67 67 Engine
33 Jody Ridley 64 64 Engine
34 Ed Negre 61 61 Transmission
35 Dick Skillen 58 58 Engine
36 Donnie Allison 55 55 Engine
37 R. K. Smith 52 52 Engine
38 Jim Thirkettle 49 49 Engine
39 William Miller 46 46 Engine
40 Bobby Isaac 43 43 Engine
41 Darrell Waltrip 40 40 Engine
42 Dave Marcis 37 37 Engine
43 Joe Mihalic 34 34 Clutch


Richard Petty, with his solid 2nd place finish, increased his points lead to 134 points. Bobby Allison, Langley, Pearson, and Richard Childress round out the top 5. There is one change in the top 20 as Joe Mihalic finished 43rd at Atlanta with clutch problems on the opening segment. He dropped to 23rd in the standings and must now qualify on time. Carl Adams only finished 32nd, but it was enough to slide into the 20th position and lock himself in for next week.

Next week's race will be the third short track of the season, North Wilkesboro and the Gwyn Staley Memorial 400.

Tomorrow is week 6 of the MLB, will the Oakland A's go to 5-0? Find out tomorrow.