A seven-time champion chasing his eighth world title. Everything is going well and he is almost winning the race, when a controversial rule change completely decimates their championship hopes. No, we’re not talking about the 2021 Formula 1 season. NASCAR did it a long time ago, and on a much more complex and technically legitimate scale. The rule was such that no protest could be organized against it.
In a rather poetic way, Richard Petit was racing for his fifth NASCAR Cup Series (then known as the Winston Cup Series) title. Everything seemed in order – Petty had six wins during the season – enough to secure the title, even by today’s standards. But to everyone’s surprise and Richard Petty’s disappointment, the 1973 Winston Cup Series champion was Benny Parsons.
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You may be wondering how can this happen?! A likely answer might be that Petty was inconsistent and was unable to win the championship due to poor results outside of his six wins. But no, he had 15 top-5 finishes in 28 races throughout the season. In fact, Petty was actually only P5 in the drivers’ championship. So what’s the problem here?
The NASCAR championship system that changed everything for Petty
Yes, NASCAR has only adopted hunting and the Playoff system in the 21st century. But be prepared, their point system in the 70s was even weirder than it is today. This was a time when car reliability was a much bigger issue. So the sport awarded points to drivers based on the kilometers covered during the race.
The points system awarded drivers bonus points for each lap completed. Depending on the length of the NASCAR track, each additional lap added the following points to the driver’s total:
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In the 70s, NASCAR was all about survival during racing. Winning was no more important than going the distance. If you completed a long race without crashing, you were considered a talented driver. Winning at all costs would often lead to breakdowns. Instead, the driver had to be smart and keep the vehicle as long as possible.
In a way, NASCAR mirrored the endurance racing system. The only difference was that the races were much shorter. Benny Parsons, Cup Series champion in 1973, was able to use this system very effectively.
He has finished outside the Top 10 in just eight of 28 races this season. In this way, he was able to earn points, as well as bonuses for completing the laps and accumulating more miles than the other drivers. Petty’s P5 was nothing compared to any of the other legendary drivers from that season.
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David Pearson managed to win 11 of the 18 races he entered in 1973. Yet he managed to secure a measly 13th place in the drivers’ championship. In the end, Richard Petty lost 800 miles to Benny Parsons. The biggest factor leading to his defeat was the 10 retirements he faced during the season, leading to a huge points deficit.
But such was Richard Petty’s dominance during these years that even a P5 was his “lowest” finish in the drivers’ standings since 1965. Nevertheless, NASCAR saw its mistake and immediately changed its rules to a full-season championship format in 1975. As a result, Richard Petty won the championship once again, completing his sixth successful NASCAR campaign.
Imagine how NASCAR fans of that era felt when they saw their favorites win races but lose championships for no apparent reason.
On this point, it would be a crime to forget the last race of the 1973 Cup Series season…
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The “reconstruction” that rebuilt Benny Parsons’ championship
Before the final race of the season, the American 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway, Benny Parsons was only inches ahead of the competition. He ran out of luck pretty quickly, getting into a disastrous crash on lap 13, but managed to get his Chevrolet moving forward.
However, the impact strained the car more than he expected. All the sheet metal on the right side of his car was torn off and his roll bar was seriously damaged. When all hope seemed lost, LG DeWitt’s crew and volunteers from other teams took on the impossible task: performing CPR on his dying Chevrolet.
via X (@CBird73936300)
As a result, Parsons was able to complete at least 308 laps out of 492. This gave him a 28th place finish in the race. Coupled with Richard Petty’s engine failure, his efforts were enough to secure the crown for the 1973 Cup Series season.
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Do you think NASCAR’s old championship systems were unfair? Let us know in the comments.
The position When a controversial rule “deprived” Richard Petty of his 8th Winston Cup title appeared first on EssentiallySport.
