Today In NASCAR History

1976: Richard Petty turns in a dominant second half to roll to victory in the American 500, leading 193 of the 492 laps at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham. Petty, who led all but 10 of the final 164 laps, finished more than a lap ahead of runner-up Lennie Pond. Darrell Waltrip — the Hall of Famer who famously finished second to Pond in the 1973 NASCAR Rookie of the Year vote — came in third, three laps down.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.