The 1976 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on November 7, 1976 at Atlanta International Raceway

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track just outside Hampton, Georgia, twenty miles south of Atlanta. It is a quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960 as a standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track...

 in the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 community of Hampton

Hampton, Georgia

Hampton is a city in southwestern Henry County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,987. Census Estimates for 2005 show a population of 4,743. Hampton mailing addresses also dip into eastern Clayton County and northern Spalding County.The Atlanta Motor...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.

Summary

Three hundred and twenty eight laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 1.522 miles (2.4 km) for a grand total of 499.2 miles (803.4 km). The total time of the race was three hours and fifty-five minutes. Four cautions were made for forty-one laps. Dave Marcis

Dave Marcis

Dave Marcis is a retired driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final win in 1982...

 defeated David Pearson by two car lengths. Speeds for this race were: 127.396 mi/h as the average and 161.652 mi/h for the pole position. Forty-six thousand fans attended this live race. Total winnings for this race were $132,625 ($ in today's money). Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 driver Jack Donohue would finish the race in last place without completing any laps of the race due to an engine

Engine

An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...

 problem; he was granted 55 championship points just for qualifying. Richie Panch

Richie Panch

Richard "Richie" Panch was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver from 1973 to 1976. Panch had officially raced a grand total of 9295 laps - the equivalent of of stock car racing. His average start is 18th place while his average finish is 23rd place. Total earnings for Richie Panch were $90,842 USD...

 (the son of Marvin Panch

Marvin Panch

Marvin Panch Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (born May 28, 1926, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver.-Early career:He started his racing career as a car owner in Oakland, California. One week, his driver did not show up, and he raced the car to a third place finish...

) would retire after the end of this race.

Dale Earnhardt survived a huge crash when Richard Brooks

Dick Brooks

Richard "Dick" Brooks was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500...

 slid down the banking of Turn 3; Earnhardt hit Brooks and tumbled to Turn 4.

Finshing order

1. Dave Marcis
2. David Pearson
3. Donnie Allison
   Donnie Allison
   Dunkiny "Donnie" Allison is a former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. He was part of the "Alabama Gang," and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison...
   
    (highest winning Chevrolet
   Chevrolet
   Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
   
    driver)
4. Cale Yarborough
   Cale Yarborough
   William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...
   
   
5. Buddy Baker
   Buddy Baker
   Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...
   
    (highest winning Ford
   Ford Motor Company
   Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
   
    driver)
6. Benny Parsons
   Benny Parsons
   Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...
   
   
7. Darrell Waltrip
   Darrell Waltrip
   Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...
   
   
8. Neil Bonnett
   Neil Bonnett
   Lawrence Neil Bonnett was a NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. The Alabama native currently ranks 35th in all-time NASCAR Cup victories. He appeared in the 1983 film Stroker Ace and the 1990 film Days of Thunder...
   
   
9. Sam Sommers
10. Bobby Wawak
    Bobby Wawak
    Bobby Wawak was an American NASCAR driver from Villa Park, Illinois. He made 141 Grand National/Winston Cup starts, with 14 Top 10 finishes.-Local racing:...
    
    
11. Bruce Hill
    Bruce Hill
    Bruce Edward Hill is a former professional American football player who selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 1987 NFL Draft with a draft pick the Buccaneers had received for trading Steve Young. A 6'0", 175-lb. wide receiver from Arizona State, Hill played his entire NFL...
    
    
12. James Hylton
    James Hylton
    James Harvey Hylton is a part-time race car driver. He is a two-time winner in NASCAR and competes in the ARCA RE/MAX Series,finishing 16th in points in 2006. He made headlines while attempting to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 at age 72...
    
    
13. J.D. McDuffie
    J.D. McDuffie
    John Delphus McDuffie was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver. He raced in the top division of NASCAR from 1963 to 1991. McDuffie had 106 top-tens in his Cup Series career...
    
    
14. Skip Manning
    Skip Manning
    Skip Manning is a former NASCAR driver from Bogalusa, Louisiana. He competed in seventy-nine Winston Cup events in his career, spanning from 1975 to 1979. Manning won the rookie-of-the-year award in 1976...
    
    
15. Sonny Easley
    Sonny Easley
    Lynwood Lacey "Sonny" Easley was an American racecar driver who is best known for competing in the NASCAR Winston West Series and a handful of Winston Cup Series events....
    
    
16. Gene Felton
17. Jimmy Means
    Jimmy Means
    James "Jimmy" Means is a former Winston Cup/Nextel Cup owner/driver. Currently, he is an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and owns his own team, Means Racing. He competed in NASCAR for eighteen years in mostly his own equipment, posting seventeen career top-tens...
    
    
18. D.K. Ulrich
19. Dale Earnhardt
    Dale Earnhardt
    Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...
    
    *
20. Grant Adcox
    Grant Adcox
    Grant Adcox was a stock car racing driver who died in a single-car accident in the 1989 Atlanta Journal 500 in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.-Career:...
    
    *
21. Richie Panch
    Richie Panch
    Richard "Richie" Panch was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver from 1973 to 1976. Panch had officially raced a grand total of 9295 laps - the equivalent of of stock car racing. His average start is 18th place while his average finish is 23rd place. Total earnings for Richie Panch were $90,842 USD...
    
    *
22. Terry Bivins
    Terry Bivins
    Terry Bivins is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1975 to 1977.-Summary:He managed to lead only six laps out of 7,901 - the equivalent of . For starting an average of 20th place and finishing an average of 17th, Bivins earned a grand total of $61,725 in total...
    
    *
23. Cecil Gordon
    Cecil Gordon
    Cecil Gordon was a NASCAR driver. He is not related to Sprint Cup driver Jeff Gordon although the two drivers drove in car number 24....
    
    
24. Lennie Pond
    Lennie Pond
    Lennie Pond is a former NASCAR driver. He won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1973, and won his only race at Talladega Superspeedway in 1978 for Ronnie Elder and Harry Ranier....
    
    *
25. Richard Childress
    Richard Childress
    Richard Childress is a former NASCAR driver and the current team owner of Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. As a business entrepreneur, Childress became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina...
    
    *
26. Bobby Allison
    Bobby Allison
    Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....
    
    *
27. Frank Warren
    Frank Warren (NASCAR driver)
    Frank Warren is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1963 to 1980.Out of 88863 laps finished in his career, Warren had led 72 of them. Warren's total career earnings were $625,886 and while his average finish was 20th place in his entire career. The total amount of miles...
    
    *
28. Richard Petty
    Richard Petty
    Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
    
    *
29. Dick Brooks
    Dick Brooks
    Richard "Dick" Brooks was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500...
    
    *
30. Coo Coo Marlin
    Coo Coo Marlin
    Clifton "Coo Coo" Marlin was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver who spent 14 years in the series.-Local track history:...
    
    *
31. Chuck Bown
    Chuck Bown
    Richard Charles Bown, Jr. is a former NASCAR champion. His last ride came in 1999. He currently lives with his wife in Asheboro, North Carolina. He is the brother of former fellow NASCAR competitor Jim Bown...
    
    *
32. Dick May
    Dick May
    Dick May was a NASCAR driver who competed in 185 races in the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup between 1967 and 1985....
    
    *
33. David Sisco
    David Sisco
    David Sisco is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who has led 98 laps out of the 33668 that he raced in his entire career. Sisco also managed to earn $251,359 in his seven-year NASCAR career . His average starting position is 22nd place while he managed to finish in 19th place on average...
    
    *
34. Billy McGinnis*
35. G.C. Spencer
    G.C. Spencer
    G. C. Spencer July 9, 1925 in Owensboro, Kentucky – September 20, 2007 in Johnson City, Tennessee was a NASCAR driver who competed in 415 Grand National/Winston Cup races from 1958 to 1977...
    
    *
36. Jack Donohue*

* Driver failed to finish race