Bobby Allison (pictured at right with car owners Richard Howard and Junior Johnson in Victory Lane) captured his first Winston Cup Grand National victory at the Fairgrounds in a controversial win over Richard Petty.  Petty ran an officials "stop" paddle after making a pit stop on lap 344.  A visibly angry Petty pounded on the wheel of his 1972 STP Plymouth while NASCAR officials held him for a one lap penalty. 

Local favorite Darrell Waltrip finished 3rd in the event in his independently owned Mercury.  The car had began life as a 1967 Holman-Moody Ford and  captured the 1967 Daytona 500 with Mario Andretti at the wheel. The car was rebodied as a 1971 Mercury and used by Waltrip 17 times during his career.  The best finish for the car would be a second in the 1973 Alamo 500 at Texas World Speedway

1970 Pole Sitter Lee Roy Yarbrough "quit" the race on lap one. This would be his last start at the Fairgrounds.

Fan favorites Coo Coo Marlin and Bobby Isaac wrecked before completing lap one.

In a post-race interview, Bobby Allison stated "The pits need to be reworked. You have to circle around and go the wrong way. It can be dangerous." The Hueytown, Alabama native went on to add, "You're never safe here."

The Ford Thunderbirds of Charlie Roberts (77) and Henley Gray (19), perhaps two of the largest cars to ever compete in NASCAR		Bobby Allison battles Richard Petty down the front straight while the lights of fairgrounds rides serve as a colorful backdrop.
Cecil Gordon heads into turn three during his qualifying run. He would start 4th on the grid.		The Junior Johnson team hauler dominates the infield of Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

During the late sixties, there was perhaps no other driver who epitomized the hard charging character of NASCAR more than LeeRoy Yarbrough.  The Jacksonville, Florida native’s name became synonymous with winning as he reigned dominate in the white Junior Johnson-prepared Ford’s and Mercury’s.  In 1969, Yarbrough captured an impressive 7 victories and 21 top-tens in 30 races.  He would win 14 races in total during his all-to-short career. Junior Johnson would describe Yarbrough as “The best driver I ever had.”  

Yarbrough tried his hand at Indy Car racing and led the inaugural California 500 at Ontario in 1970.  Unfortunately, in April 1970, he suffered a hard crash at a test session at Texas World Speedway. This crash caused Yarbrough to have significant mental issues accompanied by memory loss. 

Factory pull-outs and other issues caused Yarbrough to drop down to a second-tier team for the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup season.  He would drive the 45 car for journeyman driver/owner Bill Siefert.  The team would put together an incredible run with Yarbrough placing in the Top-Five 5 times and the Top-Ten 9 times. 

When I saw Yarbrough at Nashville in August 1972, he looked a bit different than he did a few years before.  His hair was long and he looked rough.  Yarbrough qualified 13^th in the Siefert Mercury and I looked for him to have a good race. However, as the field headed to the flag stand to complete the first lap, the 45 car pulled into the pits.  Yarbrough climbed out of his powder blue Mercury and stated “I quit.”  He would run two more races during the 1972 season, crashing out of each race early.  His career had come to an end.

In February 1980, Yarbrough would attempt to kill his 65 year-old mother. For that action, he would be committed to a Florida State Mental Facility.  Yarbrough had suffered brain trauma from his crashes and he had also contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. He would die of a seizure on December 7, 1984. 

Perhaps fellow driver James Hylton summed it up best by stating “that doggone tick. The Rocky Mountain spotted fever—if it goes untreated, it’s a mental thing, and it’ll drive you insane. They gave Lee Roy so much medication when they finally did treat it that it eventually caused his death. He just deteriorated to the point where he was unmanageable. The man did not deserve that. Lee Roy was one of the good ones.”

Rest in Peace LeeRoy.