July 20, 1974 - 250 Miles - Purse $40,260

Local favorite Darrell Waltrip won his first pole of his career while driving a 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.  The Franklin TN resident ran a 101.274 mph lap over the .596 mile rack.  During his career, Waltrip would capture 59 poles in NASCAR Cup series  competition.

   The 1974 Nashville 420 took four days for an official winner to be declared due to a protest made by Bobby Allison.  The Hueytown, Alabama driver claimed that Cale Yarborough gained a lap when the pace car picked up the wrong leader.  Allison told NASCAR  that even though Yarborough had taken the checkered flag, he was the actual race leader.  Officials at NASCAR - Daytona reviewed the scoring cards and ruled that Allison was correct in his assertion.  However, they decided to let Yarborough's victory stand. The picture at right shows both cars pulled into victory lane after the race (Photo: Fred Marchman)

After a wreck on lap 41, the pace car picked up the wrong leader. This error put Charlie Glotzbach in the Junie Donlevay car into the lead. Both Glotzbach and Yarborough incorrectly picked up a lap on the field. NASCAR would hold up Glotzbach to correct the error but failed to do so with Yarborough. The Allison team was informed by NASCAR Chief Steward Johnny Bruner that if an error had been made, it would be corrected before the end of the race.  Unfortunately, it never was and the win would go to a car which was a lap behind.

NASCAR's Competition Director Lin Kuchler would state some four days after the race "There's no reason to make an excuse, somebody missed something. It certainly wasn't intentional. I have no reason to doubt what Allison said. We just made a mistake."

Bobby Allison would state a few days after NASCAR's decision "It doesn't make any sense but why should it? It's what you expect from NASCAR.

Only 12 cars would be running at the end of the race.



The start of the 1974 Nashville 420		  

Dave Marcis' Dodge
     


The Chevrolet Monte Carlo of pole sitter Darrell Waltrip		    

An aerial view of the track in 1974
     

 
Average Speed:  76.368 mph Time of Race:    3:10:40 Margin:    1/2 Lap
Pole Winner:        Darrell Waltrip  101.274 mph Attendance:     18,000 Cautions:  4 for 57 Laps
Lap Leaders:        Waltrip 1-16, Yarborough 17-29, Allison 30-43, Glotzbach 44-66, Petty 67-167. Yarborough 168-172, Sisco 173-174, Petty 175-253, Yarborough 254-293, Allison 294-306,Yarborough 307-351, Petty 352-353, Allison 354-389, Yarborough 390-420
 
DriverDDriver Fin Str Car Team / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led

Cale Yarborough 1 2 11 Carling   - Junior Johnson & Assoc 74 Chevrolet 420 8,025 Running 134
Bobby Allison 2 11 12 Coca-Cola   -
Bobby Allison Racing		 72 Chevrolet 420 3,675 Running 63
Darrell Waltrip 3 1 95 Terminal Transport  -  Darrell Waltrip 72 Chevrolet 416 2,855 Running 16
David Sisco 4 6 5 Reliable Plumbing  -  David Sisco 74 Chevrolet 416 1,675 Running 2
Alton Jones 5 17 68 Crimson Dale Nursery  - Butch Hawkersmith 72 Chevrolet 415 1,230 Running 0
Charlie Glotzbach 6 5 90 Truxmore -
Junie Donleavy 		72 Ford 415 1,195 Running 23
Benny Parsons 7 8 72 King's Row Fireplace -  L.G. DeWitt 72 Chevrolet 413 3,275 Running 0
Earl Ross 8 13 52 Carling - Junior Johnson & Assoc 74 Chevrolet 413 950 Running 0
Buddy Arrington 9 19 67 J.R. Stanley Trucking   -  Buddy Arrington 72 Plymouth 404 1,740 Running 0
Richie Panch 10 15 98 Tuxedo Plumbing  -   Roy Thornley 72 Chevrolet 402 990 Running 0
Tony Bettenhausen 11 23 9 Vita Fresh Orange Juice  - Gordon Van Liew 72 Chevrolet 376 835 Running 0
D.K. Ulrich 12 27 40 Noel's Auto Parts  -
D K Ulrich		 72 Chevrolet 369 575 Running 0
Richard Petty 13 3 43 STP -  Petty Enterprises 74 Dodge 353 2,715 Crash 182

Henley Gray 14 21 7 Belden Asphalt   -
Dean Dalton 		73 Chevrolet 332 550 Crash 0
Dean Dalton 15 12 19 Henley Gray 74 Chevrolet 307 510 Rear end 0
Ernie Shaw 16 30 75 Hawks Enterprises 72 Chevrolet 304 470 Engine 0
Bobby Ore 17 28 86 Bobby Black 72 Chevrolet 297 440 Engine 0
Elmo Langley 18 25 64 Elmo Langley 72 Ford 243 390 Engine 0
Dub Simpson 19 24 51 Bill Strong 72 Chevrolet 157 340 Engine 0
Cecil Gordon 20 10 24 Cecil Gordon 72 Chevrolet 109 735 Crash 0
Dave Marcis 21 18 2 Deppe Enterprises -  Dave Marcis 73 Dodge 75 615 Engine 0
James Hylton 22 16 48 James Hylton 74 Chevrolet 74 615 Engine 0
Richard Childress 23 14 96 L.C. Newton Trucking Tom Garn 73 Chevrolet 55 620 Clutch 0
Roy Mayne 24 26 25 Star City Body Shop -  Don Robertson 73 Dodge 43 250 Crash 0
Buddy Baker 25 4 15 R.C. Cola    - Bud Moore 73 Ford 41 2,360 Crash 0
Walter Ballard 26 20 30 Ballard Racing   74 Chevrolet 40 585 Crash 0
J.D. McDuffie 27 9 70 J D McDuffie 72 Chevrolet 37 710 Crash 0
Coo Coo Marlin 28 7 14 Cunningham-Kelley   H.B. Cunningham 73 Chevrolet 26 585 Engine 0
Ed Negre 29 29 8 Ed Negre 73 Dodge 26 250 Engine 0
Frank Warren 30 22 79 Frank Warren 74 Dodge 17 500 Oil leak 0