| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 29 of 30 in the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Layout of Rockingham Speedway | |||
| Date | October 20, 1974 | ||
| Official name | American 500 | ||
| Location | North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km) | ||
| Distance | 492 laps, 500 mi (804 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly with temperatures of 66.9 °F (19.4 °C); wind speeds of 11.8 miles per hour (19.0 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 118.493 mph (190.696 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 35,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Petty Enterprises | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Laps | 231 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 21 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1974 American 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on October 20, 1974, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.
Joe Millikan would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut while Jerry Schild would exit the series in this event. A rare NASCAR Winston Cup appearance by former Champ Car team owner and driver Tony Bettenhausen Jr. would make this race into a landmark event in motorsports history. His first NASCAR appearance was at the 1973 Atlanta 500 while his final appearance at the Cup Series level would be at the 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400.
- ^ Weather information for the 1974 American 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
1974a500was invoked but never defined (see the help page).