| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 1973 Daytona 500 program cover | |||
| Date | February 18, 1973 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Cold with temperatures of 54.9 °F (12.7 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 157.205 miles per hour (252.997 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 103,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | K&K Insurance Racing | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Buddy Baker | Nord Krauskopf | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Coo Coo Marlin | H.B. Cunningham | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Buddy Baker | K&K Insurance Racing | |
| Laps | 156 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC's Wide World of Sports | ||
| Announcers |
Jim McKay Jackie Stewart Chris Economaki | ||
The 1973 Daytona 500, the 15th running of the event, was won by Richard Petty on February 18, 1973, at Daytona International Raceway in Daytona Beach, Florida.[2]
Four cautions slowed the race for 28 laps.[2] A crowd of over one hundred thousand came to see a field of 38 American and two Canadians (Earl Ross and Vic Parsons).[2] The average speed for the race was 157.205 miles per hour (252.997 km/h) while Buddy Baker achieved the pole position with a speed of 185.662 miles per hour (298.794 km/h).[2] Bobby Isaac would finish second to Richard Petty by more than two laps.[2]
Both Hollar and Jett participated in qualifying and were supposed to start in the 125s (Hollar was supposed to start 38th in race 1 and Jett was supposed to start 26th in race 2), but for whatever reason neither driver ended up participating.[2]