| 1972 Winston Western 500 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||
| @ Riverside on January 23, 1972 | ||||||||
| Note: Winston West Drivers Denoted in Gold Rows |
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Make | Laps | Led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 43 | Richard Petty | Plymouth | 149 | 39 | running |
| 2 | 16 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Chevrolet | 149 | 102 | running |
| 3 | 9 | 71 | Bobby Isaac | Dodge | 146 | 0 | running |
| 4 | 4 | 96 | Ray Elder | Dodge | 146 | 0 | running |
| 5 | 6 | 04 | Hershel McGriff | Plymouth | 145 | 0 | running |
| 6 | 12 | 32 | Kevin Terris | Plymouth | 141 | 0 | running |
| 7 | 10 | 48 | James Hylton | Ford | 141 | 0 | running |
| 8 | 11 | 64 | Elmo Langley | Ford | 139 | 0 | running |
| 9 | 7 | 39 | Friday Hassler | Chevrolet | 137 | 0 | running |
| 10 | 13 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Mercury | 137 | 0 | running |
| 11 | 25 | 3 | John Soares, Jr. | Dodge | 136 | 0 | running |
| 12 | 40 | 26 | Carl Joiner | Chevrolet | 135 | 0 | running |
| 13 | 5 | 02 | Dick Bown | Plymouth | 134 | 0 | running |
| 14 | 20 | 30 | Walter Ballard | Ford | 132 | 0 | running |
| 15 | 33 | 47 | Raymond Williams | Ford | 132 | 0 | running |
| 16 | 21 | 88 | Don Noel | Dodge | 132 | 0 | running |
| 17 | 38 | 77 | Charlie Roberts | Ford | 131 | 0 | running |
| 18 | 34 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Chevrolet | 128 | 0 | running |
| 19 | 26 | 91 | Johnny Anderson | Chevrolet | 126 | 0 | running |
| 20 | 36 | 07 | Ivan Baldwin | Chevrolet | 123 | 0 | running |
| 21 | 28 | 19 | Henley Gray | Ford | 122 | 0 | running |
| 22 | 27 | 6 | Jerry Oliver | Olds | 122 | 0 | running |
| 23 | 29 | 4 | Dick Kranzler | Chevrolet | 119 | 0 | running |
| 24 | 15 | 42 | Larry Esau | Chevrolet | 118 | 0 | running |
| 25 | 14 | 00 | Frank James | Chevrolet | 115 | 0 | fan blade |
| 26 | 31 | 15 | David Pearson | Ford | 112 | 0 | radiator |
| 27 | 23 | 8 | Ed Negre | Ford | 107 | 0 | engine |
| 28 | 1 | 21 | A.J. Foyt | Mercury | 107 | 8 | transmission |
| 29 | 18 | 79 | Frank Warren | Dodge | 102 | 0 | running |
| 30 | 35 | 61 | Jim Danielson | Mercury | 98 | 0 | brakes |
| 31 | 32 | 57 | David Ray Boggs | Dodge | 94 | 0 | rear end |
| 32 | 22 | 27 | Chuck Bown | Plymouth | 88 | 0 | crash |
| 33 | 24 | 75 | Paul Dorrity | Chevrolet | 78 | 0 | ignition |
| 34 | 30 | 88 | Ron Keselowski | Dodge | 60 | 0 | engine |
| 35 | 37 | 82 | Ron Gautsche | Ford | 55 | 0 | oil pressure |
| 36 | 19 | 7 | Jack McCoy | Dodge | 37 | 0 | ignition |
| 37 | 39 | 06 | Neil Castles | Dodge | 35 | 0 | suspension |
| 38 | 17 | 18 | Joe Frasson | Dodge | 30 | 0 | engine |
| 39 | 3 | 16 | Mark Donohue | Matador | 13 | 0 | rear end |
| 40 | 8 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Ford | 13 | 0 | crash |
The Race::1972 Winston Western 500 was a Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) - Winston West Series (now ) combination event held at Track::Riverside International Raceway on January 23, 1972. It was the season opener for both series. Eventual season champ Richard Petty moved past Bobby Allison with a few laps to go and had pulled away to a 61.5-second victory on Allison when the race was called due to rain.
Race Data[]
Lap leaders: A. Foyt 1-2, R. Petty 3-4, A. Foyt 5-6, B. Allison 7-73, A. Foyt 74-77, B. Allison 76-110, R. Petty 111-117, B. Allison 118-119, R. Petty 120-149