March 27, 1977
“Gwyn Staley 400”
Top 5 finishers.....
Qualifying for races at North Wilkesboro took on a new format beginning at the spring race in 1977. There was always a two day format, but on day one, positions 1-8 were filled. Day two’s qualifying filled spots 9-20. From there, a 20 lap heat race determined spots 21-30. The new two day format included everyone. All drivers put up qualifying times on day one and day two. The two day times were then averaged and the starting order was set by average times. Track owner Enoch Staley noted, “Usually, that means two different track conditions. The cars and drivers are here for practice runs on both days anyway, and we have more than doubled the qualifying prize money, to make it worth their while.” The first driver to score a pole at NWS under the new format was Neil Bonnett. Bonnett’s two day average was 20.923sec/107.537mph. Bonnett led the first 26 laps of the race. He finished 21st due to a crash. He completed 305 of the 400 laps.
The former turkey farmer, driving a car sponsored by a chicken company, won his third consecutive race at North Wilkesboro. Cale Yarborough started from the outside pole in his Holly Farms Chevrolet and led 320 laps in the race. The day was a special one for Cale—it was his 38th birthday. To this day, it is the only known occurance of a driver in NASCAR’s top series to win a race on his birthday.
Finishing 2nd after starting from the 7th position was Richard Petty. Petty led 25 laps in the race. In his career, Petty recorded 200 victories at the top level, but never won on his birthday (July 2). The closest he came was on July 6, 1969, at Dover. The main reason is because from 1959 to 1987, the Firecracker 250/500 at Daytona was run on exactly July 4th, regardless of what day of the week it fell on (another tradition that NASCAR decided to "trash"). Petty won Daytona's July race 3 times in his career, and in 1977 he won the race on a Monday. Under today’s format, that race would have fallen on Saturday, July 2nd. Because of all the years of racing on July 4th, Petty ran only one NASCAR race on his birthday—the Firecracker 400, in 1988. Petty finished 20th in that race. You don’t have to look it up because I already did....... 
Scoring his 10th career top five finish at NWS was Benny Parsons. He started from the fourth position. Parsons led 13 laps in the race and along with Richard Petty, finished on the lead lap. It was the first time since the fall race of 1973 that the top three finished on the lead lap.
Buddy Baker drove his Norris Industries sponsored Ford to a 4th place finish. Baker started Bud Moore owned Ford from the fifth spot. Matching Parsons, Baker also recorded his 10th career top five finish at NWS. Baker was the first car one lap down.
Driving a Matador sponsored by 1st National City Travelers Checks, Bobby Allison finished two laps behind the leader and finished 5th. Allison started the race from the sixth position and led 4 laps in the race. 1st National City Travelers Checks had their name on three cars in the race—Parsons, Allison and Skip Manning (26th place finish).
The race took 2 hours, 48 minutes, 38 seconds to complete. Yarborough crossed the finish line 6.4 seconds ahead of Petty. 20 of the 29 cars entered were running at the finish. Gary Myers started 23rd and finished 11th, improving 12 spots—the most of all the drivers. There were 6 cautions for 42 laps. The lap leaders were—Bonnett 1-26, Yarborough 27-32, Richard Childress 33-44, Yarborough 45-53, Parsons 54-57, Petty 58-82, Yarborough 83-109, Bobby Allison 110-112, Yarborough 113-230, Allison 231, Yarborough 232-311, Parsons 312-320, Yarborough 321-400.
The race marked the last Winston Cup appearance at NWS for regulars Clarence Henley Gray and David Sisco. Gray competed in 17 races at NWS and recorded a 5th place finish in the spring of 1966. Sisco ran in 8 Winston Cup events at the track and had a top finish of 10th in the fall of 1974.
Cale Yarborough keeping a tight grip on his trophy and birthday present.
Changes to the track following the spring race of 1977.....
A new safety fence was installed. Take a look back to recent photos and compare to the previous fence.
Jack Combs watches as new asphalt is laid down in the pits. The concrete surface that Combs stands on is also new. Notice in
both pictures—the “roof” over the grandstands at the start of the frontstretch is now gone. More improvements are coming.....