The Old Dominion 500, held on September 25, 1977, at Martinsville Speedway was the 25th race of the 30-event NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. This classic short-track battle covered 500 laps on the 0.526-mile paved oval in front of a crowd of 33,000. Neil Bonnett secured the pole position for the 30-car field in the #5 Jim Stacy Racing Dodge with a qualifying time of 87.637 seconds.
Cale Yarborough dominated the race in the #11 Holly Farms Chevrolet for Junior Johnson & Associates. He led a commanding 352 laps from his third starting position to claim victory. The top three finishers were Yarborough in first, Benny Parsons in second (driving the #72 King’s Row Fireplace Chevrolet, leading 73 laps and finishing just 0.8 seconds behind), and David Pearson in third (in the #21 Purolator Mercury, leading 35 laps). Richard Petty finished fourth in the #43 STP Dodge after completing 499 laps. The race lasted three hours and 34 minutes for an average speed of 73.440 mph. The race featured 13 lead changes and had nine cautions for 57 laps. This fall Martinsville event underscored Yarborough’s short-track mastery and his strong championship run for the 1977 season.
