The NAPA National 500, held on October 9, 1977, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, was the 27th race of the 30-event NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. The announced purse for the event was $223,520 with $41,000 going to the winner. This 500-mile event covered 334 laps on the 1.5-mile quad-oval superspeedway. David Pearson won the pole position in the #21 Purolator Mercury with a qualifying speed of 160.982 mph.
Benny Parsons claimed victory in the #72 King’s Row Fireplace Chevrolet for L.G. DeWitt Racing after starting eighth and leading a dominant 250 laps. The top three finishers were Parsons in first, Cale Yarborough in second (driving the #11 Holly Farms Chevrolet for Junior Johnson & Associates, leading 26 laps and finishing one lap down after 333 laps), and David Pearson in third (also on 333 laps, leading 2 laps). The race lasted three hours and 30 minutes with an average speed of 142.780 mph and featured 18 lead changes among seven drivers. There were four cautions for the race that had 79,400 spectators. This fall classic at Charlotte highlighted Parsons’ strong late-season form and the competitive battles in the 1977 season during the classic 1970s stock car era.
