The 1974 Mason-Dixon 500 was a 450-lap NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 19, 1974, at Dover Downs International Speedway in Delaware. Due to the ongoing energy crisis, NASCAR shortened all races by 10%, reducing this event from the traditional 500 laps. A crowd of 32,000 fans watched a 35-car field take the green flag.
David Pearson captured the pole position with a speed of 134.403 mph. The race featured nine lead changes among three drivers and was slowed by three cautions for 25 laps. Cale Yarborough, driving the #11 Kar-Kraft Mercury for Junior Johnson, emerged victorious by 20 seconds over David Pearson with an average race speed of 115.057 mph. Richard Petty finished third after dominating much of the afternoon — he held a comfortable lead but suffered a blown engine with only three laps remaining. Benny Parsons finished fourth and George Follmer rounded out the top five.
This dramatic late-race misfortune for Petty allowed Yarborough to claim his first Mason-Dixon 500 victory at Dover.
