The 1972 Wilkes 400 was held on October 1 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina. The 0.625-mile short track hosted its traditional 400-lap (250-mile) NASCAR Winston Cup event with a 30-car field and an attendance of 16,000.
Buddy Baker won the pole in the No. 71 K&K Insurance Dodge with a qualifying speed of 105.922 mph. Richard Petty and Bobby Allison put on one of the most memorable battles in track history. The race saw just one caution for 12 laps and was completed at an average speed of 95.816 mph.
Petty earned $7,200 for the victory, beating Bobby Allison by two car lengths in a thrilling finish. Buddy Baker finished third, Benny Parsons fourth, and John Sears fifth (subbing for Fred Lorenzen in the Hoss Ellington No. 28 entry after Lorenzen failed to show).
The final 25 laps were intense: Petty and Allison traded the lead multiple times while banging fenders aggressively. Allison led a race-high 239 laps, but Petty took the lead on the final lap after heavy contact. Both cars were heavily damaged by the end. In Victory Lane, an intoxicated fan tried to attack Petty but was confronted by Maurice Petty with a helmet.
This race epitomized the fierce Petty-Allison rivalry and remains one of the wildest short-track finishes in NASCAR history.
