On November 24, 1974, a crowd of 43,348 fans filled Ontario Motor Speedway in California for the season-ending Los Angeles Times 500 — the 30th and final race of the NASCAR Winston Cup season. A competitive 40-car field took to the 2.5-mile paved oval for 200 laps in this championship-deciding event.
Richard Petty started on pole with a strong qualifying speed of 149.940 mph and ran well at the start of the race, leading 89 laps. However, his day ended early with an engine failure on lap 188, forcing him to finish 15th.
Bobby Allison, driving the #12 Penske Racing AMC Matador, capitalized on the late cautions and challenges to take the lead and win by 48 seconds over David Pearson. Cale Yarborough finished third, followed by A.J. Foyt in fourth and Buddy Baker in fifth. The race saw three caution periods for a total of 17 laps, with a final average speed of 134.963 mph.
Allison earned $15,125 for the victory. In a post-race twist, he was fined $9,100 for using illegal valve lifters — but NASCAR allowed him to keep both the win and the championship points.
The season concluded with Richard Petty claiming his fifth Winston Cup championship, finishing a commanding 567.45 points ahead of Cale Yarborough. Canadian driver Earl Ross was named Rookie of the Year.
