Other NASCAR regulars who competed in the 1973 USAC stock car race at Pocono included Dick May, Bruce Jacobi, D.K. Ulrich, Frank Warren and H.B. Bailey. The race also featured several USAC drivers who occasionally dabbled in Cup racing, including Ramo Stott, A.J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock and Jim Hurtubise.
The experience Petty gained during those USAC races helped his team prepare for NASCAR’s first event at Pocono.
During Pocono’s inaugural NASCAR race on Aug. 4, 1974, Petty had his famed No. 43 Dodge in the lead for 152 of 192 laps in the rain-shortened event after starting third behind pole winner Buddy Baker and second-place starter Bobby Allison.
It was one of 11 victories for Petty that season as he also won 10 Cup Series races, including the Daytona 500
“I like the track. Those three different straightaways are a challenge,” Petty told the Times Leader in Wilkes Barre, Pa., in 2015. “Racing was just a southern sport when it began. Look at it now. It’s all over the country and fans all over the world.”
Petty added, “Doc (Mattioli) was just starting out when we first came here. And he didn’t really know much about the racing business. But he sure learned.”
Eight-time championship-winning crew chief Dale Inman cites those USAC events of 1972 and ’73 for helping Petty Enterprises win the first Cup Series race at Pocono.
“We had a couple of off weekends back in the summer then and decided to go up to Pocono to race in USAC instead of taking some time off,” Inman said. “We went there in 1972 for that race and had a regular Plymouth while others in USAC we still using the Superbirds. We knocked the oil cooler off in that one and didn’t do so well but came back and won it in 1973. We had been there twice so that gave us a little bit of a head start when we went back for the first Cup Series race in 1974.”
Allison, driving the AMC Matador for motorsports icon Roger Penske in select superspeedway events during 1974, had a strong run going that day at Pocono and chose not to pit knowing heavy rain was on the way.
“Throughout my career, I had no problem racing anytime anywhere in a variety of different cars I owned or for team owners I drove for,” Allison said. “So when we went to Pocono for the first time for a Cup race in 1974, I had already raced there and was familiar with the track. I’ve always thought of Pocono as a personal favorite, even though my career ended there in 1988 (in a near-fatal crash). But I won several times there during my career and have great memories of that.
“I do remember having the Matador out front when the rain came (in 1974 at Pocono) and thought we might have a chance to win,” Allison continued. “I knew I was starting to have engine problems when the race was stopped for rain. I didn’t want to let on because I hadn’t pitted and was leading when NASCAR parked everyone on pit road. Even with a bad engine, there was a chance I had it won. We sat there for an hour and a half but ended up going back to green. I began to develop real engine issues and fell out of the race (on lap 154). It was a good idea not to pit when we were leading, but that didn’t go our way.”
It rained a second time eight laps from the scheduled checkered flag and Petty celebrated the victory.
The jovial Mattioli realized his dream of creating one of the most unique racing facilities in the world. Mattioli passed away in 2012, but his family continues to operate the track.
NASCAR’s longstanding place in Pocono Raceway history began with one of its biggest icons learning against competitors from another sanctioning body.