1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Standings
NASCAR drastically changed its points system for the 1974 season, and it proved to be the most confusing method ever used. Fractions of points were multiplied and remultiplied after each race. The concept was to award points in direct relation to money won.
 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Richard Petty |
Under the peculiar system, the 1-2 finishers in the rich Daytona 500 were virtually assured of a 1-2 finish in the final standings. Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough finished first and second at Daytona and ranked 1-2 in the final standings. All drama for the points chase ended in February. Petty and Yarborough had their Daytona points added to their point total after each event, making it virtually impossible for anyone to overtake them.
In the Darlington Southern 500, Petty crashed early and placed 35th, yet still had more points added to his total than Darrell Waltrip, who finished second.
Petty accumulated 5,037.75 points, compared to Yarborough's runner-up total of 4,470.30. David Pearson finished third with 2,389.25 points. Thankfully, the system was changed after only one year. See the chart below to find the year's other standings.
1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Standings
| Rank
|
Driver | Points | Wins | Earnings |
| 1
|
Richard Petty | 5,037.75 | 10 | $432,019.00 |
| 2
|
Cale Yarborough |
4,470.30 | 10 | 363,781.10 |
| 3
|
David Pearson |
2,389.25 | 7 |
252,818.92 |
| 4
|
Bobby Allison |
2,019.19 | 2 | 178,436.90 |
| 5
|
Benny Parsons |
1,591.50 | 0 | 185,079.72 |
| 6
|
Dave Marcis |
1,378.20 | 0 |
83,376.01 |
| 7
|
Buddy Baker |
1,016.88 | 0 |
151,024.62 |
| 8
|
Earl Ross |
1,009.47 | 1 |
81,198.50 |
| 9
|
Cecil Gordon |
1,000.65 | 0
|
66,165.32 |
| 10
|
David Sisco |
956.20 | 0
|
58,312.32 |
| 11
|
James Hylton |
924.95 | 0
|
61,384.32 |
| 12
|
J.D. McDuffie |
920.85 | 0
|
59,534.32 |
| 13
|
Bill Champion | 820.84 0 | 0 |
55,778.66 |
| 14
|
Frank Warren |
775.44 | 0
|
52,712.32 |
| 15
|
Walter Ballard |
748.44 | 0
|
54,038.32 |
| 16
|
Richard Childress |
735.44 | 0
|
50,248.30 |
| 17
|
Donnie Allison |
728.80 | 0
|
60,314.30 |
| 18
|
Lennie Pond |
723.25 | 0
|
55,989.30 |
| 19
|
Darrell Waltrip |
609.97 | 0
|
67,774.30 |
| 20
|
Tony Bettenhausen |
601.69 | 0
|
38,994.30 |
| 21
|
Jackie Rogers |
587.88 | 0
|
32,367.00 |
| 22
|
Coo Coo Marlin |
581.67 | 0
|
41,759.00 |
| 23
|
Ed Negre |
534.30 | 0
|
24,622.00 |
| 24
|
Bob Burcham |
445.50 | 0
|
27,923.00 |
| 25
|
Elmo Langley |
433.78 | 0
|
24,722.00 |
| 26
|
Charlie Glotzbach |
293.09 | 0
|
33,072.00 |
| 27
|
Dick Brooks |
267.52 | 0 |
22,760.00 |
| 28
|
Joe Frasson |
240.80 | 0
|
22,629.00 |
| 29
|
George Follmer | 230.49 | 0
|
53,780.00 |
| 30
|
Buddy Arrington |
221.20 | 0
|
21,510.00 |
| 31
|
Bill Champion |
207.72 | 0
|
13,480.00 |
| 32
|
D.K. Ulrich |
155.32 | 0
|
11,955.00 |
| 33
|
Bobby Isaac |
152.95 | 0
|
23,442.00 |
| 34
|
Travis Tiller |
146.44 | 0
|
11,410.00 |
| 35
|
Roy Mayne |
141.72 | 0
|
15,284.00 |
| 36
|
Ben Arnold |
125.44 | 0
|
12,375.00 |
| 37
|
Neil Castles |
123.56 | 0
|
12,479.00 |
| 38
|
G.C. Spencer |
96.80 | 0
|
12,985.00 |
| 39
|
Ramo Stott |
82.95 | 0
|
23,705.00 |
| 40
|
Jim Vandiver | 71.40 | 0
|
15,909.00 |
| 41
|
Dan Daugherty | 63.04 | 0
|
12,413.00 |
| 42
|
Jabe Thomas | 49.14 | 0
|
7,445.00 |
| 43
|
Gary Bettenhausen | 49.00 | 0 |
10,350.00 |
| 44
|
A.J. Foyt | 41.22 | 0
|
15,560.00 |
| 45
|
Jerry Schild | 35.37 | 0
|
8,395.00 |
| 46
|
Earle Canavan | 34.92 | 0
|
6,570.00 |
| 47
|
Dick Trickle | 24.78 | 0
|
10,828.00 |
| 48
|
Marty Robbins | 23.78 | 0
|
5,734.00 |
| 49
|
Alton Jones | 20.40 | 0
|
4,080.00 |
| 50
|
Herschel McGriff | 20.34 | 0
|
8,585.00 |
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