RFACTOR 2 NASCAR TRACKS SERIES

This was the year when Mercury and Chevy (who ultimately won the title) had a slugging match while AMC, Ford, Dodge, Plymouth, Buick, and Oldsmobile all battled behind them. Many of the greats would bang doors at ridiculous speeds with no more than steel and hope between themselves and a potentially life-ending crash. David Pearson would also give the Wood Bros a win at Talladega.

AJ Foyt would take his famous Purolator car to a Daytona 500 victory the same weekend Raymond Hassler would lose his life qualifying for that race. Bobby Allison started racing his Chevrolet.

This would be Richard Petty’s first year with his iconic sponsor, STP. To that end, in 1972, many of the smaller dirt track rounds were dropped and there was a focus on bigger speedways, a new points structure, larger purses, and culling the schedule from 48 events to just 31. One of the side effects of the Winston Cup was there was a push for more prestige and TV exposure. The Grand National title would shift to the next lower-tier class (Late Model Sportsman), later being sponsored by Busch.

RFACTOR 2 NASCAR TRACKS SERIES

The top class of cars was known as the Grand National series and inherited the title Winston Cup starting in the 71 season.

A controversial affair as tobacco advertising had been banned on TV at that point and the cigarette company found the sport to be a fertile field to hock its wares off the air (and on-air as billboards were still allowed). But most importantly, the year marked the first time the series had garnered a title sponsor: R.J. Cars were heavily modified and no longer “stock”. 7 years before the infamous Yarborough/Allison fight on national TV rocketed these racers to stardom, America’s favorite motorsport had been steadily gaining popularity. It’s the dawn of a new era in North American stock car racing.

Rfactor 2 nascar tracks