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1968 American 500

November 18, 2023

The 1968 American 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 27, 1968, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.

1968 American 500
Race details[1]
Race 48 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Rockingham Speedway
Date October 27, 1968 (1968-October-27)
Official name American 500
Location North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.017 mi (1.636 km)
Distance 492 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures of 67.3 °F (19.6 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)
Average speed 105.06 miles per hour (169.08 km/h)
Attendance 32,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 216
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s.

Background edit

North Carolina Motor Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School,[3]

Race report edit

There were 44 drivers who managed to qualify for this event. Only one foreigner was present – Australian-born driver Frank Gardner – would become the last-place driver due to an incident requiring a black flag on the first lap. He would become the "prototype" for Cup Series driver Marcos Ambrose even though Garnder would never run another Cup Series race after this one. Gardner's last-place finish within the confines of the American stock car world was eventually overshadowed by his championship victory at the 1968 British Saloon Car Championship while driving a European version of the Ford Escort Twin Cam.[4]

American-born driver Dexter Gainey would be black-flagged exactly forty laps later and would be disqualified as well. Wendell Scott would become the lowest-finishing driver to complete the event; albeit 191 laps behind the lead lap drivers.[2] Five hundred laps was raced at this event for a duration for four hours and forty-five minutes. Speeds on the track would reach around 105.06 miles per hour or 169.08 kilometres per hour for the entire course of this race. Thirty-two thousand spectators would witness another Richard Petty victory with him out-racing David Pearson by a time of fifteen seconds. LeeRoy Yarbrough would finish in third place, and two laps behind the top two finishers.[2] Petty was running an older chassis with current sheet metal because he could not get his 1968 vehicle to run on a super-speedway. Shortly after this race, his switch to Ford for 1969 was announced.

Cale Yarborough's solo qualifying performance of 118.677 miles per hour (190.992 km/h) would help him clinch the pole position for the event. While Yarborough and Bobby Isaac would dominate the opening laps of this event, the event ended up being a "Petty and Pearson" show for the final 100 laps. Glotzbach quit after he turned Bud Moore into the wall separating pit road from the racetrack on lap 59. Moore swerved to avoid a loose wheel on pit road and swerved into Glotzbach's path. Glotzbach was penalized a lap for the crash, so he parked the car.[2]

Individual race winnings for the drivers ranged from the winner's share of $17,075 ($143,691 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $515 ($4,334 when adjusted for inflation). The entire prize purse that was handed out to all the qualifying participants was $69,800 ($587,389 when adjusted for inflation).[5] Twelve notable crew chiefs were reported as participating in the race; including Jake Elder, Bud Moore, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews, Dale Inman, Harry Hyde and Junior Johnson.[6]

Qualifying edit

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 21 Cale Yarborough '68 Mercury
2 17 David Pearson '68 Dodge
3 71 Bobby Isaac '68 Dodge
4 43 Richard Petty '68 Plymouth
5 99 Paul Goldsmith '68 Dodge
6 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough '68 Ford
7 6 Charlie Glotzbach '68 Dodge
8 14 Bobby Allison '68 Plymouth
9 16 Tiny Lund '68 Mercury
10 3 Buddy Baker '68 Dodge
11 22 Darell Dieringer '68 Plymouth
12 1 Pete Hamilton '68 Dodge
13 27 Donnie Allison '68 Ford
14 91 Don White '68 Dodge
15 29 Bud Moore '68 Ford
16 84 G.C. Spencer '68 Ford
17 48 James Hylton '68 Dodge
18 75 Butch Hartman '68 Dodge
19 4 John Sears '67 Ford
20 03 Richard Brickhouse '67 Plymouth

Finishing order edit

Section reference: [2]

  1. Richard Petty
  2. David Pearson
  3. LeeRoy Yarbrough
  4. Tiny Lund
  5. Bobby Allison
  6. Don White
  7. James Hylton
  8. G.C. Spencer
  9. Richard Brickhouse
  10. Butch Hartman
  11. John Sears
  12. Friday Hassler
  13. Bobby Johns
  14. Bill Seifert
  15. Clyde Lynn
  16. Donnie Allison
  17. Bobby Isaac
  18. Earl Brooks
  19. Roy Tyner
  20. Walson Gardner
  21. Henley Gray
  22. Dick Johnson
  23. Jabe Thomas
  24. Dave Marcis
  25. Buddy Baker
  26. Cale Yarborough
  27. Wendell Scott
  28. Bill Champion
  29. Paul Goldsmith
  30. Tommy Gale
  31. Red Farmer
  32. Neil Castles
  33. Darrell Dieringer
  34. Pete Hamilton
  35. J.D. McDuffie
  36. James Sears
  37. Don Tarr
  38. Ervin Pruett
  39. E.J. Trivette
  40. Elmo Langley
  41. Charlie Glotzbach
  42. Bud Moore
  43. Dexter Gainey
  44. Frank Gardner

References edit

  1. ^ Weather information for the 1968 American 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c d e f Racing information for the 1968 American 500 at Racing Reference
  3. ^ "Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc". Fasttrackracing.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  4. ^ Official list of BTCC champions 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine at British Touring Car Championship
  5. ^ Racing information for the 1968 American 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  6. ^ 1968 American 500 crew chief information at Racing Reference
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Season
1968 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
1967
 American 500 races
1968 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
1968 Wilkes 400
 Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984 		Succeeded by

November 18, 2023
1968, american, nascar, grand, national, series, event, that, held, october, 1968, north, carolina, motor, speedway, rockingham, north, carolina, race, details, race, 1968, nascar, grand, national, series, seasonlayout, rockingham, speedwaydateoctober, 1968, 1. The 1968 American 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 27 1968 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham North Carolina 1968 American 500Race details 1 Race 48 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series seasonLayout of Rockingham SpeedwayDateOctober 27 1968 1968 October 27 Official nameAmerican 500LocationNorth Carolina Motor Speedway Rockingham North CarolinaCoursePermanent racing facility1 017 mi 1 636 km Distance492 laps 500 mi 804 km WeatherChilly with temperatures of 67 3 F 19 6 C wind speeds of 9 9 miles per hour 15 9 km h Average speed105 06 miles per hour 169 08 km h Attendance32 000 2 Pole positionDriverCale YarboroughWood Brothers RacingMost laps ledDriverRichard PettyPetty EnterprisesLaps216WinnerNo 43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesTelevision in the United StatesNetworkuntelevisedAnnouncersnone The transition to purpose built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the strictly stock vehicles of the 1950s Contents 1 Background 2 Race report 2 1 Qualifying 3 Finishing order 4 ReferencesBackground editNorth Carolina Motor Speedway was opened as a flat one mile oval on October 31 1965 In 1969 the track was extensively reconfigured to a high banked D shaped oval just over one mile in length In 1997 North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports and was renamed North Carolina Speedway Shortly thereafter the infield was reconfigured and competition on the infield road course mostly by the SCCA was discontinued Currently the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School 3 Race report editThere were 44 drivers who managed to qualify for this event Only one foreigner was present Australian born driver Frank Gardner would become the last place driver due to an incident requiring a black flag on the first lap He would become the prototype for Cup Series driver Marcos Ambrose even though Garnder would never run another Cup Series race after this one Gardner s last place finish within the confines of the American stock car world was eventually overshadowed by his championship victory at the 1968 British Saloon Car Championship while driving a European version of the Ford Escort Twin Cam 4 American born driver Dexter Gainey would be black flagged exactly forty laps later and would be disqualified as well Wendell Scott would become the lowest finishing driver to complete the event albeit 191 laps behind the lead lap drivers 2 Five hundred laps was raced at this event for a duration for four hours and forty five minutes Speeds on the track would reach around 105 06 miles per hour or 169 08 kilometres per hour for the entire course of this race Thirty two thousand spectators would witness another Richard Petty victory with him out racing David Pearson by a time of fifteen seconds LeeRoy Yarbrough would finish in third place and two laps behind the top two finishers 2 Petty was running an older chassis with current sheet metal because he could not get his 1968 vehicle to run on a super speedway Shortly after this race his switch to Ford for 1969 was announced Cale Yarborough s solo qualifying performance of 118 677 miles per hour 190 992 km h would help him clinch the pole position for the event While Yarborough and Bobby Isaac would dominate the opening laps of this event the event ended up being a Petty and Pearson show for the final 100 laps Glotzbach quit after he turned Bud Moore into the wall separating pit road from the racetrack on lap 59 Moore swerved to avoid a loose wheel on pit road and swerved into Glotzbach s path Glotzbach was penalized a lap for the crash so he parked the car 2 Individual race winnings for the drivers ranged from the winner s share of 17 075 143 691 when adjusted for inflation to the last place finisher s share of 515 4 334 when adjusted for inflation The entire prize purse that was handed out to all the qualifying participants was 69 800 587 389 when adjusted for inflation 5 Twelve notable crew chiefs were reported as participating in the race including Jake Elder Bud Moore Glen Wood Banjo Matthews Dale Inman Harry Hyde and Junior Johnson 6 Qualifying edit Grid 2 No Driver Manufacturer1 21 Cale Yarborough 68 Mercury2 17 David Pearson 68 Dodge3 71 Bobby Isaac 68 Dodge4 43 Richard Petty 68 Plymouth5 99 Paul Goldsmith 68 Dodge6 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough 68 Ford7 6 Charlie Glotzbach 68 Dodge8 14 Bobby Allison 68 Plymouth9 16 Tiny Lund 68 Mercury10 3 Buddy Baker 68 Dodge11 22 Darell Dieringer 68 Plymouth12 1 Pete Hamilton 68 Dodge13 27 Donnie Allison 68 Ford14 91 Don White 68 Dodge15 29 Bud Moore 68 Ford16 84 G C Spencer 68 Ford17 48 James Hylton 68 Dodge18 75 Butch Hartman 68 Dodge19 4 John Sears 67 Ford20 03 Richard Brickhouse 67 PlymouthFinishing order editSection reference 2 Richard Petty David Pearson LeeRoy Yarbrough Tiny Lund Bobby Allison Don White James Hylton G C Spencer Richard Brickhouse Butch Hartman John Sears Friday Hassler Bobby Johns Bill Seifert Clyde Lynn Donnie Allison Bobby Isaac Earl Brooks Roy Tyner Walson Gardner Henley Gray Dick Johnson Jabe Thomas Dave Marcis Buddy Baker Cale Yarborough Wendell Scott Bill Champion Paul Goldsmith Tommy Gale Red Farmer Neil Castles Darrell Dieringer Pete Hamilton J D McDuffie James Sears Don Tarr Ervin Pruett E J Trivette Elmo Langley Charlie Glotzbach Bud Moore Dexter Gainey Frank GardnerReferences edit Weather information for the 1968 American 500 at The Old Farmers Almanac a b c d e f Racing information for the 1968 American 500 at Racing Reference Fast Track High Performance Driving School Inc Fasttrackracing com Retrieved 2012 07 16 Official list of BTCC champions Archived 2011 07 16 at the Wayback Machine at British Touring Car Championship Racing information for the 1968 American 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet 1968 American 500 crew chief information at Racing Reference Preceded by1968 National 500 NASCAR Grand National Season1968 Succeeded by1968 Peach State 200Preceded by1967 American 500 races1968 Succeeded by1969Preceded by1968 Wilkes 400 Richard Petty s Career Wins1960 1984 Succeeded byNovember 1969 Georgia 500 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1968 American 500 amp oldid 1174029532, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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