1968 National 500
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 47 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway | |||
| Date | October 12, 1968 | ||
| Official name | National 500 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi (2.414 km) | ||
| Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (804 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures approaching 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 135.234 miles per hour (217.638 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 38,300[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Cotton Owens | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Holman Moody | |
| Laps | 156 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 6 | Charlie Glotzbach | Cotton Owens | |
The 1968 National 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 20, 1968 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
The transition to purposely-built racers occurred gradually begain in the early 1960s. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s; most of the cars were trailered to events or hauled in by trucks.
Summary
There were 45 American-born drivers on the racing grid for this event.[2] Bud Moore scored the last-place finish of the race because he wanted to discontinue the race after only six laps.[2][3] It took more than three and a half hours to complete the 334 advertised laps.[2][3] Charlie Glotzbach defeated legendary driver Paul Goldsmith (a 1956 Southern 500 competitor) by a time of only seven seconds.[2][3] More than 38000 audience members would see 26 different changes; nine of the best drivers would compete for the first place spot for the race.[2][3] Six cautions would be waved by NASCAR officials for a total distance of 49 laps.[2]
The other drivers in the top ten included: David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, Pete Hamilton, Darel Dieringer, Bobby Isaac, and A.J. Foyt.[2][3] Roy Trantham, Bill Vanderhoff, and Lennie Waldo would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race.[3] Buddy Baker, considered at the time to be one of the notable names in stock car racing, blew his engine and span around the paved oval track in flames.[4] Country musician Marty Robbins would improve on his 22nd place start with a 12th-place finish with driving a 1967 Dodge Charger.[5]
The total prize purse of the race was $90,988 ($797,211.61 when adjusted for inflation); the winner received $19,280 of it ($168,926.01 when adjusted for inflation).[6] Carl Parsons (a mechanic of the team from Detroit, Michigan) drove the car #11 in qualifying but A.J. Foyt drove the car in the race.
References
- ^ Weather information for the 1968 National 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ^ a b c d e f g h 1968 National 500 racing information at Racing Reference. Accessed 2012-03-04. Archived 2012-03-06.
- ^ a b c d e f 1968 National 500 racing information at Race-Database.com. Accessed 2012-03-04. Archived 2012-03-06.
- ^ Baker Feels He Is Ready for "400" Test at Google News Archives
- ^ Marty Robbins' stats for the 1968 National 500 at MartyRobbins.net
- ^ 1968 National 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Accessed 2012-03-04. Archived 2012-03-06.