1967 Carolina 500
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 25 of 49 in the 1967 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 Layout of Rockingham Speedway | |||
| Date | June 18, 1967 | ||
| Official name | Carolina 500 | ||
| Location | North Carolina Motor Speedway (Rockingham, North Carolina, USA) | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi (1.600 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 500 mi (804 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures between 72.3 °F (22.4 °C) and 81.3 °F (27.4 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 104.682 miles per hour (168.469 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Bondy Long | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Laps | 249 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1967 Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on June 18, 1967, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.
Summary
The 500-lap race took four hours and forty-six minutes to resolve itself in front of twenty-two thousand live spectators.[2] Nine cautions were given for 45 laps.[3]
Dick Hutcherson won the pole position with a speed of 116.486 miles per hour (187.466 km/h).[2] However, it would be Richard Petty that would ultimately defeat Buddy Baker after outlapping him at least once in the race.[2][4][5] This win would push Petty onto the top of the NASCAR standings for the first time in his entire career.[6] Petty's winning dynasty would eventually expand to 200 career race wins and multiple championship wins (that were contended in the 1970s by fellow contender Darrell Waltrip). Most of the manufacturers in this race were either Chevrolet or Ford; with a few other brands as the minority on the racing grid.[2] Buddy Baker was the favorite to win the race but a slow pit stop eventually cost him the opportunity to win. Engine problems and crashes were the primary reasons that drivers didn't finish the race.[2]
All of the 44 drivers on the racing grid were born in the United States of America; as the series was unknown to foreigners during this era.[2] J.T. Putney would receive the last-place finish of the race due to a crash on lap 2.[2] Johnny Allen and Gary Sain would retire from NASCAR after the end of this race.[7]
Finishing order
- Richard Petty
- Buddy Baker†
- Dick Hutcherson†
- Cale Yarborough
- Darel Dieringer†
- Paul Lewis
- Charlie Glotzbach
- James Hylton
- John Sears*†
- Jim Paschal†
- Bill Dennis
- Paul Goldsmith*
- Clyde Lynn†
- Earl Brooks†
- Paul Dean Holt
- Bobby Isaac*†
- Buck Baker*†
- LeeRoy Yarbrough*†
- Neil Castles*
- Ed Negre
- David Pearson*
- Roy Tyner*†
- Doug Cooper*
- Elmo Langley*†
- Bobby Wawak*†
- Roy Mayne*
- Henley Gray*
- Jabe Thomas*
- Bill Seifert*
- Wendell Scott*†
- G. C. Spencer*†
- Tiny Lund*†
- Dick Johnson*
- Wayne Smith*
- Johnny Allen*
- Bobby Allison*
- George Davis*
- Frank Warren*
- Buddy Arrington*
- Bobby Johns*
- Ken Spikes*
- Gary Sain*
- Armond Holley*
- J.T. Putney*†
* denotes that the driver failed to finish the race.
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
References
- ^ "1967 Carolina 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "1967 Carolina 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
- ^ "1967 Carolina 500 information (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- ^ "1967 Carolina 500 information (third reference)". Everything Stock Car. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "1967 Carolina 500 information (fourth reference)". Database Racing. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
- ^ "Richard Petty 1967 NASCAR season points information". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- ^ "1967 Carolina 500 retirement information". Race Database. Retrieved 2011-08-12.