1967 Carolina 500
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| 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) | ||
| Attendance | 22,000[2] | ||
| 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 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on June 18, 1967, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.
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; most of the cars were trailered to events or hauled in by trucks.
Background
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]
Summary
From 1949 to 1972, Richard and Lee Petty were the most dominant drivers on any circuit in NASCAR. David Pearson was easily the third most dominant NASCAR driver. Buck Baker and Rex White were considered to be the middle-of-the road competitors in NASCAR from 1949 to 1972. Fonty and Tim Flock along with Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, Ned Jarrett and Bobby Isaac were considered to be below-average performers during the early years of NASCAR.
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.[4] Ten of the most notable crew chiefs of the late 1960s would make their appearance here; including Dale Inman, Harry Hyde and Glen Wood.[5]
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][6][7] This win would push Petty onto the top of the NASCAR standings for the first time in his entire career.[8] 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.[9]
Qualifying
| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | Dick Hutcherson | '67 Ford |
| 2 | 43 | Richard Petty | '67 Plymouth |
| 3 | 3 | Buddy Baker | '67 Dodge |
| 4 | 21 | Cale Yarborough | '67 Ford |
| 5 | 14 | Jim Paschal | '67 Plymouth |
| 6 | 16 | LeeRoy Yarbrough | '67 Mercury |
| 7 | 71 | Bobby Isaac | '67 Dodge |
| 8 | 99 | Paul Goldsmith | '67 Plymouth |
| 9 | 6 | Bobby Allison | '67 Dodge |
| 10 | 26 | Darel Dieringer | '67 Ford |
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.
- ^ "Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc". Fasttrackracing.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
- ^ "1967 Carolina 500 information (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- ^ "1967 Carolina 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
- ^ "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.