1968 National 500
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Cotton Owens | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Holman Moody | |
| Laps | 156 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 6 | Charlie Glotzbach | Cotton Owens | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1968 National 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on October 20, 1968 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, 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
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]
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.