1969 Georgia 500 (November 1968)

This article is about the 1969 Georgia 500 held in 1968. For the 1969 Georgia 500 held in 1969, see 1969 Georgia 500 (November 1969).

1969 Georgia 500

Race details[1]
Race 1 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date	November 17, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-11-17)
Official name	Georgia 500
Location	Middle Georgia Raceway, Byron, Georgia
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.548 mi (0.882 km)
Distance	500 laps, 227 mi (441 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching of 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds of 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)
Average speed	81.079 miles per hour (130.484 km/h)
Attendance	6,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	David Pearson	Holman Moody
Most laps led
Driver	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
Laps	362
Winner
No. 43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1969 Georgia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on November 17, 1968, at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia.

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.

Race report

Thirty drivers qualified for this 500-lap racing event that took three hours and eight minutes to complete. Most of the field was driving vehicles made by Ford.^[2] J.D. McDuffie ended up becoming the last-place finisher due to a problem with his engine on lap 20. Ed Negre was the lowest finishing driver to complete the race regardless of being 206 laps behind the drivers on the lead lap. Six thousand excited NASCAR fans were eager to see Richard Petty defeat David Pearson by a margin of five seconds.^[2]

J.D. McDuffie's vehicle developed engine problems on lap 20. Jabe Thomas's vehicle developed similar issues on lap 26. An oil leak took Bill Champion out of the race on lap 81 while Don Tomberlin's engine stopped working normally on lap 90. The rear end of Don Tarr's vehicle became dangerously loose on lap 94. Driveshaft problems relegated Darel Dieringer to the sidelines on lap 119. E.J. Trivette managed to overheat his vehicle on lap 140. Ervin Pruitt no longer had a safe rear end for his vehicle on lap 162. Earl Brooks inflicted terminal damage on his vehicle on lap 189. G.C. Spencer lost the rear end of his vehicle on lap 210. Wayne Smith fell out with engine failure on lap 222.^[2]

Bobby Allison's vehicle no longer had a rear end on lap 252; forcing his exit from the race. Engine problems forced Bobby Isaac out of the race on lap 315 while a terminal crash took LeeRoy Yarbrough out of the race on lap 316. Friday Hassler's engine problems were unfortunate enough to kick him out of the race on lap 476 with a "fortunate" sixth-place finish.^[2]

From the halfway point (lap 251) to the end of the event, Petty and Pearson didn't allow the lead to escape their collective grasps. David Pearson, Bobby Isaac, and Bobby Allison all dominated the opening 100 laps of this racing event. The average racing speed was 85.121 miles per hour (136.989 km/h); which was overshadowed by David Pearson's solo qualifying speed of 95.472 miles per hour (153.647 km/h).^[2] Thankfully, this would be the final time that NASCAR followed the old tradition of starting the season in November.^[2]

Notable crew chiefs for the race were Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Mario Rossi, Dick Hutcherson, and John Hill.^[3] Individual driver earnings from this racing event ranged from the winner's share of $3,500 ($30,666 when considering inflation) to the lowest possible earnings of $150 ($1,314 when considering inflation).^[2]

Organizers were authorized to hand over a grand total of $16,935 for all the qualifying drivers ($148,380 when considering inflation).^[4]

Qualifying

Grid[2]	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Owner
1	17	David Pearson	'68 Ford	Holman-Moody Racing
2	71	Bobby Isaac	'68 Dodge	Nord Krauskopf
3	14	Bobby Allison	'68 Plymouth	Tom Friedkin
4	22	Darel Dieringer	'68 Plymouth	Mario Rossi
5	43	Richard Petty	'68 Plymouth	Petty Enterprises
6	48	James Hylton	'68 Dodge	James Hylton
7	39	Friday Hassler	'66 Chevrolet	Red Sharp
8	64	Elmo Langley	'66 Ford	Elmo Langley / Henry Woodfield
9	49	G.C. Spencer	'67 Plymouth	G.C. Spencer
10	56	LeeRoy Yarborough	'67 Mercury	Lyle Stelter
11	10	Bill Champion	'66 Ford	Bill Champion
12	4	John Sears	'66 Ford	L.G. DeWitt
13	8	Ed Negre	'67 Ford	Ed Negre
14	96	Don Tomberlin	'66 Ford	Roy Buckner
15	34	Wendell Scott	'66 Ford	Wendell Scott
16	26	Jabe Thomas	'67 Ford	Don Robertson
17	47	Bill Seifert	'68 Ford	Bill Seifert
18	80	E.J. Trivette	'66 Chevrolet	E.C. Reid
19	46	Roy Mayne	'66 Chevrolet	Tom Hunter
20	76	Ben Arnold	'66 Ford	Don Culpepper
21	06	Neil Castles	'66 Plymouth	Neil Castles
22	5	Earl Brooks	'67 Ford	Don Robertson
23	57	Ervin Pruett	'67 Dodge	Ervin Pruett
24	0	Don Tarr	'66 Chevrolet	Don Tarr
25	19	Henley Gray	'68 Ford	Henley Gray
26	38	Wayne Smith	'68 Chevrolet	Archie Smith
27	93	Walson Gardner	'67 Ford	Walson Gardner
28	70	J.D. McDuffie	'67 Buick	J.D. McDuffie
29	45	Cecil Gordon	'68 Ford	Bill Seifert
30	9	Roy Tyner	'67 Pontiac	Roy Tyner

Finishing order

Section reference: ^[2]

1. Richard Petty (No. 43)
2. David Pearson† (No. 17)
3. James Hylton (No. 48)
4. Elmo Langley† (No. 64)
5. John Sears† (No. 4)
6. Friday Hassler*† (No. 39)
7. Neil Castles (No. 06)
8. Bill Seifert (No. 47)
9. Henley Gray (No. 19)
10. Ben Arnold (No. 76)
11. Cecil Gordon† (No. 45)
12. Roy Mayne† (No. 46)
13. Wendell Scott† (No. 34)
14. Walson Gardner (No. 93)
15. Roy Tyner† (No. 9)
16. LeeRoy Yarbrough*† (No. 56)
17. Bobby Isaac*† (No. 71)
18. Ed Negre (No. 8)
19. Bobby Allison* (No. 14)
20. Wayne Smith* (No. 38)
21. G.C. Spencer*† (No. 49)
22. Earl Brooks*† (No. 5)
23. Ervin Pruitt* (No. 57)
24. E.J. Trivette* (No. 80)
25. Darel Dieringer*† (No. 22)
26. Don Tarr* (No. 0)
27. Don Tomberlin* (No. 96)
28. Bill Champion*† (No. 10)
29. Jabe Thomas* (No. 25)
30. J.D. McDuffie*† (No. 70)

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

Section reference: ^[2]

David Pearson

Bobby Isaac

David Pearson

Bobby Allison

Bobby Isaac

Bobby Allison

Richard Petty

Bobby Allison

Richard Petty

Richard Petty

David Pearson

Richard Petty

│

1

│

16

│

31

│

46

│

61

│

76

│

91

│

106

│

121

│

136

│

151

│

166

│

181

│

196

│

211

│

226

│

241

│

256

│

271

│

286

│

301

│

316

│

331

│

346

│

361

│

376

│

391

│

406

│

421

│

436

│

451

│

466

│

481

│

496

References

1. Weather information for the 1969 Georgia 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. Racing information for the 1969 Georgia 500 at Racing Reference
3. 1969 Georgia 500 crew chiefs information at Racing Reference
4. Racing information for the 1969 Georgia 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet

Preceded by 1968 Peach State 200

NASCAR Grand National Series Season 1968-69

Succeeded by 1969 Alabama 200

Preceded by none

Georgia 500 races 1969

Succeeded by November 1969

Preceded by 1968 American 500

Richard Petty's Career Wins 1960-1984

Succeeded by 1969 Motor Trend 500