1969 World 600
Race details[1][2]
Race 21 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date May 25, 1969 (1969-May-25)
Official name World 600
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 Very hot with temperatures of 84 °F (29 °C); wind speeds of 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 134.361 miles per hour (216.233 km/h)
Attendance 75,000[3]
Pole position
Driver
Banjo Matthews
Most laps led
Driver LeeRoy Yarbrough Junior Johnson
Laps 274
Winner
No. 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough Junior Johnson
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1969 World 600, the 10th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that took place on May 25, 1969, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval in Concord, North Carolina. The track, which opened in 1960, was built by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner.

Qualifying

Grid[3] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 27 Donnie Allison '69 Ford Banjo Matthews
2 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough '69 Mercury Junior Johnson
3 17 David Pearson '69 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
4 21 Cale Yarborough '69 Mercury Wood Brothers
5 43 Richard Petty '69 Ford Petty Enterprises
6 22 Bobby Allison '69 Dodge Mario Rossi
7 6 Buddy Baker '69 Dodge Cotton Owens
8 30 Dave Marcis '69 Dodge Milt Lunda
9 99 Paul Goldsmith '69 Dodge Ray Nichels
10 71 Bobby Isaac '69 Dodge Nord Krauskopf
11 48 James Hylton '69 Dodge James Hylton
12 3 Neil Castles '69 Dodge Ray Fox
13 14 Sam McQuagg '69 Plymouth Bill Ellis
14 39 Friday Hassler '67 Chevrolet Friday Hassler
15 67 Buddy Arrington '69 Dodge Buddy Arrington
16 64 Elmo Langley '68 Ford Elmo Langley
17 32 Dick Brooks '69 Plymouth Dick Brooks
18 10 Bill Champion '68 Ford Bill Champion
19 08 E.J. Trivette '69 Chevrolet E.C. Reid
20 61 Hoss Ellington '67 Mercury Hoss Ellington

Race report

Four hundred laps were raced on the paved oval track spanning 1.5 miles (2.4 km).[3] After nearly four hours and thirty minutes of racing, LeeRoy Yarbrough defeated Donnie Allison by two laps[4] in front of 75000 spectators. The 16-lap difference between 2nd-place finisher Donnie Allison and 3rd-place finisher James Hylton was another notable feature of this event.[3] Five cautions would be waved for 45 laps along with 13 lead changes among eight different drivers.[2][3][4] LeeRoy Yarbrough would lead the race from lap 162 through lap 400; putting on a very strong performance to win the race.

There were 44 drivers in the race; racing for a total of $132,100 ($1,054,163 when considering inflation).[5] Ed Negre would get the last-place finish in Don Tarr's 1967 Chevrolet due to a transmission problem on the second lap. Don Tarr scored his best career finish of 6th place.[2][3][4] Allison would gain the pole position with a speed of 159.296 miles per hour (256.362 km/h) while the average race speed was 134.631 miles per hour (216.668 km/h).[3][4] There was a 16-lap difference between 2nd-place finisher Donnie Allison and 3rd-place finisher James Hylton; showing the spectators that those two drivers did not have a similar set of racing skills.[3][4]

Pearson's car rode the guardrail on a lap 13 crash.[3] His car came back on the inside of the racetrack but while riding the guardrail Pearson hit a flag pole. Dave Marcis would have a long career ahead of him after leading the laps in this race. However, this would be the final race for Gerald Chamberlain and Larry Hess.[4]

Eleven notable crew chiefs: Cotton Owens, Dick Hutcherson, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews, Jim Vandiver, Dale Inman and Harry Hyde.[6]

Timeline

Section reference:[3]

Finishing order

Section reference:[3]

  1. LeeRoy Yarbrough
  2. Donnie Allison
  3. James Hylton
  4. G.C. Spencer
  5. Bobby Isaac
  6. Don Tarr
  7. Hoss Ellington
  8. Jabe Thomas
  9. Friday Hassler
  10. Elmo Langley
  11. Sonny Hutchins
  12. Buddy Young
  13. E.J. Trivette
  14. Roy Tyner
  15. J.D. McDuffie
  16. Buddy Baker
  17. Ed Hessert
  18. Bill Seifert
  19. Richard Petty
  20. Ben Arnold
  21. Cecil Gordon
  22. Buddy Arrington
  23. Cale Yarborough
  24. Earl Brooks
  25. Sam McQuagg
  26. Dave Marcis
  27. Paul Goldsmith
  28. Neil Castles
  29. John Sears
  30. Frank Warren
  31. Bill Champion
  32. Larry Hess
  33. Dick Brooks
  34. Roy Mayne
  35. Wendell Scott
  36. Dub Simpson
  37. Dick Johnson
  38. Gerald Chamberlain
  39. Richard Brickhouse
  40. Henley Gray
  41. Bobby Allison
  42. David Pearson
  43. John Kenney
  44. Ed Negre

References

  1. ^ Weather information for the 1969 World 600 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c 1969 World 600 at Database Racing
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 1969 World 600 at Racing Reference
  4. ^ a b c d e f 1969 World 600 at Race Database
  5. ^ 1969 World 600 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  6. ^ 1969 World 600 crew chief information at Racing Reference
Preceded by1969 Tidewater 375 NASCAR Grand National Series season 1969 Succeeded by1969 Macon 300
Preceded by1968 World 600 races 1969 Succeeded by1970
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