1968 Western North Carolina 500

Last updated
1968 Western North Carolina 500
Race details [1] [2]
Race 36 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1968 Western North Carolina 500 program cover and logo.png
1968 Western North Carolina 500 program cover
Date August 18, 1968;53 years ago (1968-08-18)
Official name Western North Carolina 500
Location Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, Weaverville, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance 500 laps, 250 mi (402 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 87.1 °F (30.6 °C); wind speeds of 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)
Average speed 73.686 miles per hour (118.586 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
 Mario Rossi
Most laps led
DriverDavid Pearson Holman-Moody
Laps 456
Winner
No. 17David PearsonHolman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1968 Western North Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 18, 1968, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina.

Contents

Ervin Pruitt would score his best career finish at this event.

Race report

Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km). The race took three hours and twenty-three minutes to finish. [2] Seven cautions were handed out by NASCAR for ninety laps. [2] David Pearson (with a Holman-Moody owned vehicle) defeated Bobby Isaac (in his Nord Krauskopf-owned vehicle) by more than three laps. [2] Notable speeds were: 73.686 miles per hour (118.586 km/h) for the average speed and 88.409 miles per hour (142.280 km/h) for the pole position speed (accomplished by Darel Dieringer using a vehicle owned by Mr. Mario Rossi). [2] Ten thousand and five hundred stock car racing fans attended this live event. [2] Out of twenty-nine American drivers, only nine of them finished the race in a timely manner. [2] Notable names included: J.D. McDuffie, Richard Petty, Elmo Langley, Roy Tyner, and Wendell Scott. [2]

John Sears went over the guard rail and end over end to terminate his night. [2]

The vehicle used by the winner was a 1968 Ford Torino machine homologated for use by the general public but modified to increase both speed and safety. A prize amount of $2,150 ($16,001 when adjusted for inflation) was given out to the winner of the race while last place paid out $150 ($1,116 when adjusted for inflation) for only fifteen laps of work by driver G.C. Spencer. [2] When all the winnings for this racing event are consolidated together, the total prize purse was $13,485 ($100,357 when adjusted for inflation). [3]

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.

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturer
122Darel Dieringer'68 Plymouth
217David Pearson'68 Ford
343Richard Petty'68 Plymouth
499Paul Goldsmith'68 Dodge
571Bobby Isaac'67 Dodge
61Pete Hamilton'68 Dodge
748James Hylton'68 Dodge
84John Sears'67 Ford
949G.C. Spencer'67 Plymouth
1008Bob Burcham'66 Chevrolet
112Bobby Allison'66 Chevrolet
1264Elmo Langley'66 Ford
1376Tiny Lund'66 Ford
1428Earl Brooks'66 Ford
1557Ervin Pruitt'67 Dodge
1620Clyde Lynn'66 Ford
1751Stan Meserve'67 Dodge
189Roy Tyner'67 Pontiac
1970J.D. McDuffie'67 Buick
2006Neil Castles'67 Plymouth
218Ed Negre'67 Ford
2245Bill Seifert'68 Ford
2334Wendell Scott'66 Ford
2493Walson Gardner'67 Ford
2550Eddie Yarboro'66 Plymouth
2625Jabe Thomas'67 Ford
2738Wayne Smith'68 Chevrolet
2801Paul Dean Holt'67 Ford
2988George England'67 Oldsmobile

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. David Pearson (No. 17)
  2. Bobby Isaac (No. 71)
  3. Neil Castles (No. 06)
  4. Roy Tyner (No. 9)
  5. Bill Seifert (No. 45)
  6. Jabe Thomas (No. 25)
  7. Ervin Pruett (No. 57)
  8. Walson Gardener (No. 93)
  9. Wendell Scott (No. 34)
  10. Pete Hamilton* (No. 1)
  11. Paul Dean Holt* (No. 01)
  12. Bobby Allison* (No. 2)
  13. Eddie Yarboro* (No. 50)
  14. George England* (No. 88)
  15. Ed Negre* (No. 8)
  16. Elmo Langley* (No. 64)
  17. Paul Goldsmith* (No. 99)
  18. James Hylton* (No. 48)
  19. Bob Burcham* (No. 08)
  20. Earl Brooks* (No. 28)
  21. Clyde Lynn* (No. 20)
  22. Darel Dieringer* (No. 22)
  23. Tiny Lund* (No. 76)
  24. Stan Meserve* (No. 51)
  25. J.D. McDuffie* (No. 70)
  26. Richard Petty* (No. 43)
  27. Wayne Smith* (No. 38)
  28. John Sears* (No. 4)
  29. G.C. Spencer* (No. 49)

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

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References

  1. ↑ "1968 Western Carolina 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "1968 Western Carolina 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  3. ↑ "1968 Western Carolina 500 information (prize winnings)". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
Preceded by
1968 Myers Brothers 250 		NASCAR Grand National Season
1968		Succeeded by
1968 untitled race at South Boston Speedway
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