1969 Dixie 500

Last updated
1969 Dixie 500
Race details [1]
Race 36 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Atlanta International Speedway.svg
Layout of Atlanta International Speedway, used until 1996
Date August 10, 1969 (1969-August-10)
Official name Dixie 500
Location Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance 328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds of 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)
Average speed 133.001 mph (214.044 km/h)
Attendance 14,300 [2]
Pole position
Driver Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver LeeRoy Yarbrough Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps 142
Winner
No. 98LeeRoy YarbroughJunior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1969 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 10, 1969, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.

Contents

Background

Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. [3] However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.

The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long. [4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five. [4]

The race was scheduled for August 3, 1969, but it ended up being rain delayed until August 10, 1969.

Race report

After 334 laps (3¾ hours of racing), LeeRoy Yarbrough defeated David Pearson by 5½ seconds in front of 14,300 people. [2] The pole position winner was Cale Yarborough at 155.413 miles per hour (250.113 km/h). [2] John Sears had a problem with his engine and had to withdraw from the race on the third lap. [2] All 40 competitors on the racing grid were born in the United States of America. [2] Nord Krauskopf's entry (with Bobby Isaac as the driver) finished in 34th place. [2]

Ford vehicles dominated the starting grid. [2] The winner of the race received $18,620 of the total winners ($131,404 when considering inflation) while the last-place finisher went home with $725 ($5,116 when considering inflation). [5]

This was the last race for Smokey Yunick's team. Charlie Glotzbach brought the #13 Yunick Ford home in 4th place. 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.

Notable crew chiefs included Cotton Owens, Jim Vandiver, Dale Inman, Harry Hyde and Dick Hutcherson. [6]

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
121 Cale Yarborough '69 MercuryWood Brothers
298 LeeRoy Yarbrough '69 FordJunior Johnson
343 Richard Petty '69 FordPetty Enterprises
46 Buddy Baker '69 DodgeCotton Owens
527 Donnie Allison '69 FordBanjo Matthews
613 Charlie Glotzbach '69 FordSmokey Yunick
717 David Pearson '69 FordHolman-Moody Racing
871 Bobby Isaac '69 DodgeNord Krauskopf
922 Bobby Allison '69 DodgeMario Rossi
1099 Paul Goldsmith '69 DodgeRay Nichels
1130 Dave Marcis '69 DodgeMilt Lunda
1264 Elmo Langley '68 FordElmo Langley
1345 Bill Seifert '69 FordBill Seifert
1415 Ed Hessert '69 PlymouthEd Hessert
1532 Dick Brooks '69 PlymouthDick Brooks
1639 John Sears '67 ChevroletFriday Hassler
1748 James Hylton '69 DodgeJames Hylton
1849 G.C. Spencer '67 PlymouthG.C. Spencer
1937 Don Tarr '67 DodgeRay Fox
2007 Coo Coo Marlin '69 ChevroletH.B. Cunningham

Failed to qualify: Earl Brooks (#26), Roy Tyner (#9), John Sears (#4), Ron Grana (#05), Kenneth Cline (#69) [7]

Top 10 finishers

Pos [2] GridNo.DriverManufacturerLapsWinningsLaps ledTime/Status
1298 LeeRoy Yarbrough Ford 334$18,6201473:45:35
2717 David Pearson Ford 334$9,75057+5.5 seconds
3343 Richard Petty Ford 334$6,10025Lead lap under green flag
4613 Charlie Glotzbach Ford 333$3,5855+1 lap
5527 Donnie Allison Ford 333$2,7750+1 lap
6922 Bobby Allison Dodge332$2,2001+2 laps
7121 Cale Yarborough Mercury331$2,56097+3 laps
846 Buddy Baker Dodge331$1,5556+3 laps
91748 James Hylton Dodge327$1,5500+7 laps
101532 Dick Brooks Plymouth313$1,4750+21 laps

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

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References

  1. Weather information for the 1969 Dixie 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1969 Dixie 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  3. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  5. 1969 Dixie 500 racing information at Race-Database
  6. 1969 Dixie 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  7. Qualifying results for the 1969 Dixie 500 at Racing Reference
Preceded by
NASCAR Grand National Series Season
1969
Succeeded by