1969 Motor State 500

Last updated
1969 Motor State 500
Race details [1]
Race 24 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1969 Motor State 500 program cover and logo.png
1969 Motor State 500 program cover
Date June 15, 1969 (1969-June-15)
Official name Motor State 500
Location Michigan International Speedway, (Brooklyn, Michigan)
Course Permanent racing facility
2.000 mi (3.218 km)
Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (743 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures of 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Average speed 139.254 mph (224.108 km/h)
Attendance 46,238 [2]
Pole position
Driver Banjo Matthews
Most laps led
Driver LeeRoy Yarbrough Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps 136
Winner
No. 21 Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Bud Lindemann

The 1969 Motor State 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on June 15, 1969, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Highlights from this event were featured on the television show Car and Track ; hosted by race commentator Bud Lindemann.

Contents

During this era, Michigan International Speedway was a Mercury-dominated track. It was also a track that suited a smooth driver or a driver that could change his driving tactics for Michigan International Speedway.

Background

Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. [3] Groundbreaking took place on September 28, 1967. Over 2.5 million cubic yards (1.9×10^6 m3) of dirt were moved to form the D-shaped oval. The track opened in 1968 with a total capacity of 25,000 seats. The track was originally built and owned by Lawrence H. LoPatin, a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of $4–6 million. [4] Financing was arranged by Thomas W Itin. Its first race took place on Sunday, October 13, 1968, with the running of the USAC 250 mile Championship Car Race won by Ronnie Bucknum.

Race report

A grand total of 38 American-born drivers competed in this 250-lap racing event. [2] Wayne Gillette ended up becoming the last-place finisher due to troubles with the rear end of the vehicle only after completing a single lap. [2] While LeeRoy Yarbrough would lead the most laps, Cale Yarborough would defeat David Pearson by a distance of five car lengths after more than three and a half hours of racing. [2] Cale Yarborough and LeeRoy Yarbrough got together during the final lap and LeeRoy tried to limp back to the finish line but came up just short. [2]

A faulty vehicular oil line managed to take Buddy Young out of the race on lap 62. [2] Bobby Wawak fell out with engine failure on lap 74 while Bobby Allison did the same thing on lap 78. [2] Dick Johnson noticed that his vehicle's clutch was having problems; forcing him to leave the race on lap 80. [2] Between lap 94 and lap 150, five of the competing drivers would notice that their engines stopped working. [2] Some faulty lug bolts would relegate Ben Arnold to the sidelines on lap 155. [2] Bill Seifert, Paul Deal Holt, Dave Marcis and Henley Gray would end up blowing their engines between lap 183 and lap 191. [2] Yarbrough's day would end when his car suddenly crashed on lap 249; but not without picking up a respectable fourth-place finish in the process. [2]

Donnie Allison would become known as the fastest driver in qualifying; he earned his pole position after driving speeds up to 160.135 miles per hour (257.712 km/h) by himself on the track. [2] Earl Brooks would become known for being the lowest-finishing driver to complete the event; he was 85 laps behind the lead lap drivers. [2] The vehicles in this event ranged from 1967 to 1969; most of the vehicles raced here were Fords and Dodges; all built nearby in the assembly plants of Dearborn, Flint and Detroit. The racing grid was forced to slow down a total of seven times for a duration of 35 laps; more than 46,000 people would purchase tickets for the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race set in the "Irish Hills" of Michigan. [2] LeeRoy Yarbrough and David Pearson both lead a respectable number of green flags and were tough opponents to deal with while under pressure. With the first-place position being exchanged a whopping 35 times throughout the event, it felt more like an Academy Award-winning movie than an actual NASCAR event. [2]

Individual race earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $17,625 ($124,383 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $622 ($4,390 when adjusted for inflation). NASCAR officials were authorized to hand out a grand total of $73,548 in post-race winnings to all the drivers who managed to qualify for this event ($519,041 when adjusted for inflation). [5]

At least ten notable crew chiefs were recorded as attending this race; including Cotton Owens, Dick Hutcherson, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews and Dale Inman. [6]

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturer
127 Donnie Allison '69 Ford
298 LeeRoy Yarbrough '69 Mercury
371 Bobby Isaac '69 Dodge
421 Cale Yarborough '69 Mercury
543 Richard Petty '69 Ford
66 Charlie Glotzbach '69 Dodge
717 David Pearson '69 Ford
899 Paul Goldsmith '69 Dodge
922 Bobby Allison '69 Dodge
1032 Dick Brooks '69 Plymouth
114 John Sears '69 Ford
1203 Richard Brickhouse '67 Plymouth
1361 Hoss Ellington '67 Mercury
1464 Elmo Langley '68 Ford
1515 Ed Hessert '68 Plymouth
1676 Ben Arnold '68 Ford
1710 Bill Champion '68 Ford
1880 Wayne Gillette '67 Chevrolet
1996 Frank Warren '68 Ford
2070 J.D. McDuffie '67 Buick
210 Dick Poling '67 Chevrolet
2223 Paul Dean Holt '67 Ford
2347 Cecil Gordon '68 Ford
2445 Bill Seifert '68 Ford
2548 James Hylton '69 Dodge

Results

Source: [7]
POSST#DRIVERSPONSOR / OWNERCARLAPSMONEYSTATUSLED
1421  Cale Yarborough60 Minute Cleaners   (Wood Brothers)'69 Mercury25017625running38
2717  David PearsonHolman-Moody Racing'69 Ford25010100running57
3543  Richard PettyTorino Talladega / East Tenn. Motors   (Petty Enterprises)'69 Ford2505875running0
4298  LeeRoy YarbroughMercury Cyclone / Jim Robbins Special   (Junior Johnson)'69 Mercury2494100crash136
566  Charlie GlotzbachCotton Owens'69 Dodge2493150running2
6899  Paul GoldsmithTown & Country Dodge   (Ray Nichels)'69 Dodge2482500running4
72548  James HyltonHylton Engineering   (James Hylton)'69 Dodge2442102running2
83006  Neil CastlesNeil Castles'69 Dodge2421572running0
9114  John SearsL.G. DeWitt'69 Ford2401422running1
103125  Jabe ThomasDon Robertson'68 Plymouth2271452running0
111515  Ed HessertEd Hessert'68 Plymouth2241352running0
122634  Wendell ScottScott Racing   (Wendell Scott)'67 Ford2161302running0
132070  J.D. McDuffieJ.D. McDuffie'67 Buick2111227running0
141361  Hoss EllingtonEllington Insulation Co.   (Hoss Ellington)'67 Mercury2101277running0
152908  E.J. TrivetteE.C. Reid'69 Chevrolet2101127running0
162347  Cecil GordonBill Seifert'68 Ford2061077running0
173244  Bob AshbrookGiachetti Brothers   (Richard Giachetti)'67 Ford1981052running0
183419  Henley GrayHarry Melton'68 Ford193977engine0
193830  Dave MarcisDave Marcis'69 Dodge191927engine0
202223  Paul Dean HoltDennis Holt'67 Ford187877engine0
212445  Bill SeifertBill Seifert'68 Ford183877engine0
222726  Earl BrooksEarl Brooks'67 Ford165802running0
231676  Ben ArnoldDon Culpepper'68 Ford155727lug bolts0
241032  Dick BrooksDick Brooks'69 Plymouth150702engine0
25210  Dick PolingDon Tarr'67 Chevrolet143682engine0
263729  John KennedyJohn KennedyChevrolet143677engine0
27127  Donnie AllisonBanjo Matthews'69 Ford115775engine9
28371  Bobby IsaacK & K Insurance   (Nord Krauskopf)'69 Dodge94695engine0
293318  Dick JohnsonDick Johnson'68 Ford80692clutch0
30922  Bobby AllisonHutton Scott Dodge   (Mario Rossi)'69 Dodge78635engine1
313673  Bobby WawakBobby Wawak'69 Dodge74657engine0
323538  Buddy YoungFred Bear'67 Ford62652oil line0
33289  Roy TynerRoy Tyner'69 Pontiac62647wheel bearing0
341996  Frank WarrenFrank Warren'68 Ford55642head gasket0
351710  Bill ChampionBill Champion'68 Ford50637engine0
361464  Elmo LangleyElmo Langley'68 Ford15657engine0
371203  Richard BrickhouseDub Clewis'67 Plymouth11677crash0
381880  Wayne GilletteE.C. Reid'67 Chevrolet1622rear end0

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References

  1. Weather information for the 1969 Motor State 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Racing information for the 1969 Motor State 500 at Racing Reference
  3. "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  4. "Track History". Michigan International Speedway. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009.
  5. Winnings information for the 1969 Motor State 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  6. 1969 Motor State 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  7. "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
Preceded by
1969 Maryville 300
NASCAR Grand National Series Season
1969
Succeeded by
1969 Kingsport 250