1969 National 500

Last updated
1969 National 500
Race details [1]
Race 48 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Lowe's Motor Speedway.svg
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date October 12, 1969 (1969-October-12)
Official name National 500
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 Temperatures of 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds of 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 131.271 miles per hour (211.260 km/h)
Attendance 57,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 Wood Brothers
Most laps led
Driver Donnie Allison Banjo Matthews
Laps 161
Winner
No. 27 Donnie Allison Banjo Matthews
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Jim McKay
Chris Economaki

The 1969 National 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 12, 1969, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This race is still being held in today's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series as the 'Bank of America 500'.

Contents

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

It took three hours and forty-two minutes to complete the race. [2] Nine cautions slowed the race for 50 laps. Donnie Allison defeated Bobby Allison [3] by sixteen seconds. [2] Fifty thousand people attended this race to see speeds averaging 131.271 miles per hour (211.260 km/h) and Cale Yarborough earning his pole position by qualifying with a speed of 162.162 miles per hour (260.974 km/h). [2] [4] There was a consolation race for the drivers who failed to qualify, only three cars finished that race; the winner was J.C. Spradley in a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle.

Other notable drivers in this race include: A. J. Foyt, Coo Coo Marlin, Cale Yarborough, J.D. McDuffie, Wendell Scott, and Richard Petty. [2] This would become the forty-eighth race sanctioned by NASCAR out of the 54 in 1969. [2] The 1969 NASCAR Grand National season would later mark its conclusion with the 1969 Texas 500 on December 7, 1969, with David Pearson emerging as the eventual champion for the year. [2] [2]

The winner's purse was considered to be $20,280 ($143,119 when considering inflation). [2] Jim Lineberger would make his only NASCAR Cup Series appearance this event while Bob Cooper would bow out of professional stock car racing after this race. [5] This was the only career start for Wayne Gillette where his vehicle qualified for the race and made it to the finish; Gillette would fail to qualify in two other races in the NASCAR Grand National Cup Series. [2]

Notable crew chiefs for this race were Herb Nab, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Banjo Matthews, Glen Wood, Dick Hutcherson and Cotton Owens. [6]

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
121Cale Yarborough'69 Mercury Wood Brothers
243Richard Petty'69 Ford Petty Enterprises
327Donnie Allison'69 Ford Banjo Matthews
498LeeRoy Yarbrough'69 Ford Junior Johnson
56Buddy Baker'69 Dodge Cotton Owens
622Bobby Allison'69 Dodge Mario Rossi
799Charlie Glotzbach'69 Dodge Ray Nichels
817David Pearson'69 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
971Bobby Isaac'69 Dodge Nord Krauskopf
1030Dave Marcis'69 Dodge Milt Lunda
113Jim Vandiver'69 Dodge Ray Fox
121A.J. Foyt'69 Ford Jack Bowsher
1332Dick Brooks'69 Plymouth Dick Brooks
1467Buddy Arrington'69 Dodge Buddy Arrington
154John Sears'69 Ford L.G. DeWitt

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. Donnie Allison
  2. Bobby Allison
  3. Buddy Baker†
  4. Charlie Glotzbach
  5. David Pearson†
  6. Dick Brooks
  7. Neil Castles
  8. Friday Hassler
  9. Don Tarr
  10. John Sears*
  11. James Hylton
  12. Wayne Smith
  13. Elmo Langley
  14. Hoss Ellington
  15. John Kennedy
  16. Bill Seifert
  17. Wendell Scott
  18. Ben Arnold
  19. Cecil Gordon
  20. Dub Simpson
  21. Henley Gray
  22. Bill Champion
  23. Wayne Gillette
  24. J.D. McDuffie*
  25. Cale Yarborough*
  26. Jabe Thomas
  27. Richard Petty*
  28. Dave Marcis*
  29. Earl Brooks*
  30. G.C. Spencer*
  31. Roy Tyner*
  32. Sonny Hutchins*
  33. E.J. Trivette*
  34. Jim Lineberger*
  35. Buddy Young*
  36. Buddy Arrington*
  37. Richard Brickhouse*
  38. LeeRoy Yarbrough*
  39. Coo Coo Marlin*
  40. A. J. Foyt*
  41. Bobby Isaac*
  42. Bill Dennis*
  43. Jim Vandiver*
  44. Bob Cooper*
  45. Frank Warren*

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

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References

  1. ↑ "1969 National 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 "1969 National 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  3. ↑ "1969 National 500 results". Super Bird Club. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
  4. ↑ "1969 National 500 results (ownership information)". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  5. ↑ Retirements and one-time driver information at Race Database
  6. ↑ "1969 National 500 crew chiefs". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series season
1969		Succeeded by
1969 untitled race at Savannah Speedway
Preceded by National 500 races
1969		Succeeded by
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