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1968 National 500
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Auto race run in North Carolina in 1968
February 2025
CUST Race 47 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season National 500 Weather information for the 1968 National 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1968 10 12 1968 47 49 Lowe's Motor Speedway.svg Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway National 500 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina 1.500 2.414 334 501 804 135.234 mi/h Mild with temperatures approaching 72 F C; wind speeds up to 12 mph km/h 38,3001968 National 500 racing information at Racing Reference. Accessed 2012-03-04. 2012-03-06. Charlie Glotzbach Cotton Owens David Pearson Holman Moody 156 6 Charlie Glotzbach Cotton Owens
The 1968 National 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 20, 1968, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
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.
Summary
The race was held on a dry circuit; with no precipitation recorded around the speedway. http://www.sercc.com/CharlotteNASCARClimatology.pdf Charlotte NASCAR Climatology SERCC 2018-09-12 2018-09-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20180908092914/http://www.sercc.com/CharlotteNASCARClimatology.pdf dead
There were 45 American-born drivers on the racing grid for this event. Bud Moore scored the last-place finish of the race because he wanted to discontinue the race after only six laps. It took more than three and a half hours to complete the 334 advertised laps.
Dub Simpson, David Mote, Ken Meisenhelder and Walson Gardner failed to qualify while Eddie Yarboro withdrew from the race at the last moment.Qualifying information https://web.archive.org/web/20160405200831/http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify/1968-47/W April 5, 2016 at Racing Reference Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in the race were Junior Johnson, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Banjo Matthews, Jake Elder, and Cotton Owens.1968 National 500 crew chiefs information at Racing Reference Charlie Glotzbach defeated legendary driver Paul Goldsmith (a 1956 Southern 500 competitor) by a time of only seven seconds. More than 38000 audience members would see 26 different changes; nine of the best drivers would compete for the first place spot for the race. Six cautions would be waved by NASCAR officials for a total distance of 49 laps.
The other drivers in the top ten included: David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, Pete Hamilton, Darel Dieringer, Bobby Isaac, and A. J. Foyt.
Roy Trantham, Bill Vanderhoff, and Lennie Waldo would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race.1968 National 500 racing information at Race-Database.com. Accessed 2012-03-04. Archived 2012-03-06.
Buddy Baker, considered at the time to be one of the notable names in stock car racing, blew his engine and span around the paved oval track in flames.Baker Feels He Is Ready for "400" Test at Google News Archives Country musician Marty Robbins would improve on his 22nd place start with a 12th-place finish with driving a 1967 Dodge Charger.Marty Robbins' stats for the 1968 National 500 https://web.archive.org/web/20120316224354/http://www.martyrobbins.net/racing.htm 2012-03-16 at MartyRobbins.net
The total prize purse of the race was $90,988 ($ when adjusted for inflation); the winner received $19,280 of it ($ when adjusted for inflation).1968 National 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Accessed 2012-03-04. 2012-03-06.
Carl Parsons (a mechanic of the team from Detroit, Michigan) drove the car #11 in qualifying but A.J. Foyt drove the car in the race.
References
1968 Augusta 200 1968 American 500 NASCAR Grand National Season 1968
1967 1969 National 500 races 1968
National 500
National 500
Category:NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway