1968 Daytona 500

1968 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 4 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1968 Daytona 500 program cover
1968 Daytona 500 program cover
Date February 25, 1968 (1968-02-25)
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures hovering around 59 °F (15 °C); wind speeds up to 20.8 miles per hour (33.5 km/h)[1]
Average speed 147.251 miles per hour (236.978 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 76
Winner
No. 21 Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers Racing

The 1968 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series race held on February 25, 1968, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Cale Yarborough won the race from the pole

Summary

The event was won by Cale Yarborough driving a 1968 Mercury. Yarborough drove his #21 to victory in just over 3 hours and 23 minutes after starting the race on the pole. There were 11 caution flags which slowed the race for 60 laps, a track record at the time that remained so until 2005.[2] Yarborough squeaked out the victory by less than a second over LeeRoy Yarbrough.[3] The win was Yarborough's first victory of the season[4] and his first victory in the "Great American Race".

This was also the only Daytona 500 where the grid was set exclusively by qualifying times. The 125-mile qualifying races were not held due to inclement weather.

First Daytona 500 starts for Andy Hampton, Buddy Arrington, Bill Seifert, Dave Marcis, (Marcis would make every Daytona 500 until 2000), Earl Brooks, Dick Johnson, Dr. Don Tarr, and Dub Simpson. Only Daytona 500 starts for Al Unser, Bob Senneker, Butch Hartman, Larry Manning, Rod Eulenfeld, Charles Burnett, Don Biederman, Stan Meserve, and Bud Moore. Last Daytona 500 starts for Darel Dieringer, Clyde Lynn, Sam McQuagg, Mario Andretti, Sonny Hutchins, Bob Cooper, Jerry Grant, Paul Lewis, Roy Tyner, and H. B. Bailey.[2]

This was the race in which Junior Johnson cost his own team the race. Cale ran out of gas at some point in the race and overshot his pit as the crew wasn't expecting him. Junior Johnson was standing out waiting for Leeroy to come and he managed to put just enough gas to get Cale back around to his put.[2]

Al Unser led a lap in this one; it became the only time that he led a NASCAR race in his career.[2] Dub Simpson earned a dubious distinction by becoming the only driver ever to fail to complete a lap in the race.[2] This was also Bob "The Sneaker" Senneker's best career NASCAR finish, where he finished in 13th place.[2] Richard Petty and his "mysterious" black vinyl roof actually ran pretty good and led the race until James Hylton blew a tire and ended up in the turn 1 wall. A piece of debris from Hylton's car hit Petty's and knocked the roof loose starting a day of troubles for Richard's team because of their experiment. Petty would finish the race two laps behind the drivers on the lead lap.[2]

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 results

Pos Grid No. Driver Entrant Manufacturer Laps Winnings Laps led Time/Status
1 1 21 Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers Racing 1968 Mercury 200 $47,250 76 3:23:44
2 3 26 LeeRoy Yarbrough Junior Johnson & Associates 1968 Mercury 200 $17,525 62 +1 second
3 6 29 Bobby Allison Bondy Long 1968 Ford 200 $10,150 12 Lead lap, under green flag
4 8 6 Al Unser Cotton Owens 1968 Dodge 200 $6,250 1 Lead lap, under green flag
5 4 17 David Pearson Holman-Moody 1968 Ford 199 $4,750 10 +1 Lap
6 9 99 Paul Goldsmith Ray Nichels 1968 Plymouth 199 $4,500 0 +1 Lap
7 23 22 Darel Dieringer Mario Rossi 1968 Plymouth 199 $4,100 0 +1 Lap
8 2 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises 1968 Plymouth 198 $4,350 4 +2 Laps
9 5 16 Tiny Lund Bud Moore Engineering 1968 Mercury 197 $2,500 0 +3 Laps
10 27 32 Andy Hampton Rainer Racing 1967 Dodge 193 $2,525 0 +7 Laps
11 22 67 Buddy Arrington Buddy Arrington 1967 Dodge 186 $2,350 0 +14 Laps
12 19 27 A. J. Foyt Banjo Matthews 1968 Ford 183 $2,350 0 Transmission
13 34 84 Bob Senneker Doug Cutler 1966 Chevrolet 182 $3,200 0 +18 Laps
14 25 20 Clyde Lynn Clyde Lynn 1967 Mercury 182 $2,200 0 +18 Laps
15 40 45 Bill Seifert Bill Seifert 1967 Ford 181 $2,100 0 +19 Laps
16 15 5 Butch Hartman Butch Hartman 1968 Dodge 180 $2,275 3 +20 Laps
17 42 34 Wendell Scott Wendell Scott 1966 Ford 179 $2,045 0 +21 Laps
18 24 46 Larry Manning Tom Hunter 1966 Chevrolet 179 $2,110 0 +21 Laps
19 49 19 Henley Gray Henley Gray 1966 Ford 175 $2,025 0 +25 Laps
20 35 30 Dave Marcis Larry Wehrs 1966 Chevrolet 175 $2,015 0 +25 Laps
21 38 73 Rod Eulenfeld Julian Kline 1966 Chevrolet 174 $2,000 0 +26 Laps
22 10 37 Sam McQuagg Nord Krauskopf 1967 Dodge 171 $1,140 0 Engine
23 44 96 Charles Burnett Roy Buckner 1966 Ford 146 $1,135 0 Flagged
24 31 79 Frank Warren Harold Rhodes 1966 Chevrolet 143 $1,130 0 +57 Laps
25 17 64 Elmo Langley Elmo Langley / Henry Woodfield 1966 Ford 141 $1,125 0 Overheating
26 37 25 Jabe Thomas Don Robertson 1967 Ford 126 $1,120 0 Overheating
27 29 56 Jim Hurtubise Lyle Stelter 1968 Mercury 123 $1,125 0 Crash
28 50 95 Don Biederman James Brown 1966 Ford 123 $1,110 0 Engine
29 20 11 Mario Andretti Holman-Moody 1968 Mercury 105 $1,580 12 Crash
30 13 3 Buddy Baker Ray Fox 1968 Dodge 103 $1,700 20 Crash
31 28 4 John Sears L. G. DeWitt 1967 Ford 101 $1,145 0 Crash
32 21 15 Charlie Glotzbach Tom Friedkin 1968 Plymouth 91 $1,140 0 Engine
33 41 75 Earl Brooks Gene Black 1966 Ford 89 $1,085 0 Crash
34 33 10 Bill Champion Bill Champion 1966 Ford 79 $1,080 0 Overheating
35 39 18 Dick Johnson Bob Casperson 1967 Ford 63 $1,075 0 Engine
36 11 71 Bobby Isaac Nord Krauskopf 1968 Dodge 56 $1,070 0 Engine
37 16 7 Bobby Johns Shorty Johns 1966 Chevrolet 55 $1,065 0 Ignition
38 47 90 Sonny Hutchins Donlavey Racing 1967 Ford 53 $1,060 0 Engine
39 32 02 Bob Cooper Bob Cooper 1967 Chevrolet 52 $1,055 0 Engine
40 7 66 Donnie Allison Holman-Moody 1968 Ford 48 $1,000 0 Crash
41 43 51 Stan Meserve Margo Hamm 1967 Dodge 34 $950 0 Brakes
42 26 14 Jerry Grant Tom Friedkin 1968 Plymouth 32 $1,000 0 Crash
43 30 97 Red Farmer Red Farmer 1967 Ford 24 $850 0 Engine
44 14 48 James Hylton James Hylton 1967 Dodge 24 $800 0 Crash
45 45 0 Don Tarr Don Tarr 1967 Chevrolet 23 $750 0 Head gasket
46 46 2 Paul Lewis Donald Brackins 1967 Dodge 14 $700 0 Engine
47 48 9 Roy Tyner Roy Tyner 1967 Pontiac 8 $1,650 0 Engine
48 12 1 Bud Moore A. J. King 1968 Dodge 7 $600 0 Crash
49 18 36 H. B. Bailey H. B. Bailey 1966 Pontiac 6 $550 0 Engine
50 36 06 Dub Simpson Neil Castles 1967 Dodge 0 $500 0 Oil pressure
Source:[5]

References

  1. ^ Weather information for the 1968 Daytona 500 at Old Farmers Almanac
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "1968 Daytona 500". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  3. ^ "1968 NASCAR Grand National Recap". HowStuffWorks, Inc ; Publications International, Ltd. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  4. ^ Fleischman, Bill; Al Pearce (2004). "Race Results: 1949–2002; 1960". The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide: 2004. Vol. 2004 (10 ed.). Canton, MI: Checkered Flag Press; Visible Ink Press. pp. 226 of 576. ISBN 0-681-27587-1.
  5. ^ 1968 Daytona 500
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Season
1968 		Succeeded by