1968 Volunteer 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
| Date | July 21, 1968 | ||
| Location | Bristol International Speedway (Bristol, Tennessee) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.857 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching as warm as 93.0 °F (33.9 °C); wind speeds up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 76.31 miles per hour (122.81 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | LeeRoy Yarbrough | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Holman-Moody | |
| Laps | 257 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 |
David Pearson |
Holman-Moody | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1968 Volunteer 500 is a NASCAR Grand National Series racing event that took place on July 21, 1968 at Bristol International Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, USA.
Summary
There were 36 drivers on the racing grid to begin with. It took three hours and sixteen minutes for David Pearson to defeat Cale Yarborough by one and a half laps in front of a live audience of twenty thousand racing fans; about the size of a small city. There were eight lead changes recorded in the NASCAR summary and 13 caution flags were waved for a grueling distance of 92 laps. There were 500 laps in this racing event; speeds of 76.31 miles per hour (122.81 km/h) were recorded during the race while solo qualifying runs would see LeeRoy Yarbrough earn the pole position by driving up to 87.421 miles per hour (140.690 km/h).[2]
Bob Burcham and Ervin Pruitt would make their respective introductions to NASCAR-style racing during this event.[3] Richard Brickhouse ended up being the last-place finisher due to an engine malfunction on the eighth lap. Ford vehicles made up the majority of the racing grid.[2] Five years later, Swede Savage would be killed in a racing accident at the 1973 Indianapolis 500.
The winner of this event received $5,175 in total winnings ($34,739.35 in today's money) while the last-place finisher went home with only $250 in total earnings ($1,678.23 in today's money). The total prize purse for this race was $24,140 ($162,049.86 in today's money).[4]
Top ten finishers
- David Pearson
- Cale Yarborough
- Swede Savage
- Bobby Isaac
- Friday Hassler
- Buddy Baker
- Neil Castles
- Tiny Lund
- Bill Seifert
- J.D. McDuffie
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1968 Volunteer 500 at the Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 1968 Volunteer 500 racing information at Racing-Reference
- ↑ 1968 Volunteer 500 results at Race-Database
- ↑ Official NASCAR Race Results for the 1968 Volunteer 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
| Preceded by 1968 Northern 300 |
NASCAR Grand National Season 1968 |
Succeeded by 1968 Smoky Mountain 200 |
| Preceded by 1967 |
Volunteer 500 races 1968 |
Succeeded by 1969 |