1968 Fireball 300

1968 Fireball 300
Race details
Race 14 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date May 5, 1968
Location Asheville-Weaverville Speedway (Weaverville, North Carolina)
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance 300 laps, 150 mi (241 km)
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds up to 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)[1]
Average speed 75.167 miles per hour (120.970 km/h)
Pole position
Driver David Pearson Holman-Moody
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Holman-Moody
Laps 299
Winner
No. 17
 David Pearson
 Holman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1968 Fireball 300 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series, also formerly known as the Winston Cup Series and the Winston Cup Grand National Series) racing event that took place on May 5, 1968, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in the American community of Weaverville, North Carolina.

It had twenty-seven American competitors and one Canadian competitor (Frog Fagan). The entire race spanned a distance of 150 miles (240 km); the "300" portion of the race's name simply referred to the number of laps that were expected to be completed.

Summary

This event lasted one hour and fifty-nine minutes over a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km).[2] David Pearson (winner), Bobby Isaac, Richard Petty, James Hylton, Elmo Langley, Clyde Lynn, Jabe Thomas, Frog Fagan, Henley Gray, and Stan Meserve were amongst the drivers who finished in the top ten.[2] There were six cautions for forty-five laps and the margin of victory was more than two laps.[2] The average speed of the race was 75.167 miles per hour (120.970 km/h) per hour while the pole speed was 89.708 miles per hour (144.371 km/h) per hour.[2]

A crowd of 7,800 people attended this racing event that took place on May 5, 1968, at the Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in the American community of Weaverville, North Carolina.[2] Out of twenty-eight competitors, only ten managed to finish all 300 laps of the event.[2] Total winnings for this racing event was $6,900 ($46,794.55 when adjusted for inflation). making him the dominant driver in the event.

A bumper crop of multi-car "corporate" teams participated in the race because racing expenses has started to become prohibitively expensive for individuals to burden during the late 1960s. Few of the remaining independent teams included Margo Hamm's team, Neil Castles' team and the driver-owner Gene Black; who tragically finished in last place on the fourth lap due to a problem with his stock car engine.[3]

Finishing order

  1. David Pearson (sponsored by East Tennessee Motor Co.)
  2. Bobby Isaac†
  3. Richard Petty
  4. James Hylton
  5. Elmo Langley†
  6. Clyde Lynn†
  7. Jabe Thomas
  8. Frog Fagan†
  9. Henley Gray
  10. Stan Meserve (vehicle owned by Margo Hamm; a pioneer NASCAR female car owner)
  11. Roy Tyner*†
  12. Pete Hamilton*
  13. John Sears*†
  14. Neil Castles*
  15. Bill Seifert*
  16. Earl Brooks*†
  17. Max Ledbetter*
  18. Buddy Baker*
  19. J.D. McDuffie*†
  20. Tom Pistone*
  21. Walson Gardener*
  22. Don Tarr*
  23. Wendell Scott*†
  24. Buck Baker*†
  25. Jack Ingram*
  26. Paul Dean Holt*
  27. G.C. Spencer*†
  28. Gene Black*

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Preceded by
1968 Dixie 250		 NASCAR Grand National Races
1968 		Succeeded by
1968 Rebel 400
Preceded by
1967 Fireball 300		 NASCAR Fireball 300 Races
1965-1969 		Succeeded by
1969 Fireball 300

References

  1. ↑ "1968 Fireball 300 racing information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "1968 Fireball 300 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  3. ↑ "1968 Fireball 300 team information". Driver Averages. Retrieved 2014-04-16.