1968 Islip 300

1968 Islip 300
Race details
Race 26 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season

Official ticket form for the 1968 Islip 300
Date July 7, 1968
Location Islip Speedway (Islip, New York)
Course Permanent racing facility
0.200 mi (0.322 km)
Distance 250 laps, 60.0 mi (90.0 km)
WeatherTemperatures ranging between 59 °F (15 °C) and 70.6 °F (21.4 °C); wind speeds up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)[1]
Average speed 48.561 miles per hour (78.151 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Buddy Baker Ray Fox
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 97
Winner
No. 2
 Bobby Allison
 J.D. Bracken

The 1968 Islip 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) race that occurred on July 7, 1968, at Islip Speedway in the American community of Islip, New York.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

Summary

The race's advertised distance was 300 laps on a paved track spanning 0.200 miles (0.322 km).[2] It took fifty-five minutes and seventeen seconds in order to complete the entire race.[2] Starting at 8:15 PM, the race was quickly over before 9:15 PM. Speeds were considered to be 48.561 miles per hour (78.151 km/h) for the average and 51.873 miles per hour (83.482 km/h) for the pole.[2] The race was attended by 4,600 spectators and they witnessed one caution for three laps.[2] General admission for this event was only $4 plus sales taxes ($27.13 when adjusted for inflation) while children got in for only $1 with an adult general admission ($6.78 when adjusted for inflation).

An aerial view of the now-defunct Islip Speedway

Bobby Allison managed to defeat David Pearson by six car lengths.[2] The track was shorter than even Martinsville Speedway; giving it the notoriety of being lapped by the leaders during the first ten four laps of a race. Start and park racing was a way to avoid demoralization in those circumstances as opposed to maintaining a profit margin. Most of the drivers drove the latest model of stock car automobiles to this race. Buddy Baker would perform in a 1968 Dodge Charger while Richard Petty raced around the track in a 1968 Plymouth GTX. Three years later, the uncertain economic climate of the early 1970s would necessitate start and park racing in order for lesser teams to remain as viable as possible.

Bobby Allison would receive $1,000 ($6,781.82 when adjusted for inflation) for winning the race while Gene Black would receive $100 ($678.18 when adjusted for inflation) for finishing in last place.[2] The total winnings for this race was $5,255 ($35,638.45 when adjusted for inflation). John Winger would make his NASCAR debut during this racing event.[3]

Timeline

Finishing order

  1. Bobby Allison
  2. David Pearson
  3. Buddy Baker
  4. Richard Petty
  5. James Hylton
  6. Bobby Isaac†
  7. Elmo Langley†
  8. Clyde Lynn†
  9. John Sears†
  10. Neil Castles
  11. Wendell Scott†
  12. John Winger (made his NASCAR debut here)
  13. Jabe Thomas
  14. Buck Baker†
  15. Ed Negre*
  16. Bill Vanderhoff*
  17. Earl Brooks*†
  18. Frank Warren*
  19. J.D. McDuffie*†
  20. G.C. Spencer*†
  21. Bill Seifert*
  22. Roy Tyner*†
  23. Paul Dean Holt*
  24. David Mote*
  25. Gene Black*

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

Preceded by
1968 Firecracker 400		 NASCAR Grand National Season
1968 		Succeeded by
1968 Maine 300

References

  1. ↑ "1968 Islip 300 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "1968 Islip 300 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  3. ↑ "John Winger's debut". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-11.