1969 Motor Trend 500

1969 Motor Trend 500
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 3 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season

Layout of Riverside International Raceway
Date February 1, 1969 (1969-February-01)
Official name Motor Trend 500
Location Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.700 mi (4.345 km)
Distance 186 laps, 502 mi (808 km)
Weather Temperatures approaching 55.9 °F (13.3 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)
Average speed 110.323 miles per hour (177.548 km/h)
Attendance 46,300
Pole position
Driver
Jack Bowsher & Associates
Time 88.07 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 103
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network Untelevised
Announcers None

The 1969 Motor Trend 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on February 1, 1969, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.

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; most of the cars were trailered to events or hauled in by trucks.

Summary

One hundred and eighty-six laps were done on a paved road course spanning 2.7 miles (4.3 km).[3] Although A.J. Foyt won the pole position with a qualifying speed of 110.323 miles per hour (177.548 km/h), Richard Petty would win the race by beating Foyt with a margin of 25 seconds using a 1969 Ford Torino vehicle. This was the first time Petty won a race in anything other than a Plymouth and the first time he ran a Cup race in anything but a Plymouth since he switched to the Mopar brand from Oldsmobile near the end of 1959.[3]

More than forty-six thousand fans would watch the race live to see 44 vehicles start (and only 13 of them finish the race).[3] Most of the DNFs were caused by engine issues.[3] Ford vehicles and Chevrolet vehicles made up most of the starting grid.[3] Other notable drivers included: LeeRoy Yarbrough (who would be the highest finishing driver with an engine problem), Ray Elder, Neil Castles, Mario Andretti (his final start), and Elmo Langley.[3] West Coast racer Marty Kinerk made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at this event. However, he would only compete at two races before leaving for the NASCAR Winston West Series (now K&N Pro Series West).

The entire race was completed under the green flag without any laps being taken for either yellow or red flags;[3] with the final race to go the entire distance without a caution was the 2002 EA Sports 500.[4] Average speeds for the entire race approached 105.498 miles per hour (169.783 km/h) and the duration of the race was four hours, forty-five minutes, and thirty-seven seconds.[3] The race's top prize would be $19,650 in American dollars ($128,331.26 when adjusted for inflation).[3] The overall winnings of this race would be $79,660 in American dollars ($520,247.75 when adjusted for inflation).

While individual owners would make up the majority of the NASCAR teams during this era, multi-car teams like Holman Moody, Wood Brothers Racing, and K&K Insurance Racing began to emerge during the late 1960s and early 1970s.[5]

Qualifying

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer
1 1 A.J. Foyt '69 Ford
2 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough '69 Mercury
3 121 Dan Gurney '69 Mercury
4 43 Richard Petty '69 Ford
5 17 David Pearson '69 Ford
6 41 Al Unser '69 Dodge
7 97 Mario Andretti '69 Ford
8 71 Bobby Isaac '69 Dodge
9 12 Roger McCluskey '69 Plymouth
10 11 Parnelli Jones '69 Ford

Finishing order

  1. Richard Petty
  2. A.J. Foyt (only other car to finish on lead lap)
  3. David Pearson
  4. Al Unser
  5. James Hylton
  6. LeeRoy Yarbrough* (highest finishing driver not to finish the race)
  7. Ray Elder (sponsored by his father Fred Elder)
  8. Scott Cain
  9. John Sears
  10. Harold Hardesty
  11. Ray Johnstone
  12. Dick Bown
  13. Neil Castles
  14. Henley Gray
  15. Bobby Allison*
  16. Randy Dodd*
  17. Marvin Sjolin (lowest finishing driver to finish the race)
  18. Mario Andretti*
  19. Elmo Langley*
  20. Paul Dorrity*
  21. Don Tarr*
  22. Roger McCluskey*
  23. Wendell Parnell*
  24. Cale Yarborough*
  25. Frank Burnett*
  26. Dan Gurney*
  27. Sam Rose*
  28. Robert Link*
  29. J.D. McDuffie*
  30. Cliff Garner*
  31. Jerry Oliver*
  32. Ralph Arnold*
  33. Don White*
  34. Marty Kinerk*
  35. Jack McCoy*
  36. Robert Hale*
  37. Parnelli Jones*
  38. Bobby Isaac*
  39. Guy Jones*
  40. Dave James*
  41. Joe Frasson*
  42. Jim Cook*
  43. Johnny Steele*
  44. Bob England*

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

References

  1. ↑ "1969 Motor Trend 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. ↑ "1969 Motor Trend 500 pole qualifying time". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1969 Motor Trend 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
  4. ↑ "EA Sports 500". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  5. ↑ "1969 Motor Trend 500 racing results". Driver Averages. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
Preceded by
1968 Motor Trend 500		 Motor Trend 500 races
1964-71 		Succeeded by
1970 Motor Trend 500
Preceded by
1969 Alabama 200		 NASCAR Grand National Series Season
1969 		Succeeded by
1969 Daytona 500
Preceded by
1969 Georgia 500		 Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984 		Succeeded by
1969 Virginia 500
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