1969 Georgia 500 (November 1968)

1969 Georgia 500

Race details
Race 1 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date	November 17, 1968 (1968-11-17)
Official name	Georgia 500
Location	Middle Georgia Raceway, Byron, Georgia
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.548 mi (0.882 km)
Distance	500 laps, 227 mi (441 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)
Average speed	81.079 miles per hour (130.484 km/h)
Attendance	6,000
Pole position
Driver	David Pearson	Holman Moody
Most laps led
Driver	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
Laps	362
Winner
No. 43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1969 Georgia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on November 17, 1968 at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia. It is not to be confused with another running of the 1969 Georgia 500 which actually took place in 1969.

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 any more.

Summary

Thirty drivers qualified for this 500-lap racing event that took three hours and eight minutes to complete. Most of the field was driving vehicles made by Ford. J.D. McDuffie ended up becoming the last-place finisher due to a problem with his engine on lap 20. Ed Negre was the lowest finishing driver to complete the race regardless of being 206 laps behind the drivers on the lead lap. Friday Hassler's engine problems were unfortunate enough to kick him out of the race on lap 476 with a "fortunate" sixth-place finish. Six thousand excited NASCAR fans were eager to see Richard Petty defeat David Pearson by a margin of five seconds.

From the halfway point (lap 251) to the end of the event, Petty and Pearson didn't allow the lead to escape their collective grasps. David Pearson, Bobby Isaac, and Bobby Allison all dominated the opening 100 laps of this racing event. The average racing speed was 85.121 miles per hour (136.989 km/h); which was overshadowed by David Pearson's solo qualifying speed of 95.472 miles per hour (153.647 km/h).

Individual driver earnings from this racing event ranged from the winner's share of $3,500 ($23,816.75 when considering inflation) to the lowest possible earnings of $150 ($1,020.72 when considering inflation). Organizers were authorized to hand over a grand total of $16,935 for all the qualifying drivers ($115,239.03 when considering inflation).

Finishing order

1. Richard Petty
2. David Pearson
3. James Hylton
4. Elmo Langley†
5. John Sears†
6. Friday Hassler*†
7. Neil Castles
8. Bill Seifert
9. Henley Gray
10. Ben Arnold
11. Cecil Gordon†
12. Roy Mayne
13. Wendell Scott†
14. Walson Gardner
15. Roy Tyner†
16. LeeRoy Yarbrough*†
17. Bobby Isaac*†
18. Ed Negre
19. Bobby Allison*
20. Wayne Smith*
21. G.C. Spencer*†
22. Earl Brooks*†
23. Ervin Pruitt*
24. E.J. Trivette*
25. Darel Dieringer*†
26. Don Tarr*
27. Don Tomberlin*
28. Bill Champion*†
29. Jabe Thomas*
30. J.D. McDuffie*†

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

References

Preceded by 1968 Peach State 200

NASCAR Grand National Series Season 1968-69

Succeeded by 1969 Alabama 200

Preceded by none

Georgia 500 races 1969

Succeeded by November 1969

Preceded by 1968 American 500

Richard Petty's Career Wins 1960-1984

Succeeded by 1969 Motor Trend 500