1969 Georgia 500 (November 1968)
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
| Date | November 17, 1968 | ||
| 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 | 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 Monster Energy NASCAR 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 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.
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 ($24,104.78 when considering inflation) to the lowest possible earnings of $150 ($1,033.06 when considering inflation). Organizers were authorized to hand over a grand total of $16,935 for all the qualifying drivers ($116,632.72 when considering inflation).
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