Official name Alabama 500 | ||
Date December 8, 1968; 48 years ago (1968-12-08) Location Montgomery Speedway, Montgomery, Alabama Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (1.414 km) Distance 200 laps, 100 mi (150 km) Weather Cold with temperatures reaching a maximum of 48.9 °F (9.4 °C); wind speeds approaching 5.1 miles per hour (8.2 km/h) | ||
The 1969 Alabama 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on December 8, 1968, at Montgomery Speedway in Montgomery, Alabama. Seven lead changes were exchanged amongst three different leaders.
Contents
The transition to purposely-built racers 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.
Background
Montgomery Motor Speedway is a half-mile (.805 km) oval race track just west of Montgomery, Alabama. It opened in 1953, and is the oldest operating race track in Alabama. It held six NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) races between 1955 and 1969.
Summary
Bobby Allison managed to defeat Richard Petty by a distance of 4 feet (48 in). Two hundred laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km). Eleven laps were given two cautions flags due to various racing issues. Only 2800 people would attend this live race with the average racing speed being 73.200 miles per hour (117.804 km/h). However, the event was a "crowd pleaser" with most fans going home in a pleasant mood after the ending. Sherral Pruitt would be the last-place finisher due to his 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle overheating. Other finishers in the top ten were (in reverse order): Dave Marcis, Cecil Gordon, Henley Gray, Ben Arnold, John Sears, Neil Castles, Bobby Isaac, and James Hylton.
Elmo Langley, Red Farmer, and Roy Tyner were also notable NASCAR drivers who attended this event. It took one hour and twenty-one minutes to go from the first green flag to the checkered flag. Bill Ervin would retire from NASCAR after this race was held while Lee Gordon would start his NASCAR career here. Hylton still races regularly in the ARCA Series (currently being sponsored by Menards).
While the winner of the race got to take home a thousand dollars in winnings ($6,530.85 when considering inflation), the bottom nine finishers of the race were lucky to receive a paycheck for $100 ($653.09 when considering inflation).