Official name Dixie 500 | ||
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Date August 10, 1969 (1969-August-10) Course Permanent racing facility1.522 mi (2.449 km) Distance 328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km) Weather Hot with temperatures approaching 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds up to 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h) | ||
The 1969 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on August 10, 1969, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.
Contents
This race was scheduled for August 3, 1969, but it ended up being rain delayed until August 10, 1969.
Background
Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate track to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.
The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.
Summary
After 334 laps (3¾ hours of racing), LeeRoy Yarbrough defeated David Pearson by 5½ seconds in front of a live audience of 14300 people. The pole position winner was Cale Yarborough who drove at speeds up to 155.413 miles per hour (250.113 km/h) prior to the race. John Sears had a problem with his engine and had to withdraw from the race on the third lap. All 40 competitors on the racing grid were born in the United States of America; no foreigners attempted to qualify. Nord Krauskopf's entry (with Bobby Isaac as the driver) finished in 34th place.
Ford vehicles managed to dominate the starting grid. The winner of the race received $18,620 of the total winners ($121,604.48 when considering inflation) while the last-place finisher went home with a meager $725 ($4,734.87 when considering inflation).
Last race for the legendary Smokey Yunick's team. Chargin' Charlie Glotzbach brought the #13 Ford home in 4th place for a somewhat fitting final ride. 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.