Official name National 500 | ||
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Date October 12, 1969 (1969-October-12) Course Permanent racing facility1.500 mi (2.414 km) Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (804 km) Weather Temperatures reaching up to 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds up to 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) | ||
The 1969 National 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 12, 1969, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This race is still being held in today's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series as the 'Bank of America 500'.
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.
Summary
It took three hours and forty-two minutes to complete the race. Nine cautions were given out for fifty laps but Donnie Allison defeated Bobby Allison by sixteen seconds. Fifty thousand people attended this live race to see speeds averaging 131.271 miles per hour (211.260 km/h) and Cale Yarborough earning his pole position by qualifying with a speed of 162.162 miles per hour (260.974 km/h). While most of the drivers were under the banner of a multi-car team during this era, there were still a good amount of drivers who were either independent owner-drivers or were employed by independent-minded vehicle owners. There was a consolation race for the drivers who failed to qualify, only three cars finished that race; the winner was J.C. Spradley who participated in a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle.
Other notable drivers in this race include: A.J. Foyt, Coo Coo Marlin, Cale Yarborough, J.D. McDuffie, Wendell Scott, and Richard Petty. This would become the forty-eighth racing officially sanctioned by NASCAR out of the 54 that would be raced in 1969. The 1969 NASCAR Grand National season would later mark its conclusion with the 1969 Texas 500 race on December 7, 1969, with David Pearson emerging as the eventual champion for the year. Pearson would later become recognized for winning races more consistently than Richard Petty but having an abbreviated racing career compared to him.
Had Pearson been able to participate in the number of races as Petty, he might have beaten Richard Petty's record of 200 career race wins. The winner's purse was considered to be $20,280 ($132,445.70 when considering inflation). Jim Lineberger would make his only NASCAR Cup Series appearance this event while Bob Cooper and Wayne Gillette would gracefully bow out of professional stock car racing after the completion of this race.
Finishing order
* Driver failed to finish race