Official name World 600 | ||
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Date May 25, 1969 (1969-May-25) Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km) Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (804 km) Weather Warm with temperatures approaching 84 °F (29 °C); wind speeds up to 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) | ||
The 1969 World 600, the 10th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that took place on May 25, 1969, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
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
The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval in Concord, North Carolina. The track, which opened in 1960, was built by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner.
Summary
Four hundred laps were accomplished on a paved oval track spanning 1.5 miles (2.4 km). After nearly four hours and thirty minutes of racing, LeeRoy Yarbrough managed to defeat Donnie Allison by two laps in front of 75000 live spectators. Five cautions would be given out for 45 laps along with 13 lead changes amongst eight different competing drivers. One of the most spectactular feats of this race would be when LeeRoy Yarbrough would lead the race from lap 162 through lap 400; putting on a very strong performance to win the race.
There were 44 drivers in the race; each of them would be racing for a racing purse that had a grand total of $132,100 ($862,725.68 when considering inflation). Ed Negre would get the last-place finish in Don Tarr's 1967 Chevrolet due to a transmission problem on the second lap. Allison would gain the pole position with a speed of 159.296 miles per hour (256.362 km/h) while the average race speed was 134.631 miles per hour (216.668 km/h). Pearson's car rode the guardrail on his lap 13 crash. His car came back on the inside of the racetrack but while riding the guardrail Pearson hit a flag pole, which served as a landmark for the speedway.
Dave Marcis would have a long career ahead of him after leading the laps in this race. However, this would be the final race for Gerald Chamberlain and Larry Hess.