1968 Dixie 250

1968 Dixie 250
Race details[1][2]
Race 13 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Augusta International Raceway layout
Augusta International Raceway layout
Date May 3, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-05-03)
Official name Dixie 250
Location Augusta Speedway, Augusta, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance 300 laps, 125 mi (216 km)
Weather Temperatures of 84.9 °F (29.4 °C) with wind speeds of 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)
Average speed 73.099 miles per hour (117.641 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Nord Krauskopf
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Isaac Nord Krauskopf
Laps 242
Winner
No. 71 Bobby Isaac Nord Krauskopf
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1968 Dixie 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 3, 1968, at Augusta Speedway in Augusta, Georgia.

This is the only race of the year that eventual 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series champion David Pearson didn't run.

Race report

Two hundred and fifty laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) for a grand total of 125.0 miles (201.2 km).[1] The race took one hour, forty-two minutes, and thirty-six seconds to reach its full conclusion: Bobby Isaac defeated Buddy Baker[3] by more than a lap; bringing home $1,100 as the winner's top prize ($9,638 when considering inflation).[4]

Canadian driver Frog Fagan participated in this event as the only non-American driver.[1] Four thousand and five hundred people went to see speeds averaging 73.099 miles per hour (117.641 km/h) with Bobby Isaac gaining the pole position with a speed of 83.877 miles per hour (134.987 km/h).[1] Bobby Isaac would go on to earn three pole positions during the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season and 19 pole positions during the following season; making him a prototypical version of Ryan Newman with his blistering speeds that he would register during qualifying.[5]

Notable crew chiefs who attended the race were Ray Hicks, Frankie Scott, Dale Inman and Harry Hyde.[6]

Total winnings for this event were $6,260 ($54,848 when considering inflation).[1] In this race, Bob Cooper finished in 22nd place and won $100 just for driving a stock car as fast and as efficiently as possible.[1] A man could have easily supported himself by earning $100 a week back in the late-1960s and lived comfortably. In the 21st century, a typical person needs to make at least $1000 a week in order to make ends meet.

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.

Qualifying

Grid[1] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 71 Bobby Isaac '67 Dodge Nord Krauskopf
2 55 LeeRoy Yarborough '67 Ford Lyle Stelter
3 12 Tom Pistone '68 Mercury Tom Pistone
4 43 Richard Petty '68 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
5 48 James Hylton '67 Dodge James Hylton
6 4 John Sears '67 Ford L.G. DeWitt
7 3 Buddy Baker '67 Dodge Ray Fox
8 79 Frank Warren '67 Chevrolet Harold Rhodes
9 94 Elmo Langley '66 Ford Elmo Langley / Henry Woodfield
10 06 Neil Castles '67 Plymouth Neil Castles

Timeline

Section reference:[1]

  • Start of race: Bobby Isaac started the race with the pole position.
  • Lap 17: Stan Meserve noticed that his vehicle had a problematic ignition.
  • Lap 20: Bill Cooper's engine developed problems.
  • Lap 30: Bill Seifett had a terminal crash, causing him to leave the event.
  • Lap 54: Henley Grey's vehicle managed to overheat, Frog Fagan's suspension developed problems that ended his day on the track.
  • Lap 86: The axle on Richard Petty's vehicle acted up, stopping his race for the weekend.
  • Lap 87: The rear end of Roy Tyner's vehicle fell off, forcing him to finish outside the top-15.
  • Lap 125: J.D. McDuffie's vehicle developed problems with its rear end.
  • Lap 131: Tom Pistone takes over the lead from Bobby Isaac.
  • Lap 139: Bobby Isaac takes over the lead from Tom Pistone.
  • Lap 158: LeeRoy Yarbrough's vehicle developed problems with its rear end.
  • Lap 170: John Sears' vehicle developed problems with its rear end.
  • Lap 175: Neil Castles' engine became problematic.
  • Lap 188: Elmo Langley's vehicle developed a problematic engine.
  • Lap 233: Frank Warren suffered a terminal crash, forcing him out of the race.
  • Finish: Bobby Isaac was officially declared the winner of the event.

Finishing order

Section reference:[1]

  1. Bobby Isaac (No. 71)
  2. Buddy Baker (No. 3)
  3. Tom Pistone (No. 12)
  4. James Hylton (No. 48)
  5. Buck Baker (No. 87)
  6. Clyde Lynn (No. 20)
  7. Frank Warren* (No. 79)
  8. Wendell Scott (No. 34)
  9. Jabe Thomas (No. 25)
  10. Bob Moore (No. 96)
  11. Paul Dean Holt (No. 01)
  12. Elmo Langley* (No. 64)
  13. Neil Castles* (No. 06)
  14. John Sears* (No. 4)
  15. LeeRoy Yarbrough* (No. 55)
  16. J.D. McDuffie* (No. 70)
  17. Roy Tyner* (No. 09)
  18. Richard Petty* (No. 43)
  19. Henley Gray* (No. 19)
  20. Frog Fagan* (No. 95)
  21. Bill Seifert* (No. 45)
  22. Bob Cooper* (No. 02)
  23. Stan Meserve* (No. 51)

* Driver failed to finish race

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1968 Dixie 250 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  2. ^ "1968 Dixie 250 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  3. ^ "1968 Dixie 250 race winner information". Jacobs USA. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  4. ^ "1968 Dixie 250 information (winner's bounty)". Everything Stock Car. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  5. ^ "Bobby Isaac: The Original Rocketman". Lionel Racing. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  6. ^ "1968 Dixie 250 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Season
1968 		Succeeded by