1969 Talladega 500
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| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 44 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
|
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| Date | September 14, 1969 | ||
| Official name | Talladega 500 | ||
| Location | Talladega Superspeedway (Talladega, Alabama) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.660 mi (4.280 km) |
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| Distance | 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Warm with temperatures approaching 82.9 °F (28.3 °C); wind speeds up to 5.1 miles per hour (8.2 km/h)[2] | ||
| Average speed | 153.778 miles per hour (247.482 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | K&K Insurance Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jim Vandiver | Fox Racing | |
| Laps | 102 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 99 | Richard Brickhouse | Nichels Engineering | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The inaugural race in the Talladega 500 (now Alabama 500) series was held on September 14, 1969, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama, USA.
Summary
It was the 44th event of the 1969 season. It is primarily remembered because all of the NASCAR stars from the PDA (Professional Driver Association), led by Richard Petty, boycotted the race due to a major lack of tire grip. The field was replaced by other drivers, which introduced future championship winning owner Richard Childress. It also introduced the Dodge Charger Daytona cars for the first in the series. Richard Brickhouse won the race, it was his only victory in the Sprint Cup Series. The tire company Firestone dropped out of the sport before race day due to the tire problems.
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.
Ray Fox and Jim Vandiver, whose #99 car finished second, were convinced that they actually lapped Brickhouse and won, but the win stood. The PDA disbanded soon after their boycott. Bobby Isaac won the pole for the race.[3]
Drivers involved in the 1969 boycott
- Richard Petty (President of the PDA)
- David Pearson
- Bobby Allison
- Donnie Allison
- Cale Yarborough
- James Hylton
- Wendell Scott
- Buddy Baker
- Charlie Glotzbach
- LeeRoy Yarbrough
- Ramo Stott
- Jack Ingram
- Tiny Lund
- Bobby Johns
- John Sears
- Paul Goldsmith
Results
- Richard Brickhouse – #99
- Jim Vandiver – #3
- Ramo Stott – #14
- Bobby Isaac – #71
- Dick Brooks – #32
- Earl Brooks – #26
- Jimmy Vaughn – #7
- Billy Hagan – #52
- Tiny Lund – #53
- Coo Coo Marlin – #07
References
- ↑ Racing-Reference.info - 1969 Talladega 500 Race Results at Racing Reference
- ↑ The Old Farmers' Almanac - 1969 Talladega 500 Weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ Driver Averages - 1969 Talladega 500 Race Results at Driver Averages
| Preceded by | NASCAR Grand National races 1969 |
Succeeded by 1969 Sandlapper 200 |
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