1969 World 600

Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 mi asphalt quad-oval in Concord, North Carolina. The track, which opened in 1960, was built by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner.

Qualifying

Race report

Four hundred laps were raced on the paved oval track spanning 1.5 mi. After nearly four hours and thirty minutes of racing, LeeRoy Yarbrough defeated Donnie Allison by two laps in front of 75000 spectators. The 16-lap difference between 2nd-place finisher Donnie Allison and 3rd-place finisher James Hylton was another notable feature of this event. Five cautions would be waved for 45 laps along with 13 lead changes among eight different drivers. 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; racing for a total of $132,100 ($ 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. Don Tarr scored his best career finish of 6th place. Allison would gain the pole position with a speed of 159.296 mph while the average race speed was 134.631 mph.

Pearson's car rode the guardrail on a lap 13 crash. His car came back on the inside of the racetrack but while riding the guardrail Pearson hit a flag pole. 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.

Notable crew chiefs: Cotton Owens, Dick Hutcherson, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews, Jim Vandiver, Dale Inman and Harry Hyde.

Timeline

Section reference:

• Start of race: Cale Yarborough had the pole position to begin the event.
• Lap 2: Ed Negre's vehicle developed transmission problems.
• Lap 4: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Cale Yarborough; John Keeney had a terminal crash.
• Lap 13: David Pearson had a terminal crash.
• Lap 15: The radiator on Bobby Allison's vehicle developed serious issues.
• Lap 30: Paul Goldsmith took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarborough.
• Lap 34: The sway bar on Henley Gray's video became dangerously loose.
• Lap 38: James Hylton took over the lead from Paul Goldsmith.
• Lap 40: Paul Goldsmith took over the lead from James Hylton.
• Lap 42: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Paul Goldsmith.
• Lap 48: Dave Marcis took over the lead from Bobby Isaac; the carburetor on Richard Brickhouse's vehicle caught on fire.
• Lap 54: Richard Petty took over the lead from Dave Marcis.
• Lap 57: The wiring on Gerald Chamberlain's vehicle failed.
• Lap 81: Dub Simpson managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle.
• Lap 104: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Richard Petty.
• Lap 106: Richard Petty took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough.
• Lap 108: Wendell Scott fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 110: Roy Mayne fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 122: Larry Hess fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 135: Bill Champion fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 139: Frank Warren overheated his vehicle.
• Lap 150: John Sears fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 151: LeeRoy Yarbrough took the lead from Richard Petty.
• Lap 153: Neil Castles had a terminal crash.
• Lap 158: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough.
• Lap 162: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Bobby Isaac.
• Lap 272: Dave Marcis fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 303: Sam McQuagg fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 307: An incident involving a vehicle's hub forced Cale Yarborough out of the race.
• Lap 308: Buddy Arrington fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 336: Richard Petty fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 347: Buddy Baker fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 367: Friday Hassler fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 374: Bobby Isaac fell out with engine failure.
• Finish: LeeRoy Yarbrough was the winner of the event.

Finishing order

Section reference:

1. LeeRoy Yarbrough
2. Donnie Allison
3. James Hylton
4. G.C. Spencer
5. Bobby Isaac
6. Don Tarr
7. Hoss Ellington
8. Jabe Thomas
9. Friday Hassler
10. Elmo Langley
11. Sonny Hutchins
12. Buddy Young
13. E.J. Trivette
14. Roy Tyner
15. J.D. McDuffie
16. Buddy Baker
17. Ed Hessert
18. Bill Seifert
19. Richard Petty
20. Ben Arnold
21. Cecil Gordon
22. Buddy Arrington
23. Cale Yarborough
24. Earl Brooks
25. Sam McQuagg
26. Dave Marcis
27. Paul Goldsmith
28. Neil Castles
29. John Sears
30. Frank Warren
31. Bill Champion
32. Larry Hess
33. Dick Brooks
34. Roy Mayne
35. Wendell Scott
36. Dub Simpson
37. Dick Johnson
38. Gerald Chamberlain
39. Richard Brickhouse
40. Henley Gray
41. Bobby Allison
42. David Pearson
43. John Kenney
44. Ed Negre

References

References

1. [http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/zipcode/28027/1969-05-25 Weather information for the ''1969 World 600''] at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. [http://www.databaseracing.com/races/raceinfo.htm?rid=914 ''1969 World 600''] at Database Racing
3. [https://www.racing-reference.info/race/1969_World_600/W ''1969 World 600''] at Racing Reference
4. [http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1969&race=21&series_id=2 ''1969 World 600''] at Race Database
5. [http://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar/races/results/1969/charlotte-motor-speedway/world-600/1128 ''1969 World 600''] at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
6. [http://racing-reference.info/entrylist/1969-21/W/C ''1969 World 600''] crew chief information at Racing Reference