The 1969 Dixie 500 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Grand National Series event that was held on August 10, 1969, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.

Background

Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate tracks to hold

races; the others are

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...

Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...

, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway,

Kentucky Speedway Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...

, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built. The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five. The race was scheduled for August 3, 1969, but it ended up being rain delayed until August 10, 1969.

Race report

After 334 laps (3¾ hours of racing),

LeeRoy Yarbrough Lonnie "LeeRoy" Yarbrough (September 17, 1938 – December 7, 1984) was an American stock car racer. His best season was 1969 when he won seven races, tallied 21 finishes in the top-ten and earned $193,211 ($ when inflation is taken into accoun ...

defeated

David Pearson David or Dave Pearson may refer to: * David Pearson (librarian) (born 1955), British librarian and scholar * David Pearson (racing driver) (1934–2018), American car racing champion * David Pearson (scientist) (born 1942), Canadian scientist, a ...

by 5½ seconds in front of 14,300 people.''1969 Dixie 500''
racing information at Racing Reference The

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

winner was

Cale Yarborough William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...

at . John Sears had a problem with his engine and had to withdraw from the race on the third lap. All 40 competitors on the racing grid were born in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Nord Krauskopf Nord Krauskopf (January 26, 1922 – August 3, 1986) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race car owner whose career spanned from 1966 to 1977. He was the owner of K&K Insurance and a part of the business since its foundation in 1952. This was a ...

's entry (with Bobby Isaac as the driver) finished in 34th place. Ford vehicles dominated the starting grid. The winner of the race received $18,620 of the total winners ($ when considering inflation) while the last-place finisher went home with $725 ($ when considering inflation). This was the last race for Smokey Yunick's team. Charlie Glotzbach brought the #13 Yunick Ford home in 4th place. 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. Notable crew chiefs included Cotton Owens, Jim Vandiver,

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three de ...

, Harry Hyde and Dick Hutcherson.

Qualifying

Failed to qualify:

Earl Brooks Earl Lee Brooks (August 11, 1929 – July 21, 2010) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1962 to 1979. His career came at a time where NASCAR was less organized than it is today and drivers independently owned their v ...

(#26),

Roy Tyner William Leroy "Roy" Tyner (January 3, 1934 – February 23, 1989) was a Native American ''NASCAR Grand National'' driver from Red Springs, North Carolina, United States. NASCAR career Driver Tyner participated in the 1968 Fireball 300 in add ...

(#9), John Sears (#4), Ron Grana (#05), Kenneth Cline (#69)Qualifying results for the ''1969 Dixie 500''
at Racing Reference

Top 10 finishers

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Cale Yarborough had the pole position as the race officially commenced. * Lap 3: John Sears managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 28: Problems with his vehicle's clutch eliminated Don Tarr from the race. * Lap 46: Bill Seifert managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 50: Buddy Baker took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. * Lap 53: Richard Petty took over the lead from Buddy Baker. * Lap 55: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 56: Paul Goldsmith took over the lead from Bobby Allison. * Lap 57: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Paul Goldsmith. * Lap 62: Ed Negre managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 70: Charlie Glotzbach took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. * Lap 73: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Charlie Glotzbach. * Lap 78: Dub Simpson managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 82: Earl Brooks managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 83: G.C. Spencer managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 93: Bobby Isaac managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 94: Buddy Baker took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. * Lap 97: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Buddy Baker. * Lap 107: Hoss Ellington had a terminal crash. * Lap 111: David Pearson took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. * Lap 123: Charlie Glotzbach took over the lead from David Pearson. * Lap 125: David Pearson took over the lead from Charlie Glotzbach. * Lap 133: Dave Miller managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 168: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from David Pearson. * Lap 171: Richard Petty took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough. * Lap 182: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 187: The sway bar on Wayne Gillette's vehicle became too much of a danger, forcing Gillette off the track. * Lap 192: Elmo Langley managed to overheat his vehicle. * Lap 207: Frank Warren managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds. * Lap 240: Richard Petty took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough. * Lap 242: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 244: Henley Gray ruined his vehicle's driveshaft. * Lap 264: J.D. McDuffie managed to wreck his engine while racing at high speeds; Buddy Young damaged his vehicle's water pump beyond repair. * Lap 291: David Pearson took over the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough. * Lap 293: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson. * Lap 303: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Finish: LeeRoy Yarbrough was officially declared the winner of the race.

References

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Dixie 500 The Ambetter Health 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. William Byron is the defending race winner. This race was originally Atlanta's second race of the season and was run as a late- ...

NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway