The 1969 Georgia 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 The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Nation ...

event that was held on November 9, 1969, at

Middle Georgia Raceway The Middle Georgia Raceway was a raceway located in Byron, Georgia, in the United States. Nine NASCAR Grand National Series races were held at the track between 1966 and 1971. Richard Petty won four races, Bobby Allison won three, and David Pears ...

Byron, Georgia Byron is a city located primarily in Peach County, Georgia, United States. A small portion of the city also extends into parts of Houston and Crawford counties. The population was estimated to be 5,149 in 2019 by the Census Bureau, an increasin ...

. An earlier race was run on November 1968 with the same name and year number. 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.

Race report

It took two hours and thirty-seven minutes to thoroughly complete 500 laps worth of racing.Racing information for the ''1969 Georgia 500''
at Racing Reference

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 ...

quit for reasons unknown after just 64 laps; causing him to become the last-place finisher. Don Tarr's vehicle would develop problems with its water pump; relegating it to the garage on lap 126. Larry Baumel became the lowest-finishing driver who did not quit the race. James Cox also quit the race, but only after competing in 131 laps. Don Biederman's vehicle developed issues with its clutch on lap 130 while the rear end of Dick Brooks' vehicle forced him to retire from the race on lap 210. A problematic axle would end Roy Mayne's day on the track on lap 221. Engine problems would claim Friday Hassler's vehicle on lap 236 and Johnny Halford's vehicle on lap 256. A problematic clutch would take Elmo Langley out of the metaphorical equation on lap 288 while engine issues forced Ed Negre to retire on lap 291. E.J. Trivette would notice the rear end of his vehicle missing on lap 314 while Pete Hazelwood was black-flagged out the race on lap 366. Neil Castles would be forced to depart from the race due to engine troubles on lap 381.

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

had an engine problem and secure himself a sixth-place finish while

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 ...

ended up more than 100 laps behind the lead lap drivers. A NASCAR-following audience of ten thousand strong supporters ended up seeing

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short track ...

besting David Pearson by a distance of five stock car lengths. While David Pearson,

Bobby Isaac Robert Vance Isaac (August 1, 1932 – August 14, 1977) was an American stock car racing driver. Isaac made his first NASCAR appearance in 1961, and quickly forged a reputation of one of the toughest competitors of the 1960s and 1970s. He was most ...

and Richard Petty dominated the first 100 laps, the final 100 laps were monopolized by David Pearson and Bobby Allison. Six notable crew chiefs were recorded as participating in the event; including

Dick Hutcherson Richard "Dick" Hutcherson (November 30, 1931 – November 6, 2005) was an American businessman and a former stock car racer. A native of Keokuk, Iowa, Hutcherson drove in NASCAR competition from 1964 to 1967. He won 14 races, finishing runner-up ...

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 ...

and

Harry Hyde Harry Hyde (January 17, 1925 – May 13, 1996) was a leading crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing in the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions. He was the 1970 championship crew chief for Bobby Isaac. He inspired t ...

Don Biederman Don Biederman (February 20, 1940 – May 31, 1999) was a Canadian stock car racer from Port Credit, Ontario. Racing career Biederman was the first Canadian ever to campaign for a full season in the NASCAR Cup Series formerly known as the NASCAR G ...

was the only

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

in a field of 29 mostly

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born drivers. Bobby Isaac's pole position speed of exceeded the average race speed of by an incredible amount of time. Individual post-race earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $3,050 ($ when considering inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $350 ($ when considering inflation). The total prize purse that was offered by the organizers was $19,075 ($ when considering inflation).Racing information for the ''1969 Georgia 500''
at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet

Qualifying

Finishing order

Section reference: # Bobby Allison (No. 22) # David Pearson† (No. 17) #

† (No. 71) # John Sears† (No. 4) # Bill Champion† (No. 10) #

* (No. 43) #

Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon (June 21, 1941 – September 19, 2012) was an American stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1968 and 1985, he competed in 449 events without winning a race. NASCAR Career as driver Gordon d ...

† (No. 47) # Ben Arnold (No. 76) #

Henley Gray Clarence Henley Gray Jr. (born January 12, 1933) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1964 to 1977. Career Out of the 76045 laps committed in his career, Gray only led two of them. Gray's total career earnings ...

(No. 19) #

James Hylton James Harvey Hylton (August 26, 1934 – April 28, 2018) was an American stock car racing driver. He was a two-time winner in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition and was a long-time competitor in the ARCA Racing Series. Hylton finished second i ...

(No. 48) #

Bill Seifert William John Seifert (born July 2, 1939 - Skyland, North Carolina) is a retired NASCAR Sprint Cup Series who raced from 1966 to 1979.Don Patton (No. 89) #

Jabe Thomas Cerry Ezra "Jabe" Thomas (May 12, 1930 – June 4, 2015) was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series driver who competed from the mid-1960s through the late 1970s. His son Ronnie was also a NASCAR Cup Series driver; competing from 1977 to 1989 ...

(No. 25) #

Wendell Scott Wendell Oliver Scott (August 29, 1921 – December 23, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver. He was one of the first African-American drivers in NASCAR and the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series, NASCAR's h ...

† (No. 34) #

† (No. 26) #

Neil Castles Henry Neil Castles (October 1, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver. He raced from 1957 to 1976, and won the NASCAR Grand National East Series in 1972. Early life Castles was born in Ma ...

* (No. 06) # Pete Hazelwood* (No. 12) #

E.J. Trivette E. J. Trivette (born June 6, 1936, in Deep Gap, North Carolina, US) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver. Career In his thirteen-year career, Trivette has raced 177 races and has accomplished twenty-nine finishes in the top ten. He ha ...

* (No. 08) #

Ed Negre Ed Negre (July 16, 1927June 4, 2014) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1955 to 1979.'' ...

* (No. 8) #

Elmo Langley Elmo Harold Langley (August 21, 1928 – November 21, 1996) was a NASCAR driver and owner. Langley primarily used the number 64 on his race cars during his NASCAR career. Racing career Langley began his racing career racing modified cars in Vir ...

*† (No. 64) # Johnny Halford* (No. 57) #

Friday Hassler Raymond "Friday" Hassler (July 29, 1935 – February 17, 1972) was a NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver. Career Hassler made his debut in 1960 but only drove a handful of races per year until 1967 when he drove 21 of the 49 race ...

*† (No. 39) #

Roy Mayne Roy Mayne (May 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He was a driver in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Au ...

*† (No. 82) #

Dick Brooks Richard Brooks (April 14, 1942 – February 1, 2006) was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500. Brooks held off veteran Buddy Baker b ...

*† (No. 32) #

*† (No. 70) # James Cox* (No. 23) #

Don Tarr Donald James Tarr (11 March 1910 – 4 June 1980) was a Welsh international hooker who played club rugby for Swansea and Cardiff, county rugby for Hampshire and invitational rugby for the Barbarians. Tarr was a career naval officer, reaching t ...

* (No. 0) # Larry Baumel* (No. 68) #

*† (No. 98) ''† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased''
''* Driver failed to finish race''

References

{{authority control Georgia 500 (November 1969) Georgia 500 (November 1969) NASCAR races at Middle Georgia Raceway