The 1969 World 600, the 10th running of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

, 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 took place on May 25, 1969, at

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 ...

Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated population in 2021 of 107,697. In terms of population, the cit ...

Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a asphalt quad-oval in

. The track, which opened in 1960, was built by

Bruton Smith Ollen Bruton Smith (March 3, 1927 – June 22, 2022) was a promoter and owner/CEO of NASCAR track owner Speedway Motorsports, Inc. He was inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was bill ...

and Curtis Turner.

Qualifying

Race report

Four hundred laps were raced on the paved oval track spanning . After nearly four hours and thirty minutes 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 Donnie Allison by two laps''1969 World 600''
at Race Database 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 Ed Negre (July 16, 1927June 4, 2014) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1955 to 1979.''E ...

would get the last-place finish in

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 ...

's 1967

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

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 while the average race speed was . There was a 16-lap difference between 2nd-place finisher Donnie Allison and 3rd-place finisher James Hylton; showing the spectators that those two drivers did not have a similar set of racing skills. 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 David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final ...

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 Larry Hess (born May 3, 1935) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1965 to 1969. Eleven notable crew chiefs: Cotton Owens, Dick Hutcherson,

Glen Wood Glenn Alexandria Wood (July 18, 1925 – January 18, 2019) was an American NASCAR driver from Stuart, Virginia. Early life He and brother Leonard Wood co-founded the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953, and won four races over an elev ...

Banjo Matthews Edwin Keith "Banjo" Matthews (February 14, 1932 – October 2, 1996) was an American NASCAR driver, car owner, and builder. As a driver, he had 13 top ten finishes in 51 starts. He was the car builder for the 1976 to 1978 NASCAR Cup Series ch ...

, 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 ...

and Harry Hyde.''1969 World 600''
crew chief information at Racing Reference

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 suddenly caught on fire. * Lap 54: Richard Petty took over the lead from Dave Marcis. * Lap 57: The wiring on Gerald Chamberlain's vehicle suddenly became a problem. * 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 managed to overheat his racing vehicle. * Lap 150: John Sears fell out with engine failure. * Lap 151: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over 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 official winner of the event.

Finishing order

Section reference: # LeeRoy Yarbrough # Donnie Allison # James Hylton #

G.C. Spencer Grover Clifton "G. C." Spencer (July 9, 1925GC Spencer obituaryhttp://www.heartfeltconnections.net/memberEulogy.cfm?memberid=14734&sqry_rownum=1&CFTOKEN=39227896 . – September 20, 2007) was a NASCAR driver who competed in 415 Grand National/ ...

# Bobby Isaac # Don Tarr # Hoss Ellington # Jabe Thomas #

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 ...

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 ...

# Sonny Hutchins #

Buddy Young Claude Henry K. "Buddy" Young (January 5, 1926 – September 5, 1983) was an American football player and track and field athlete. A native of Chicago, he was Illinois state champ in the 100-yard dash. The 5'4" Young, also known as the "Bronze Bu ...

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 ...

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 ...

J.D. McDuffie John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 top-10 finishes during his career, despite never finishing on the lead ...

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 198 ...

Ed Hessert Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

# Bill Seifert #

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 ...

# Ben Arnold #

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 ...

# Buddy Arrington #

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 ...

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 ...

Sam McQuagg Samuel "Sam" McQuagg (November 11, 1937 – January 3, 2009) was an American former NASCAR Rookie of the Year driver. He died of cancer on January 3, 2009 at the age of 71. He and his wife Joy had recently celebrated their 54th wedding anni ...

# Paul Goldsmith #

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 ...

# John Sears # Frank Warren # Bill Champion #

Larry Hess Larry Hess (born May 3, 1935) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1965 to 1969.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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

# Dub Simpson # Dick Johnson # Gerald Chamberlain #

Richard Brickhouse Richard Brickhouse (born October 27, 1939 in Rocky Point, North Carolina) is a retired NASCAR driver. He is best known for winning the inaugural Talladega 500 The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspe ...

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 ...

# Bobby Allison #

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 ...

# John Kenney #

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

References

{{Coca-Cola 600

World 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...

NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway