1968 Dixie 250

1968 Dixie 250

Race details[1][2]
Race 13 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Augusta International Raceway layout
Date	May 3, 1968
Official name	Dixie 250
Location	Augusta Speedway, Augusta, Georgia
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance	300 laps, 125 mi (216 km)
Weather	Temperatures up to 84.9 °F (29.4 °C) with wind speeds up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h); compared to the 2012 maximum temperature of 91 °F (33 °C) with wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)[3]
Average speed	73.099 miles per hour (117.641 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Bobby Isaac	Nord Krauskopf
Most laps led
Driver	Bobby Isaac	Nord Krauskopf
Laps	242
Winner
No. 71	Bobby Isaac	Nord Krauskopf
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1968 Dixie 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on May 3, 1968 at Augusta Speedway in Augusta, Georgia.

Two hundred and fifty laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) for a grand total of 125.0 miles (201.2 km).^[1] The race took one hour, forty-two minutes, and thirty-six seconds to reach its full conclusion: Bobby Isaac defeated Buddy Baker^[4] by more than a lap; bringing home $1,100 as the winner's top prize ($7,485.26 when considering inflation).^[5] Canadian driver Frog Fagan participated in this event as the only non-American driver.^[1] Four thousand and five hundred people went to see speeds averaging 73.099 miles per hour (117.641 km/h) with Bobby Isaac gaining the pole position with a speed of 83.877 miles per hour (134.987 km/h).^[1] Total winnings for this event were $6,260 ($42,597.95 when considering inflation).

Timeline

• Start of race: Bobby Isaac started the race with the pole position
• Lap 20: Bill Cooper's engine developed problemd
• Lap 30: Bill Seifett had a terminal crash, causing him to leave the event
• Lap 54: Henley Grey's vehicle managed to overheat, bringing an end to his racing weekend
• Lap 86: The axle on Richard Petty's vehicle acted up, stopping his race for the weekend
• Lap 87: The rear end of Roy Tyner's vehicle fell off, forcing him to finish outside the top-15
• Lap 131: Tom Pistone takes over the lead from Bobby Isaac
• Lap 139: Bobby Isaac takes over the lead from Tom Pistone
• Lap 175: Neil Castles' engine became problematic
• Lap 188: Elmo Langley's vehicle developed a problematic enginr
• Lap 233: Frank Warren suffered a terminal crash, forcing him out of the race
• Finish: Bobby Isaac was officially declared the winner of the event

Finishing order

1. Bobby Isaac
2. Buddy Baker
3. Tom Pistone
4. James Hylton
5. Buck Baker
6. Clyde Lynn
7. Frank Warren* (crashed into a wall at lap 234)
8. Wendell Scott
9. Jabe Thomas
10. Bob Moore
11. Paul Dean Holt
12. Elmo Langley*
13. Neil Castles*
14. John Sears*
15. LeeRoy Yarbrough*
16. J.D. McDuffie*
17. Roy Tyner*
18. Richard Petty*
19. Henley Gray*
20. Frog Fagan*
21. Bill Seifert* (crashed into a wall at lap 31)
22. Bob Cooper*
23. Stan Meserve* (finished in last place with an ignition problem^[6])

* Driver failed to finish race

References

1. "1968 Dixie 250 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
2. "1968 Dixie 250 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
3. "Recent weather information for Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A. (May 3, 2012)". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
4. "1968 Dixie 250 race winner information". Jacobs USA. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
5. "1968 Dixie 250 information (winner's bounty)". Everything Stock Car. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
6. "Stan Meserve at the 1968 Dixie 250". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-02.