1968 Rebel 400

1968 Rebel 400

Race details[1][2]
Race 15 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Darlington Raceway
Date	May 11, 1968
Official name	Rebel 400
Location	Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina)
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance	291 laps, 401.3 mi (706.7 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 82.9 °F (28.3 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed	132.699 miles per hour (213.558 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	LeeRoy Yarbrough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver	David Pearson	Holman-Moody
Laps	131
Winner
No. 17	David Pearson	Holman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network	ABC's Wide World of Sports
Announcers	Pre-recorded (no announcers)

The 1968 Rebel 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on May 11, 1968 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.

Summary

291 laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 1.375 miles (2.213 km) for a grand total of 400.1 miles (643.9 km).^[2] The time of the race was three hours and fifty-four seconds with a crowd of 22,500 attending.^[2] Four cautions for twenty-three laps was a part of the race.^[2] David Pearson defeated Darel Dieringer in his 1968 Ford vehicle by a time of eighteen seconds.^[2] Canadian racer Frog Fagan participated in the race and finished in 22nd place.^[2] The average speed was 132.699 miles per hour (213.558 km/h) while the pole position speed was 148.85 miles per hour (239.55 km/h).^[2] Other notable drivers included Wendell Scott, Richard Petty, Buddy Baker, Elmo Langley, and Roy Tyner.^[2] Out of the thirty-four drivers, fifteen of them did not finish the race.^[2]

Total winnings for the 1968 Rebel 400 were $53,455 ($363,749.77 when adjusted for inflation); first-place finisher Pearson earned $13,700 ($93,225.55 when adjusted for inflation) while last-place finisher Hess walked away with only $460 in race earnings ($3,130.2 when adjusted for inflation).^[3]

Lennie Waldo would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in this racing event.^[4]

Finishers

1. David Pearson
2. Darel Dieringer†
3. Richard Petty
4. Buddy Baker† (highest finishing Dodge entry)
5. LeeRoy Yarbrough†
6. James Hylton
7. Bobby Isaac†
8. John Sears†
9. Bud Moore
10. Elmo Langley†
11. Bill Champion†
12. E.J. Trivette (highest finishing Chevrolet entry)
13. Wendell Scott†
14. Don Tarr*
15. Curtis Turner*†
16. Earl Brooks†
17. Henley Gray
18. Lennie Waldo
19. Clyde Lynn†
20. Cale Yarborough*
21. Paul Dean Holt
22. Frog Fagan
23. Bobby Allison*
24. Paul Goldsmith*
25. Stan Meserve*
26. Jabe Thomas*
27. Wayne Smith*
28. Charlie Glotzbach*
29. Donnie Allison*
30. Roy Tyner*†
31. Ed Negre*
32. Tiny Lund*†
33. Neil Castles*
34. Larry Hess* (only Rambler entry in the race)

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

References

1. "1968 Rebel 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
2. "1968 Rebel 400 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
3. "1968 Rebel 400 racing results (second reference)". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
4. "Lennie Waldo's NASCAR Debut". Race Database. Retrieved 2013-04-13.