1968 Western North Carolina 500

1968 Western North Carolina 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 36 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date August 18, 1968 (1968-08-18)
Official name Western North Carolina 500
Location Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, Weaverville, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance 500 laps, 250 mi (402 km)
Weather Hot with temperatures approaching 87.1 °F (30.6 °C); wind speeds up to 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)
Average speed 73.686 miles per hour (118.586 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Mario Rossi
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Holman-Moody
Laps 456
Winner
No. 17 David Pearson Holman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1968 Western North Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on August 18, 1968 at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina.

Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km). The race took three hours and twenty-three minutes to finish.[2] Seven cautions were handed out by NASCAR for ninety laps.[2] David Pearson (with a Holman-Moody owned vehicle) defeated Bobby Isaac (in his Nord Krauskopf-owned vehicle) by more than three laps.[2] Notable speeds were: 73.686 miles per hour (118.586 km/h) for the average speed and 88.409 miles per hour (142.280 km/h) for the pole position speed (accomplished by Darel Dieringer using a vehicle owned by Mr. Mario Rossi).[2] Ten thousand and five hundred stock car racing fans attended this live event.[2] Out of twenty-nine American drivers, only nine of them finished the race in a timely manner.[2] Notable names included: J.D. McDuffie, Richard Petty, Elmo Langley, Roy Tyner, and Wendell Scott.[2]

The vehicle used by the winner was a 1968 Ford Torino machine homologated for use by the general public but modified to increase both speed and safety. A prize amount of $2,150 ($14,630.29 when adjusted for inflation) was given out to the winner of the race while last place paid out $150 ($1,020.72 when adjusted for inflation) for only fifteen laps of work by driver G.C. Spencer.[2] When all the winnings for this racing event are consolidated together, the total prize purse was $13,485 ($91,762.52 when adjusted for inflation).[3]

Finishing order

  1. David Pearson
  2. Bobby Isaac
  3. Neil Castles
  4. Roy Tyner
  5. Bill Seifert
  6. Jabe Thomas
  7. Ervin Pruett
  8. Walson Gardener
  9. Wendell Scott
  10. Pete Hamilton*
  11. Paul Dean Holt*
  12. Bobby Allison*
  13. Eddie Yarboro*
  14. George England*
  15. Ed Negre*
  16. Elmo Langley*
  17. Paul Goldsmith*
  18. James Hylton*
  19. Bob Burcham*
  20. Earl Brooks*
  21. Clyde Lynn*
  22. Darel Dieringer*
  23. Tiny Lund*
  24. Stan Meserve*
  25. J.D. McDuffie*
  26. Richard Petty*
  27. Wayne Smith*
  28. John Sears*
  29. G.C. Spencer*

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

References

  1. ↑ "1968 Western Carolina 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "1968 Western Carolina 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  3. ↑ "1968 Western Carolina 500 information (prize winnings)". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
Preceded by
1968 Myers Brothers 250		 NASCAR Grand National Season
1968 		Succeeded by
1968 untitled race at South Boston Speedway
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