With 4 races remaining in the 1969 season, the Grand National cars rolled into Rockingham, NC for the American 500 at the North Carolina Motor Speedway.
The track's configuration had been re-done since the cars were previously at the track for the Carolina 500 in March. The banking of the turns had been raised. In the last race on the old configuration, Richard Petty just couldn't get a handle on things with the Ford Torino he'd just started racing that season. Things would surely be better when the teams returned to the new layout, right? Hold that thought.
From Dave Fulton collection
The storyline of the race was the championship battle between David Pearson and Richard Petty. Both were going for their 3rd championship - one that would tie the record held by Lee Petty.
The #98 Junior Johnson team led by crew chief Herb Nab on pit road and driven by Lee Roy Yarbrough got their weekend off to a good start by winning the third annual Union 76 World Pit Crew Championship.
Race preview from Spartanburg Herald :
Charlie Glotzbach and Bobby Allison started on the front row in their winged Dodges. Glotzbach led 80 laps in his Ray Nichels machine, but lost an engine and finished 23rd. Allison was never a factor as he was involved in a crash with John Kennedy at the 20-lap mark and finished a lowly 39th in the 40-car field.
Glotzbach won the pole on the 1st day of qualifying, and Yarbrough hit the wall wiping out his primary car. A replacement was brought in overnight from Jacksonville, FL. Lee Roy managed to qualify 9th - though his speed was quicker than Glotzbach's day-old track record.
Source: Spartanburg Herald
Source: Tuscaloosa News
Though the 98 team won the pit crew championship and qualified in the top 10, Sunday got off to an awkward start. First, Lee Roy supposedly adjusted his clock the wrong way to adjust for the "fall back" from daylight saving time. As a result, he overslept and was late getting to the track. Then in the first half of the race, Yarbrough was unable to spend a lot of laps on point. At one point, he slapped the wall, had to pit, and went a lap down. But the Herb Nab led crew kept their driver focused. Lee Roy made up his lap and then proceeded to lead huge chunks of laps in the 2nd half of the race.
Petty tried to keep Pearson in sight to continue the pressure for the points championship. But he popped the wall, parked his Ford after 113 laps, finished 32nd and essentially gift-wrapped the 1969 title to his rival Pearson. So in 2 races in 1969 at The Rock - on two different track configurations - the results were about the same for the 43.
Pearson soldiered on in hopes of getting the race win to go along with his 3rd title. But Lee Roy was simply too strong. Not only did he make up his lap - he made up another one on the field. Yarbrough won the race, and Pearson finished 2nd one lap down.
A really neat video recap of the race ... and the 1969 points battle between Petty and Pearson - including interviews with Pearson, Petty, and Lee Roy.
Race report from News And Courier .
Interesting how the use of a different two-letter word completely alters the opening to a story. Note the goof by this Hendersonville Times-News headline writer.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | LeeRoy Yarbrough | '69 Ford |
| 2 | David Pearson | '69 Ford |
| 3 | Buddy Baker | '69 Dodge |
| 4 | Dave Marcis | '69 Dodge |
| 5 | John Sears | '69 Ford |
| 6 | Dick Brooks | '69 Plymouth |
| 7 | Hoss Ellington | '69 Ford |
| 8 | Ed Negre | '67 Plymouth |
| 9 | Wendell Scott | '67 Ford |
| 10 | Neil Castles | '69 Dodge |
| 11 | Roy Mayne | '69 Chevrolet |
| 12 | Bill Seifert | '69 Ford |
| 13 | Jabe Thomas | '68 Plymouth |
| 14 | Cecil Gordon | '68 Ford |
| 15 | Bill Champion | '68 Ford |
| 16 | Bobby Isaac | '69 Dodge |
| 17 | E.J. Trivette | '69 Chevrolet |
| 18 | Johnny Halford | '67 Dodge |
| 19 | Larry Baumel | '69 Ford |
| 20 | J.D. McDuffie | '67 Chevrolet |
| 21 | Earl Brooks | '69 Pontiac |
| 22 | Elmo Langley | '67 Ford |
| 23 | Charlie Glotzbach | '69 Dodge |
| 24 | G.C. Spencer | '67 Plymouth |
| 25 | Dub Simpson | '69 Chevrolet |
| 26 | Buddy Young | '67 Chevrolet |
| 27 | Bobby Johns | '67 Chevrolet |
| 28 | James Hylton | '69 Dodge |
| 29 | Cale Yarborough | '69 Mercury |
| 30 | Donnie Allison | '69 Ford |
| 31 | Richard Brickhouse | '69 Dodge |
| 32 | Richard Petty | '69 Ford |
| 33 | Ben Arnold | '69 Chevrolet |
| 34 | Lennie Pond | '67 Chevrolet |
| 35 | Buddy Arrington | '69 Dodge |
| 36 | Clyde Lynn | '68 Ford |
| 37 | Friday Hassler | '67 Chevrolet |
| 38 | Henley Gray | '68 Ford |
| 39 | Bobby Allison | '69 Dodge |
| 40 | John Kennedy | '67 Chevrolet |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 10/26/17 10:32:05AM
