1967 Atlanta 500

The 1967 Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 2, 1967, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.[2]

1967 Atlanta 500
Race details[1]
Race 10 of 49 in the 1967 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Atlanta International Raceway, used until 1996
Layout of Atlanta International Raceway, used until 1996
Date April 2, 1967 (1967-April-02)
Official name Atlanta 500
Location Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.400 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501.0 mi (804 km)
Weather Temperatures of 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
Average speed 131.238 miles per hour (211.207 km/h)
Attendance 70,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers
Laps 301
Winner
No. 21 Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s.

Background

Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.[3] However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.

The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.[4]

Race report

There were 44 American-born drivers on the grid; Cale Yarborough defeated Dick Hutcherson by more than one lap in front of 70,000 audience members. Yarborough would score his second career win, along with his first win of 1967, and end a 31-race drought.[2][5] The race lasted nearly four hours with the average speed being 131.288 miles per hour (211.288 km/h).[2][5] Yarborough's qualifying speed was 148.996 miles per hour (239.786 km/h).[2][5] Veteran NASCAR owner Nord Krauskopf would employ drivers Charlie Glotzbach and Bobby Isaac during the race.[2] Blackie Watt would finish in last-place on lap 2 due to engine failure.[2][5] Meanwhile, windshield problems would knock Don White out of the race at lap 193 of 334.[2][5] Six cautions slowed the field for 39 laps.[2][5]

Fred Lorenzen would race for the final time in his legendary #28 white and blue 1967 Ford Fairlane machine that would make him popular in NASCAR. Curtis Turner, who was driving a Chevrolet owned by Smokey Yunick, would escape being injured in a practice crash.[6]

The purse for this race was $64,995 ($570,425 when adjusted for inflation); the winner's share was $21,035 ($184,613 when adjusted for inflation) while last place received $540 ($4,739 when adjusted for inflation).[5]

Qualifying
Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 21Cale Yarborough'67 FordWood Brothers
2 43Richard Petty'67 PlymouthPetty Enterprises
3 28Fred Lorenzen'67 FordHolman-Moody Racing
4 6David Pearson'67 DodgeCotton Owens
5 27A.J. Foyt'67 FordBanjo Matthews
6 42Tiny Lund'67 PlymouthPetty Enterprises
7 26Darel Dieringer'67 FordJunior Johnson
8 14Jim Paschal'67 PlymouthTom Friedkin
9 29Dick Hutcherson'67 FordBondy Long
10 3Buddy Baker'67 DodgeRay Fox

Failed to qualify: Ben Lane (#78)[7]

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. Cale Yarborough
  2. Dick Hutcherson
  3. Buddy Baker
  4. Charlie Glotzbach
  5. Bobby Isaac
  6. James Hylton
  7. Friday Hassler
  8. John Sears
  9. Donnie Allison
  10. G.C. Spencer
  11. J.T. Putney
  12. Donnie Allison
  13. Sonny Hutchins
  14. Buddy Arrington
  15. Jim Paschal
  16. Bill Champion
  17. Paul Lewis
  18. Sam McQuagg
  19. Mario Andretti
  20. Tiny Lund
  21. David Pearson
  22. Richard Petty
  23. Darel Dieringer
  24. Don White
  25. Wayne Smith
  26. Elmo Langley
  27. A. J. Foyt
  28. Fred Lorenzen
  29. Roy Mayne
  30. LeeRoy Yarbrough
  31. Paul Goldsmith
  32. Bay Darnell
  33. Jack Harden
  34. Neil Castles
  35. Bobby Johns
  36. Frank Warren
  37. Eldon Yarborough
  38. John Martin
  39. Clyde Lynn
  40. Wendell Scott
  41. Gordon Johncock
  42. Dick Johnson
  43. Bill Seifert
  44. Blackie Watt

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

  • Start of race: Cale Yarborough was leading the pack when the green flag was waved.
  • Lap 2: Blackie Watt had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 4: Bill Seifert had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 5: Dick Johnson had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 9: Gordon Johncock had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 10: Wendell Scott had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 13: Clyde Lynn had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 44: An oil leak in his vehicle took John Martin out of the race.
  • Lap 46: Eldon Yarbrough managed to overheat his vehicle.
  • Lap 54: Frank Warren just could not handle the vehicle's faulty transmission and left the race.
  • Lap 61: Darel Dieringer took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 68: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Darel Dieringer.
  • Lap 70: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen.
  • Lap 80: Bobby Johns had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 100: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 101: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen.
  • Lap 114: Neil Castles' vehicle developed some issues with its suspension.
  • Lap 120: Jack Harden had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 123: The differential on Bay Darnell's care developed some serious issues.
  • Lap 152: Mario Andretti took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 153: Paul Goldsmith managed to overheat his vehicle.
  • Lap 158: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Mario Andretti.
  • Lap 162: LeeRoy Yarbrough had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 173: Fred Lorenzen had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 174: A.J. Foyt had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 175: Elmo Langley had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 180: Buddy Baker took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 184: Wayne Smith had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 193: Don White's vehicle suffered from a troublesome windshield.
  • Lap 195: Darel Dieringer had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 197: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Buddy Baker.
  • Lap 215: Richard Petty had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 224: A faulty ignition ended David Pearson's hopes of winning the race.
  • Lap 246: Tiny Lund had some engine issues which forced him out of the race.
  • Lap 261: Mario Andretti had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 277: Sam McQuagg's vehicle developed some problems with its suspension.
  • Finish: Cale Yarborough was officially declared the winner of the event.

References
  1. Weather information for the 1967 Atlanta 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1967 Atlanta 500 at Racing Reference
  3. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  4. "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  5. 1967 Atlanta 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  6. Wild practice session - 1967 Atlanta 500 Archived 2011-07-12 at the Wayback Machine at HowStuffWorks.com
  7. Qualifying information at Racing Reference
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