1967 National 500

The 1967 National 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 15, 1967, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

1967 National 500
Race details[1]
Race 47 of 49 in the 1967 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Charlie Glotzbach (72) avoided this incident and finished fourth.
Charlie Glotzbach (72) avoided this incident and finished fourth.
Date October 15, 1967 (1967-October-15)
Official name National 500
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (804 km)
Weather Temperatures of 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds of 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)
Average speed 130.317 miles per hour (209.725 km/h)
Attendance 60,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers
Time 139.470
Most laps led
Driver Buddy Baker Ray Fox
Laps 160
Winner
No. 3 Buddy Baker Ray Fox

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.

Race report

The race was held on a dry circuit; with no precipitation recorded around the speedway.[3]

Sixty thousand live spectators attended the event where Buddy Baker managed to defeat Bobby Isaac by more than one lap; becoming the 100th different driver to win what is now known as a NASCAR Cup Series race.[2] Nine cautions were handed out by NASCAR officials for 64 laps.[2] The race took three hours and fifty minutes to fully complete.[2] Cale Yarborough achieved the pole position with a qualifying speed of 130.317 miles per hour (209.725 km/h).[2] In reality, the speeds in the race actually approached 130.317 miles per hour (209.725 km/h).[2] Whitey Gerken finished in last place due to a crash on lap 2 out of the 334 laps raced on a paved track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km).[2] All 44 of the drivers on the racing grid were American-born males.[2] Future three time Formula One Champion Jackie Stewart entered but he failed to qualify.

Richard Petty 10-race winning streak ended at this race. Bobby Wawak made his best career finish as an owner with one of his vehicles finishing in seventh place. The qualifying speeds recorded for the race were an average for a 4-lap qualifying run.[2] J.T. Putney raced his way into this one by winning the last chance qualifying race. He then finished 11th in the main event with Henley Gray, another driver who raced in, taking 12th.[2]

LeeRoy Yarbrough was scheduled to drive in Junior Johnson's No. 26 vehicle but the car was wrecked in practice due to a fire extinguisher going off automatically.[4] 22 lead changes were made amongst seven different leaders.[5]

Notable crew chiefs on attendance for the race were Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Jake Elder among others.[6]

Don Schissler and Dub Simpson made their NASCAR debuts here.[5] The total prize purse for this race was $87,005 ($763,595 when adjusted for inflation). Buddy Baker received $18,950 in winnings ($166,314 when adjusted for inflation) while last-place finisher Whitey Gerken walked away with only $625 ($5,485 when adjusted for inflation).[7]

Qualifying

Note: The speeds shown are an average for a 4-lap qualifying run.

The first 37 spots in the field were set via qualifying. The final 7 spots were filled by the top 7 finishers in a 20-lap qualifying race.

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Qualifying time[8] Speed[8] Owner
1 21Cale Yarborough'67 Ford2:19.470154.872Wood Brothers
2 27A.J. Foyt'67 Ford2:19.960154.329Banjo Matthews
3 99Paul Goldsmith'67 Plymouth2:20.070154.208Ray Nichels
4 3Buddy Baker'67 Dodge2:20.200154.065Ray Fox
5 43Richard Petty'67 Plymouth2:20.490153.747Petty Enterprises
6 6Darel Dieringer'67 Dodge2:20.941153.256Cotton Owens
7 17David Pearson'67 Ford2:21.101153.082Holman-Moody
8 29Dick Hutcherson'67 Ford2:21.640152.499Bondy Long
9 72Charlie Glotzbach'65 Dodge2:22.370151.717Nord Krauskopf
10 48James Hylton'65 Dodge2:22.321151.770Bud Hartje

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. Buddy Baker
  2. Bobby Isaac
  3. Dick Hutcherson
  4. Charlie Glotzbach
  5. G.C. Spencer
  6. Don White
  7. Bobby Wawak
  8. Neil Castles
  9. Buddy Arrington
  10. Cale Yarborough*
  11. J.T. Putney
  12. Henley Gray
  13. Bobby Allison*
  14. Frank Warren
  15. Donnie Allison*
  16. John Sears*
  17. Wayne Smith
  18. Richard Petty*
  19. Darel Dieringer*
  20. Sonny Hutchins*
  21. Roy Tyner
  22. A. J. Foyt*
  23. Clyde Lynn*
  24. David Pearson*
  25. Jim Paschal*
  26. Jack Bowsher*
  27. Mario Andretti*
  28. Wendell Scott*
  29. Bud Moore*
  30. Elmo Langley*
  31. Red Farmer*
  32. Larry Manning*
  33. Dub Simpson*
  34. Curtis Turner*
  35. E.J. Trivette*
  36. Friday Hassler*
  37. Larry Hess*
  38. Paul Goldsmith*
  39. Bob Cooper*
  40. Don Schissler*
  41. Bobby Mausgrover*
  42. Gordon Johncock*
  43. James Hylton*
  44. Whitey Gerken*

* Driver failed to finish race

Failed to qualify

Section reference: [2]

Name Number Car manufacturer
LeeRoy Yarbrough 26 Ford
Jackie Stewart 5 Dodge
Frog Fagan 75 Ford
Bill Seifert 45 Ford
Don Biederman 94 Chevrolet
Ken Spikes 62 Pontiac

References
  1. "1967 National 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
  2. "1967 National 500 race information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  3. "Charlotte NASCAR Climatology" (PDF). SERCC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-08. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  4. Greg Fielden's "Charlotte Motor Speedway", p. 55
  5. "1967 National 500 race information (second reference)". Race Database. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  6. "1967 National 500 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  7. "1967 National 500 race information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  8. "1967 National 500 qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
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