1968 Rebel 400
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| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 15 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Layout of Darlington Raceway
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| Date | May 11, 1968 | ||
| Official name | Rebel 400 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) |
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| 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 | 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
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- David Pearson
- Darel Dieringer†
- Richard Petty
- Buddy Baker† (highest finishing Dodge entry)
- LeeRoy Yarbrough†
- James Hylton
- Bobby Isaac†
- John Sears†
- Bud Moore
- Elmo Langley†
- Bill Champion†
- E.J. Trivette (highest finishing Chevrolet entry)
- Wendell Scott†
- Don Tarr*
- Curtis Turner*†
- Earl Brooks†
- Henley Gray
- Lennie Waldo
- Clyde Lynn†
- Cale Yarborough*
- Paul Dean Holt
- Frog Fagan
- Bobby Allison*
- Paul Goldsmith*
- Stan Meserve*
- Jabe Thomas*
- Wayne Smith*
- Charlie Glotzbach*
- Donnie Allison*
- Roy Tyner*†
- Ed Negre*
- Tiny Lund*†
- Neil Castles*
- Larry Hess* (only Rambler entry in the race)
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race
References
| Preceded by | NASCAR Grand National Season 1968 |
Succeeded by 1968 Beltsville 300 |
