1968 Beltsville 300
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| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
| Date | May 17, 1968 | ||
| Official name | Beltsville 300 | ||
| Location | Langley Field Speedway (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.836 km) |
||
| Distance | 300 laps, 150.0 mi (225.0 km) | ||
| Weather | Warm with temperatures approaching 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds up to 19 miles per hour (31 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 74.844 miles per hour (120.450 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 8,700 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Petty Enterprises | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Laps | 158 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | David Pearson | Holman-Moody | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1968 Beltsville 300 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on May 17, 1968 at Beltsville Speedway in Beltsville, Maryland.
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
It took two hours for David Pearson (in his Holman-Moody owned '68 Ford Torino) to defeat Bobby Isaac (in his '67 Dodge Charger) by one lap and five seconds in front of 8,700 people.[2] The majority of the starting grid would be driving Ford vehicles while Dodge, Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile and Plymouth made up the minority of the racing vehicles.[3]
Notable speeds were: 74.844 miles or 120.450 kilometres per hour as the average speed and 83.604 miles or 134.548 kilometres per hour as the pole position speed.[2] The track was a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles or 0.805 kilometres.[2] Three hundred laps were raced on this track for a grand total of 150.0 miles or 241.4 kilometres.[2] There was one Canadian participant named Frog Fagan; he started in 20th place and finished the race in 22nd place.[2]
Total winnings for this race were $6,800 ($46,272.54 when considering inflation); David Pearson would receive $1,400 ($9,526.7 when considering inflation) while last-place finisher Wendell Scott would receive a meager $100 ($680.48 when considering inflation).[4] Tim Pistone was the start and park car for this race; he quit the race for reasons unknown.[2] Other notable racers who participated included Wendell Scott, Buck Baker, and J.D. McDuffie.[2]
Top ten finishers
- David Pearson – #17
- Bobby Isaac – #71
- Buddy Baker – #3
- James Hylton – #48
- John Sears – #4
- Jabe Thomas – #25
- Neil Castles – #06
- Roy Tyner – #09
- Bill Champion – #10
- Henley Gray – #19
Timeline
- Start of race: Richard Petty starts the race with the pole position
- Lap 3: Wendell Scott's bad oil pressure made him the last-place finisher
- Lap 10: The head gasket on Frog Fagan's vehicle developed problems; forcing the Canadian to accept a 22nd place finish
- Lap 14: Clyde Lynn had a terminal crash; causing him to leave the race
- Lap 82: Buck Baker's steering problem ended his day on the track
- Lap 85: Pete Hamilton had a terminal crash; forcing him to leave the event
- Lap 112: George Davis' rear end became a problem; forcing him to be pulled off for safety reasons
- Lap 115: Tom Pistone left the race for reasons unknown
- Lap 122: An oil leak ended J.D. McDuffie's hope of finishing the race
- Lap 158: Richard Petty's engine acted up; ending his day on the track
- Lap 159: David Pearson takes over the lead from Richard Petty
- Lap 171: Elmo Langley's engine became faulty; bringing his day to an end
- Lap 231: Bobby Isaac takes over the lead from David Pearson
- Lap 243: David Pearson takes over the lead from Bobby Isaac
- Lap 282: Jabe Thomas' engine problems forced him out of the race
- End of race: David Pearson wins the race
References
| Preceded by | NASCAR Grand National Season 1968 |
Succeeded by 1968 Tidewater 250 |
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