The 1969 Motor State 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on June 15, 1969, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Highlights from this event were featured on the television show Car and Track; hosted by race commentator Bud Lindemann.

1969 Motor State 500
Race details[1]
Race 24 of 54 in the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1969 Motor State 500 program cover
1969 Motor State 500 program cover
Date June 15, 1969 (1969-June-15)
Official name Motor State 500
Location Michigan International Speedway, (Brooklyn, Michigan)
Course Permanent racing facility
2.000 mi (3.218 km)
Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (743 km)
Weather Temperatures of 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Average speed 139.254 mph (224.108 km/h)
Attendance 46,238[2]
Pole position
Driver Banjo Matthews
Most laps led
Driver LeeRoy Yarbrough Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps 136
Winner
No. 21 Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Bud Lindemann

Background

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Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[3] Groundbreaking took place on September 28, 1967. Over 2.5 million cubic yards (1.9×10^6 m3) of dirt were moved to form the D-shaped oval. The track opened in 1968 with a total capacity of 25,000 seats. The track was originally built and owned by Lawrence H. LoPatin, a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of $4–6 million.[4] Financing was arranged by Thomas W Itin. Its first race took place on Sunday, October 13, 1968, with the running of the USAC 250 mile Championship Car Race won by Ronnie Bucknum.

Race report

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38 drivers competed in this 250-lap event.[2] Wayne Gillette Was the last-place finisher due to troubles with the rear end of the vehicle after completing a single lap.[2] While LeeRoy Yarbrough would lead the most laps, Cale Yarborough would defeat David Pearson by five car lengths after more than three and a half hours of racing.[2] Cale Yarborough and LeeRoy Yarbrough got together during the final lap and LeeRoy tried to limp back to the finish line but came up just short.[2]

A faulty vehicular oil line managed to take Buddy Young out of the race on lap 62.[2] Bobby Wawak fell out with engine failure on lap 74 while Bobby Allison did the same thing on lap 78.[2] Dick Johnson noticed that his vehicle's clutch was having problems; forcing him to leave the race on lap 80.[2] Between lap 94 and lap 150, five of the competing drivers would notice that their engines stopped working.[2] Some faulty lug bolts would relegate Ben Arnold to the sidelines on lap 155.[2] Bill Seifert, Paul Deal Holt, Dave Marcis and Henley Gray would end up blowing their engines between lap 183 and lap 191.[2] Yarbrough's day would end when his car suddenly crashed on lap 249; but not without picking up a respectable fourth-place finish in the process.[2]

Donnie Allison would become known as the fastest driver in qualifying; he earned his pole position after driving speeds up to 160.135 miles per hour (257.712 km/h) by himself on the track.[2] Earl Brooks would become known for being the lowest-finishing driver to complete the event; he was 85 laps behind the lead lap drivers.[2] The vehicles in this event ranged from 1967 to 1969; most of the vehicles raced here were Fords and Dodges; all built nearby in the assembly plants of Dearborn, Flint and Detroit. The racing grid was forced to slow down a total of seven times for a duration of 35 laps; more than 46,000 people would purchase tickets for the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race set in the "Irish Hills" of Michigan.[2] LeeRoy Yarbrough and David Pearson both lead a respectable number of green flags and were tough opponents to deal with while under pressure. With the first-place position being exchanged a whopping 35 times throughout the event, it felt more like an Academy Award-winning movie than an actual NASCAR event.[2]

Individual race earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $17,625 ($146,438 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $622 ($5,168 when adjusted for inflation). A total of $73,548 in winnings went to all the drivers ($611,076 when adjusted for inflation).[5]

Notable crew chiefs attending this race included Cotton Owens, Dick Hutcherson, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews and Dale Inman.[6]

Qualifying

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Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 27 Donnie Allison '69 Ford
2 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough '69 Mercury
3 71 Bobby Isaac '69 Dodge
4 21 Cale Yarborough '69 Mercury
5 43 Richard Petty '69 Ford
6 6 Charlie Glotzbach '69 Dodge
7 17 David Pearson '69 Ford
8 99 Paul Goldsmith '69 Dodge
9 22 Bobby Allison '69 Dodge
10 32 Dick Brooks '69 Plymouth
11 4 John Sears '69 Ford
12 03 Richard Brickhouse '67 Plymouth
13 61 Hoss Ellington '67 Mercury
14 64 Elmo Langley '68 Ford
15 15 Ed Hessert '68 Plymouth
16 76 Ben Arnold '68 Ford
17 10 Bill Champion '68 Ford
18 80 Wayne Gillette '67 Chevrolet
19 96 Frank Warren '68 Ford
20 70 J.D. McDuffie '67 Buick
21 0 Dick Poling '67 Chevrolet
22 23 Paul Dean Holt '67 Ford
23 47 Cecil Gordon '68 Ford
24 45 Bill Seifert '68 Ford
25 48 James Hylton '69 Dodge

Results

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Source:[7]
POS ST # DRIVER SPONSOR / OWNER CAR LAPS MONEY STATUS LED
1 4 21   Cale Yarborough 60 Minute Cleaners   (Wood Brothers) '69 Mercury 250 17625 running 38
2 7 17   David Pearson Holman-Moody Racing '69 Ford 250 10100 running 57
3 5 43   Richard Petty Torino Talladega / East Tenn. Motors   (Petty Enterprises) '69 Ford 250 5875 running 0
4 2 98   LeeRoy Yarbrough Mercury Cyclone / Jim Robbins Special   (Junior Johnson) '69 Mercury 249 4100 crash 136
5 6 6   Charlie Glotzbach Cotton Owens '69 Dodge 249 3150 running 2
6 8 99   Paul Goldsmith Town & Country Dodge   (Ray Nichels) '69 Dodge 248 2500 running 4
7 25 48   James Hylton Hylton Engineering   (James Hylton) '69 Dodge 244 2102 running 2
8 30 06   Neil Castles Neil Castles '69 Dodge 242 1572 running 0
9 11 4   John Sears L.G. DeWitt '69 Ford 240 1422 running 1
10 31 25   Jabe Thomas Don Robertson '68 Plymouth 227 1452 running 0
11 15 15   Ed Hessert Ed Hessert '68 Plymouth 224 1352 running 0
12 26 34   Wendell Scott Scott Racing   (Wendell Scott) '67 Ford 216 1302 running 0
13 20 70   J.D. McDuffie J.D. McDuffie '67 Buick 211 1227 running 0
14 13 61   Hoss Ellington Ellington Insulation Co.   (Hoss Ellington) '67 Mercury 210 1277 running 0
15 29 08   E.J. Trivette E.C. Reid '69 Chevrolet 210 1127 running 0
16 23 47   Cecil Gordon Bill Seifert '68 Ford 206 1077 running 0
17 32 44   Bob Ashbrook Giachetti Brothers   (Richard Giachetti) '67 Ford 198 1052 running 0
18 34 19   Henley Gray Harry Melton '68 Ford 193 977 engine 0
19 38 30   Dave Marcis Dave Marcis '69 Dodge 191 927 engine 0
20 22 23   Paul Dean Holt Dennis Holt '67 Ford 187 877 engine 0
21 24 45   Bill Seifert Bill Seifert '68 Ford 183 877 engine 0
22 27 26   Earl Brooks Earl Brooks '67 Ford 165 802 running 0
23 16 76   Ben Arnold Don Culpepper '68 Ford 155 727 lug bolts 0
24 10 32   Dick Brooks Dick Brooks '69 Plymouth 150 702 engine 0
25 21 0   Dick Poling Don Tarr '67 Chevrolet 143 682 engine 0
26 37 29   John Kennedy John Kennedy Chevrolet 143 677 engine 0
27 1 27   Donnie Allison Banjo Matthews '69 Ford 115 775 engine 9
28 3 71   Bobby Isaac K & K Insurance   (Nord Krauskopf) '69 Dodge 94 695 engine 0
29 33 18   Dick Johnson Dick Johnson '68 Ford 80 692 clutch 0
30 9 22   Bobby Allison Hutton Scott Dodge   (Mario Rossi) '69 Dodge 78 635 engine 1
31 36 73   Bobby Wawak Bobby Wawak '69 Dodge 74 657 engine 0
32 35 38   Buddy Young Fred Bear '67 Ford 62 652 oil line 0
33 28 9   Roy Tyner Roy Tyner '69 Pontiac 62 647 wheel bearing 0
34 19 96   Frank Warren Frank Warren '68 Ford 55 642 head gasket 0
35 17 10   Bill Champion Bill Champion '68 Ford 50 637 engine 0
36 14 64   Elmo Langley Elmo Langley '68 Ford 15 657 engine 0
37 12 03   Richard Brickhouse Dub Clewis '67 Plymouth 11 677 crash 0
38 18 80   Wayne Gillette E.C. Reid '67 Chevrolet 1 622 rear end 0

References

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  1. ^ Weather information for the 1969 Motor State 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Racing information for the 1969 Motor State 500 at Racing Reference
  3. ^ "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  4. ^ "Track History". Michigan International Speedway. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009.
  5. ^ Winnings information for the 1969 Motor State 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  6. ^ 1969 Motor State 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  7. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series Season
1969
Succeeded by