The 1969 Alabama 200 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...

event that was held on December 8, 1968, at Montgomery Speedway in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

. Seven lead changes were exchanged amongst three different leaders. 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

Montgomery Motor Speedway is a half-mile (.805 km) oval race track just west of

. It opened in 1953, and is the oldest operating race track in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. It held six

races between 1955 and 1969.

Summary

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...

managed to defeat

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...

by a distance of . Two hundred laps were done on a paved

oval track Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost univ ...

spanning . Eleven laps were given two cautions flags due to various racing issues. Only 2800 people would attend this live race with the average racing speed being . However, the event was a "crowd pleaser" with most fans going home in a pleasant mood after the ending. Sherral Pruitt would be the last-place finisher due to his 1966

Chevrolet Chevelle The Chevrolet Chevelle is a Mid-size car, mid-sized automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors (GM) in three generations for the 1964 to 1977 model years. Part of the GM GM A platform, A-body platform, the Chevelle ...

overheating. Other finishers in the top ten were (in reverse order):

Dave Marcis David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final ...

, Cecil Gordon, Henley Gray, Ben Arnold, John Sears,

Neil Castles Henry Neil Castles (October 1, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver. He raced from 1957 to 1976, and won the NASCAR Grand National East Series in 1972. Early life Castles was born in Ma ...

Bobby Isaac Robert Vance Isaac (August 1, 1932 – August 14, 1977) was an American stock car racing driver. Isaac made his first NASCAR appearance in 1961, and quickly forged a reputation of one of the toughest competitors of the 1960s and 1970s. He was most ...

, and

James Hylton James Harvey Hylton (August 26, 1934 – April 28, 2018) was an American stock car racing driver. He was a two-time winner in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition and was a long-time competitor in the ARCA Racing Series. Hylton finished secon ...

. Elmo Langley, Red Farmer, and Roy Tyner were also notable NASCAR drivers who attended this event. It took one hour and twenty-one minutes to go from the first green flag to the checkered flag.

Bill Ervin Bill Ervin was a NASCAR Grand National Series driver from the American community of Tellico Plains, Tennessee Tellico Plains is a town in Monroe County, Tennessee, Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 859 at the 2000 ce ...

would retire from NASCAR after this race was held while Lee Gordon would start his NASCAR career here. Hylton still races regularly in the

ARCA Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

(currently being sponsored by

Menards Menard, Inc., doing business as Menards, ( ) is an American big-box home improvement retail chain headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is the third-largest home improvement retailer in the United States (behind Lowe's and Home Depot), wit ...

). While the winner of the race got to take home a thousand dollars in winnings ($ when considering inflation), the bottom nine finishers of the race were lucky to receive a paycheck for $100 ($ when considering inflation).

Qualifying

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Richard Petty started the race with the pole position. * Lap 10: Sherral Pruitt would overheat his vehicle, causing him to end his day on the track prematurely; Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 46: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Isaac. * Lap 54: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 68: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Isaac. * Lap 81: Issues with the vehicle's clutch would get to Elmo Langley, who would immediately exit the race. * Lap 101: Red Farmer left the race because his vehicle's oil pressure was not up to normal standards. * Lap 110: Wendell Scott's vehicle developed a problematic manifold, causing him to exit from the race early. * Lap 143: Roy Tyner's engine would malfunction, forcing him to withdraw from the race. * Lap 144: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 168: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison. * Lap 200: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Finish: Bobby Allison was officially declared the winner of the race.

References

{{s-end Alabama 200 Alabama 200 NASCAR races at Montgomery Speedway