The 1969 Georgia 500 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 November 9, 1969, at Middle Georgia Raceway in

Byron, Georgia Byron is a city located primarily in Peach County, Georgia, United States. A small portion of the city also extends into parts of Houston and Crawford counties. The population was estimated to be 5,149 in 2019 by the Census Bureau, an incre ...

. 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

It took two hours and thirty-seven minutes to thoroughly complete 500 laps worth of racing.Racing information for the ''1969 Georgia 500''
at Racing Reference

LeeRoy Yarbrough Lonnie "LeeRoy" Yarbrough (September 17, 1938 – December 7, 1984) was an American stock car racing, stock car racer. His best season was 1969 when he won seven races, had 21 finishes in the top-ten and earned $193,211 ($ when adjusted for infl ...

quit for reasons unknown after just 64 laps; causing him to become the last-place finisher. Don Tarr's vehicle would develop problems with its water pump; relegating it to the garage on lap 126. Larry Baumel became the lowest-finishing driver who did not quit the race. James Cox also quit the race, but only after competing in 131 laps. Don Biederman's vehicle developed issues with its clutch on lap 130 while the rear end of Dick Brooks' vehicle forced him to retire from the race on lap 210. A problematic axle would end Roy Mayne's day on the track on lap 221. Engine problems would claim Friday Hassler's vehicle on lap 236 and Johnny Halford's vehicle on lap 256. A problematic clutch would take Elmo Langley out of the metaphorical equation on lap 288 while engine issues forced Ed Negre to retire on lap 291. E.J. Trivette would notice the rear end of his vehicle missing on lap 314 while Pete Hazelwood was black-flagged out the race on lap 366. Neil Castles would be forced to depart from the race due to engine troubles on lap 381.

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 ...

had an engine problem and secure himself a sixth-place finish while Earl Brooks ended up more than 100 laps behind the lead lap drivers. A NASCAR-following audience of ten thousand strong supporters ended up seeing

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 ...

besting

David Pearson David or Dave Pearson may refer to: * David Pearson (librarian) (born 1955), British librarian and scholar * David Pearson (racing driver) (1934–2018), American car racing champion * David Pearson (geologist) (born 1942), Canadian scientist, acad ...

by a distance of five stock car lengths. While David Pearson,

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 Richard Petty dominated the first 100 laps, the final 100 laps were monopolized by David Pearson and Bobby Allison. Six notable crew chiefs were recorded as participating in the event; including

Dick Hutcherson Richard Leon Hutcherson (November 30, 1931 – November 6, 2005) was an American businessman and a former stock car racer. A native of Keokuk, Iowa, Keokuk, Iowa, Hutcherson drove in NASCAR competition from 1964 to 1967. He won 14 races, finishin ...

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/ Winston Cup Series crew chief. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three decades. They won 188 races and seven championsh ...

and

Harry Hyde Harry Hyde (January 17, 1925 – May 13, 1996) was a leading crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing in the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions. He was the 1970 championship crew chief for Bobby Isaac. He inspired t ...

Don Biederman Don Biederman (February 20, 1940 – May 31, 1999) was a Canadian stock car racer from Port Credit, Ontario. Racing career Biederman was the first Canadian ever to campaign for a full season in the NASCAR Cup Series formerly known as the NASCAR G ...

was the only

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

in a field of 29 mostly

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

-born drivers. Bobby Isaac's pole position speed of exceeded the average race speed of by an incredible amount of time. Individual post-race earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $3,050 ($ when considering inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $350 ($ when considering inflation). The total prize purse that was offered by the organizers was $19,075 ($ when considering inflation).Racing information for the ''1969 Georgia 500''
at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet

Qualifying

Finishing order

Section reference: # Bobby Allison (No. 22) # David Pearson† (No. 17) #

† (No. 71) # John Sears† (No. 4) # Bill Champion† (No. 10) #

* (No. 43) #

Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon (June 21, 1941 – September 19, 2012) was an American stock car racing, stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Winston Cup Series between 1968 and 1985, he competed in 449 events without winning a race ...

† (No. 47) # Ben Arnold (No. 76) # Henley Gray (No. 19) #

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 ...

(No. 48) #

Bill Seifert William John Seifert (born July 2, 1939) is a retired NASCAR Cup Series driver who raced from 1966 to 1979.Don Patton (No. 89) # Jabe Thomas (No. 25) #

Wendell Scott Wendell Oliver Scott Sr. (August 29, 1921 – December 23, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver. He was the first African-American driver and team owner to compete and win in all divisions of NASCAR at its highest level. Scott began his ...

† (No. 34) # Earl Brooks† (No. 26) #

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 ...

* (No. 06) # Pete Hazelwood* (No. 12) # E.J. Trivette* (No. 08) # Ed Negre* (No. 8) # Elmo Langley*† (No. 64) # Johnny Halford* (No. 57) #

Friday Hassler Raymond Lee "Friday" Hassler (July 29, 1935 – February 17, 1972) was a NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver. Career Hassler made his debut in 1960 but only drove a handful of races per year until 1967 when he drove 21 of the 49 ...

*† (No. 39) #

Roy Mayne Roy Mayne (May 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American professional stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production ve ...

*† (No. 82) #

Dick Brooks Richard Harold Brooks (April 14, 1942 – February 1, 2006) was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500. Brooks held off veteran Buddy ...

*† (No. 32) #

*† (No. 70) # James Cox* (No. 23) # Don Tarr* (No. 0) # Larry Baumel* (No. 68) #

*† (No. 98) ''† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased''
''* Driver failed to finish race''

References

{{authority control Georgia 500 (November 1969) Georgia 500 (November 1969) NASCAR races at Middle Georgia Raceway