The 1969 Sandlapper 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 September 18, 1969, at

Columbia Speedway Columbia Speedway is an oval racetrack located in Cayce, South Carolina, Cayce, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. It was the site of Auto racing, auto races for NASCAR's top series from 1951 through 1971. For most of its history, the racing ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. 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

was an oval racetrack located in Cayce, a suburb of

. It was the site of

auto races Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

for

's top series from 1951 through 1971.Columbia Speedway page of Racing-Reference websit

retrieved 8 May 2007. For most of its history, the racing surface was dirt. The races in April and August 1970 were two of the final three

races ever held on a dirt track.Fielden, Greg, "NASCAR Cleans Up", ''Speedway Illustrated'', September 2004. The track was paved before hosting its last two Grand National races in 1971.

Race report

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 ...

defeated

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 half a lap in front of a live audience of 6,500 NASCAR followers.''1969 Sandlapper 200''
race information at Racing-Reference, retrieved 30 January 2012''1969 Sandlapper 200''
race information at Race-Database.com
race information at DatabaseRacing.com Notable crew chiefs that participated in the event were John Hill,

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 ...

.Crew chief information
at Racing Reference The first-place position of the race changed hands three times and the race lasted one hour and twenty-five minutes.''1969 Sandlapper 200''
racing information at FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com Only two caution flags were waved for 15 laps. While Petty would qualify for the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

with a top speed of in qualifying, the average speed of the race winner would be . The race was done on a dirt oval track and Isaac received $1,000 in prize winnings ($ when adjusted for inflation). There were 23

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 on the starting grid. Eldon Yarbrough, the brother of the late

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 ...

, would retire from NASCAR after this race with his only top ten finish in NASCAR history. Wayne Gillette would withdraw from the race for reasons unknown and would finish the race in last place.

Johnny Halford Johnny Halford (October 15, 1930 – October 11, 2013) was an American stock car racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1969 and 1978.

would make his NASCAR debut here.

Qualifying

Top 10 finishers

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Richard Petty started the race with the pole position but was quickly overtaken by Bobby Isaac. * Lap 3: Wayne Gillette quits the race for personal reasons. * Lap 4: Richard Petty retook the lead from Bobby Isaac. * Lap 13: Ed Negre's transmission developed problems, forcing him out of the race. * Lap 34: Paul Dean Holt's engine stopped working properly, ending his race weekend prematurely. * Lap 45: The axle on Neil Castles' vehicle became problematic, ending his day on the track. * Lap 82: David Pearson had a terminal crash, forcing him to withdraw from the event. * Lap 108: Frank Warren's vehicle developed suspension problems, causing him to exit the race. * Lap 135: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Finish: Bobby Isaac was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

{{authority control Sandlapper 200 Sandlapper 200 NASCAR races at Columbia Speedway