1969 Richmond 500


The 1969 Richmond 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 13, 1969, at Richmond Fairgrounds in Richmond, Virginia.
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

In 1953, Richmond International Raceway began hosting the Grand National Series with Lee Petty winning that first race in Richmond. The original track was paved in 1968. In 1988, the track was re-designed into its present D-shaped configuration
The name for the raceway complex was "Strawberry Hill" until the Virginia State Fairgrounds site was bought out in 1999 and renamed the "Richmond International Raceway".

Race report

It took three hours, twenty-three minutes, and twenty-three seconds to finish. David Pearson defeated Richard Petty by one full lap. The average speed of the race was. Starting at 1:00 PM, the race did not conclude until 4:23 PM. The cost of attending this event was $8.
There were six cautions for forty laps and there were six lead changes among four leaders. This race would be Worth McMillion's final race and serve as a debut race for Ed Hessert and John Kenney. Kenney would be black flagged in the race and end becoming the last-place finisher due to a NASCAR-implemented disqualification. Other notable racers included J.D. McDuffie, Elmo Langley, Wendell Scott, and Neil Castles.
The winner of the race walked away with $3,650 out of the total prize purse of $18,900. This race ended up being one of the three best finishes for Bill Seifert.
Four notable crew chiefs would be present at this event; they were John Hill, Dick Hutcherson, Dale Inman and Harry Hyde.

Qualifying

Finishing order

Section reference:
  1. David Pearson†
  2. Richard Petty
  3. Elmo Langley†
  4. Neil Castles
  5. Bill Seifert
  6. J.D. McDuffie†
  7. Bill Champion*†
  8. E.J. Trivette
  9. Henley Gray
  10. Pete Hazelwood*
  11. Dick Johnson*
  12. Jabe Thomas†
  13. Ray Hendrick*†
  14. Worth McMillion*†
  15. James Hylton*†
  16. Paul Dean Holt*
  17. Earl Brooks*†
  18. John Sears*†
  19. Ed Negre*†
  20. Sonny Hutchins*†
  21. Cecil Gordon*†
  22. Ed Hessert*
  23. Buddy Arrington*
  24. Wendell Scott†
  25. Ben Arnold*
  26. Dick Poling*
  27. Bobby Isaac*†
  28. John Kenney*
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

Section reference: