1968 Rebel 400

1968 Rebel 400
Race details[1][2]
Race 15 of 49 in the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season

Layout of Darlington Raceway
Date May 11, 1968 (1968-May-11)
Official name Rebel 400
Location Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina)
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 291 laps, 401.3 mi (706.7 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 82.9 °F (28.3 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 132.699 miles per hour (213.558 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Holman-Moody
Laps 131
Winner
No. 17 David Pearson Holman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network ABC's Wide World of Sports
Announcers Pre-recorded (no announcers)

The 1968 Rebel 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on May 11, 1968, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

The transition to purposely-built racers 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; most of the cars were trailered to events or hauled in by trucks.

Summary

291 laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 1.375 miles (2.213 km) for a grand total of 400.1 miles (643.9 km).[2] The time of the race was three hours and fifty-four seconds with a crowd of 22,500 attending.[2] Four cautions for twenty-three laps was a part of the race.[2] David Pearson defeated Darel Dieringer in his 1968 Ford vehicle by a time of eighteen seconds. Pearson took advantage of the NASCAR engine/weight rules for 1968 and used a 396 cid engine instead of the normal 427. At that time the car had to be 4000 pounds with the 427 cid engine but only 3707 pounds with the 396 cid engine. The lighter weight really paid of as Pearson used less fuel and had fewer tire troubles than many of the other team. Pearson would continue to use the 396 throughout the year.[2]

Canadian racer Frog Fagan participated in the race and finished in 22nd place.[2] The average speed was 132.699 miles per hour (213.558 km/h) while the pole position speed was 148.85 miles per hour (239.55 km/h).[2] Other notable drivers included Wendell Scott, Richard Petty, Buddy Baker, Elmo Langley, and Roy Tyner.[2] Out of the thirty-four drivers, fifteen of them did not finish the race.[2]

Total winnings for the 1968 Rebel 400 were $53,455 ($364,363.60 when adjusted for inflation); first-place finisher Pearson earned $13,700 ($93,382.87 when adjusted for inflation) while last-place finisher Hess walked away with only $460 in race earnings ($3,135.48 when adjusted for inflation).[3]

Lennie Waldo would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in this racing event.[4]

Finishers

  1. David Pearson
  2. Darel Dieringer†
  3. Richard Petty
  4. Buddy Baker† (highest finishing Dodge entry)
  5. LeeRoy Yarbrough†
  6. James Hylton
  7. Bobby Isaac†
  8. John Sears†
  9. Bud Moore
  10. Elmo Langley†
  11. Bill Champion†
  12. E.J. Trivette (highest finishing Chevrolet entry)
  13. Wendell Scott†
  14. Don Tarr*
  15. Curtis Turner*†
  16. Earl Brooks†
  17. Henley Gray
  18. Lennie Waldo
  19. Clyde Lynn†
  20. Cale Yarborough*
  21. Paul Dean Holt
  22. Frog Fagan
  23. Bobby Allison*
  24. Paul Goldsmith*
  25. Stan Meserve*
  26. Jabe Thomas*
  27. Wayne Smith*
  28. Charlie Glotzbach*
  29. Donnie Allison*
  30. Roy Tyner*†
  31. Ed Negre*†
  32. Tiny Lund*†
  33. Neil Castles*
  34. Larry Hess* (only Rambler entry in the race)

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

References

  1. ↑ "1968 Rebel 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "1968 Rebel 400 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  3. ↑ "1968 Rebel 400 racing results (second reference)". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  4. ↑ "Lennie Waldo's NASCAR Debut". Race Database. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
Preceded by
1968 Fireball 300		 NASCAR Grand National Season
1968 		Succeeded by
1968 Beltsville 300
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