# 1968 Daytona 500

The 1968 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series race held on February 25, 1968, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Cale Yarborough won the race from the pole

## Summary

The event was won by Cale Yarborough driving a 1968 Mercury. Yarborough drove his #21 to victory in just over 3 hours and 23 minutes after starting the race on the pole. There were 11 caution flags which slowed the race for 60 laps, a track record at the time that remained so until 2005. Yarborough squeaked out the victory by less than a second over LeeRoy Yarbrough. The win was Yarborough's first victory of the season and his first victory in the "Great American Race".
This was also the only Daytona 500 where the grid was set exclusively by qualifying times. The 125-mile qualifying races were not held due to inclement weather.
First Daytona 500 starts for Andy Hampton, Buddy Arrington, Bill Seifert, Dave Marcis, (Marcis would make every Daytona 500 until 2000), Earl Brooks, Dick Johnson, Dr. Don Tarr, and Dub Simpson. Only Daytona 500 starts for Al Unser, Bob Senneker, Butch Hartman, Larry Manning, Rod Eulenfeld, Charles Burnett, Don Biederman, Stan Meserve, and Bud Moore. Last Daytona 500 starts for Darel Dieringer, Clyde Lynn, Sam McQuagg, Mario Andretti, Sonny Hutchins, Bob Cooper, Jerry Grant, Paul Lewis, Roy Tyner, and H. B. Bailey.
This was the race in which Junior Johnson cost his own team the race. Cale ran out of gas at some point in the race and overshot his pit as the crew wasn't expecting him. Junior Johnson was standing out waiting for Leeroy to come and he managed to put just enough gas to get Cale back around to his put.
Al Unser led a lap in this one; it became the only time that he led a NASCAR race in his career. Dub Simpson earned a dubious distinction by becoming the only driver ever to fail to complete a lap in the race. This was also Bob "The Sneaker" Senneker's best career NASCAR finish, where he finished in 13th place. Richard Petty and his "mysterious" black vinyl roof actually ran pretty good and led the race until James Hylton blew a tire and ended up in the turn 1 wall. A piece of debris from Hylton's car hit Petty's and knocked the roof loose starting a day of troubles for Richard's team because of their experiment. Petty would finish the race two laps behind the drivers on the lead lap.
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 results

| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Entrant | Manufacturer | Laps | Winnings | Laps led | Time/Status |
| 1 | 1 | 21 | Cale Yarborough | Wood Brothers Racing | 1968 Mercury | 200 | $47,250 | 76 | 3:23:44 |
| 2 | 3 | 26 | LeeRoy Yarbrough | Junior Johnson & Associates | 1968 Mercury | 200 | $17,525 | 62 | +1 second |
| 3 | 6 | 29 | Bobby Allison | Bondy Long | 1968 Ford | 200 | $10,150 | 12 | Lead lap, under green flag |
| 4 | 8 | 6 | Al Unser | Cotton Owens | 1968 Dodge | 200 | $6,250 | 1 | Lead lap, under green flag |
| 5 | 4 | 17 | David Pearson | Holman-Moody | 1968 Ford | 199 | $4,750 | 10 | +1 Lap |
| 6 | 9 | 99 | Paul Goldsmith | Ray Nichels | 1968 Plymouth | 199 | $4,500 | 0 | +1 Lap |
| 7 | 23 | 22 | Darel Dieringer | Mario Rossi | 1968 Plymouth | 199 | $4,100 | 0 | +1 Lap |
| 8 | 2 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | 1968 Plymouth | 198 | $4,350 | 4 | +2 Laps |
| 9 | 5 | 16 | Tiny Lund | Bud Moore Engineering | 1968 Mercury | 197 | $2,500 | 0 | +3 Laps |
| 10 | 27 | 32 | Andy Hampton | Rainer Racing | 1967 Dodge | 193 | $2,525 | 0 | +7 Laps |
| 11 | 22 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Buddy Arrington | 1967 Dodge | 186 | $2,350 | 0 | +14 Laps |
| 12 | 19 | 27 | A. J. Foyt | Banjo Matthews | 1968 Ford | 183 | $2,350 | 0 | Transmission |
| 13 | 34 | 84 | Bob Senneker | Doug Cutler | 1966 Chevrolet | 182 | $3,200 | 0 | +18 Laps |
| 14 | 25 | 20 | Clyde Lynn | Clyde Lynn | 1967 Mercury | 182 | $2,200 | 0 | +18 Laps |
| 15 | 40 | 45 | Bill Seifert | Bill Seifert | 1967 Ford | 181 | $2,100 | 0 | +19 Laps |
| 16 | 15 | 5 | Butch Hartman | Butch Hartman | 1968 Dodge | 180 | $2,275 | 3 | +20 Laps |
| 17 | 42 | 34 | Wendell Scott | Wendell Scott | 1966 Ford | 179 | $2,045 | 0 | +21 Laps |
| 18 | 24 | 46 | Larry Manning | Tom Hunter | 1966 Chevrolet | 179 | $2,110 | 0 | +21 Laps |
| 19 | 49 | 19 | Henley Gray | Henley Gray | 1966 Ford | 175 | $2,025 | 0 | +25 Laps |
| 20 | 35 | 30 | Dave Marcis | Larry Wehrs | 1966 Chevrolet | 175 | $2,015 | 0 | +25 Laps |
| 21 | 38 | 73 | Rod Eulenfeld | Julian Kline | 1966 Chevrolet | 174 | $2,000 | 0 | +26 Laps |
| 22 | 10 | 37 | Sam McQuagg | Nord Krauskopf | 1967 Dodge | 171 | $1,140 | 0 | Engine |
| 23 | 44 | 96 | Charles Burnett | Roy Buckner | 1966 Ford | 146 | $1,135 | 0 | Flagged |
| 24 | 31 | 79 | Frank Warren | Harold Rhodes | 1966 Chevrolet | 143 | $1,130 | 0 | +57 Laps |
| 25 | 17 | 64 | Elmo Langley | Elmo Langley / Henry Woodfield | 1966 Ford | 141 | $1,125 | 0 | Overheating |
| 26 | 37 | 25 | Jabe Thomas | Don Robertson | 1967 Ford | 126 | $1,120 | 0 | Overheating |
| 27 | 29 | 56 | Jim Hurtubise | Lyle Stelter | 1968 Mercury | 123 | $1,125 | 0 | Crash |
| 28 | 50 | 95 | Don Biederman | James Brown | 1966 Ford | 123 | $1,110 | 0 | Engine |
| 29 | 20 | 11 | Mario Andretti | Holman-Moody | 1968 Mercury | 105 | $1,580 | 12 | Crash |
| 30 | 13 | 3 | Buddy Baker | Ray Fox | 1968 Dodge | 103 | $1,700 | 20 | Crash |
| 31 | 28 | 4 | John Sears | L. G. DeWitt | 1967 Ford | 101 | $1,145 | 0 | Crash |
| 32 | 21 | 15 | Charlie Glotzbach | Tom Friedkin | 1968 Plymouth | 91 | $1,140 | 0 | Engine |
| 33 | 41 | 75 | Earl Brooks | Gene Black | 1966 Ford | 89 | $1,085 | 0 | Crash |
| 34 | 33 | 10 | Bill Champion | Bill Champion | 1966 Ford | 79 | $1,080 | 0 | Overheating |
| 35 | 39 | 18 | Dick Johnson | Bob Casperson | 1967 Ford | 63 | $1,075 | 0 | Engine |
| 36 | 11 | 71 | Bobby Isaac | Nord Krauskopf | 1968 Dodge | 56 | $1,070 | 0 | Engine |
| 37 | 16 | 7 | Bobby Johns | Shorty Johns | 1966 Chevrolet | 55 | $1,065 | 0 | Ignition |
| 38 | 47 | 90 | Sonny Hutchins | Donlavey Racing | 1967 Ford | 53 | $1,060 | 0 | Engine |
| 39 | 32 | 02 | Bob Cooper | Bob Cooper | 1967 Chevrolet | 52 | $1,055 | 0 | Engine |
| 40 | 7 | 66 | Donnie Allison | Holman-Moody | 1968 Ford | 48 | $1,000 | 0 | Crash |
| 41 | 43 | 51 | Stan Meserve | Margo Hamm | 1967 Dodge | 34 | $950 | 0 | Brakes |
| 42 | 26 | 14 | Jerry Grant | Tom Friedkin | 1968 Plymouth | 32 | $1,000 | 0 | Crash |
| 43 | 30 | 97 | Red Farmer | Red Farmer | 1967 Ford | 24 | $850 | 0 | Engine |
| 44 | 14 | 48 | James Hylton | James Hylton | 1967 Dodge | 24 | $800 | 0 | Crash |
| 45 | 45 | 0 | Don Tarr | Don Tarr | 1967 Chevrolet | 23 | $750 | 0 | Head gasket |
| 46 | 46 | 2 | Paul Lewis | Donald Brackins | 1967 Dodge | 14 | $700 | 0 | Engine |
| 47 | 48 | 9 | Roy Tyner | Roy Tyner | 1967 Pontiac | 8 | $1,650 | 0 | Engine |
| 48 | 12 | 1 | Bud Moore | A. J. King | 1968 Dodge | 7 | $600 | 0 | Crash |
| 49 | 18 | 36 | H. B. Bailey | H. B. Bailey | 1966 Pontiac | 6 | $550 | 0 | Engine |
| 50 | 36 | 06 | Dub Simpson | Neil Castles | 1967 Dodge | 0 | $500 | 0 | Oil pressure |
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