|| *Comments on the 1968 American 500:* View the most recent comment <#15> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. 18fan posted: 03.10.2009 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pearson clinched his second championship and first of two consecutive for Holman-Moody. There was a great battle for the lead with Isaac, Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough, and Petty. Isaac and Yarborough had the best cars in the race. Petty's first and only non-short track win of his 16 wins in 1968. 2. RaceFanX posted: 10.01.2009 - 10:26 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Former F1 racer Frank Gardner does a start-and-park in his only NASCAR race. He'd later win the British Touring Car championship 3. Sebastien posted: 02.16.2010 - 1:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some sponsors : Gardner #11 : Ford Glotzbach #6 : Lash Motor Corp. Goldsmith #99 : Frosty Morn Meats Petty #43 : Plymouth By Petty White #91 : Dodge Yarbrough #98 : Winebarger Motor Co. Dieringer #22 : Plymouth Baker #3 Royal Dodge Pearson #17 : East Tenn. Motor Co. Allison #27 : Dick Brannan Ford Lund #16 : Mercury 4. 18fan posted: 06.09.2010 - 11:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Glotzbach quit after he turned Bud Moore into the wall separating pit road from the racetrack. Moore swerved to avoid a loose wheel on pit road and swerved into Glotzbach's path. Glotzbach was penalized a lap for the crash, so he parked the car. 5. 1995z71 posted: 02.02.2012 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gardeners crew chief was legend crew chief Jake Elder aka Suitcase Jake. 6. Brandon posted: 05.12.2012 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gardener didn't start & park, he had an engine failure. Car & Track showed it and his car being towed to the garage 7. Hotdogger posted: 12.27.2012 - 12:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Quite surprising for a Holman & Moody Ford, one of the top rides of the time, to break down so early in the race. Maybe they put in an experimental engine for Frank just like they do today when not fighting for points. 8. Biscuits In A Red Bull posted: 04.21.2013 - 3:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) 2 - If you're trying to rub it into BTCC drivers, I'm sure Andy Jordan is faster than the majority of the modern cup field, and Ã?ron Smith in the wet would lap all of them. 9. drummer1964 posted: 06.27.2013 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Glad to see Richard win that day... :) My dad got a speeding ticket on our way back to Summerville that day... :( 10. KW posted: 01.22.2016 - 1:13 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Petty was running an older chassis with current sheet metal because he couldn't get the '68 to run on a superspeedway. Shortly after this race his switch to Ford for 1969 was announced. 11. RaceFanX posted: 09.22.2018 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Plymouth was slacking on its racing development in part because they had Richard Petty and he was already becoming "The King" at this point. When Petty saw Dodge cooking up a better car for 1969, the Daytona, without an equivalent for Plymouth and his brand forbid him from running the other Mopar he jumped ship. 12. MarkM posted: 08.03.2019 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Plymouth was slacking on its racing development in part because they had Richard Petty and he was already becoming "The King" at this point. When Petty saw Dodge cooking up a better car for 1969, the Daytona, without an equivalent for Plymouth and his brand forbid him from running the other Mopar he jumped ship." That story's been bandied about for decades, even by Richard himself about the Daytona, & that part of it isn't true. The race before, the National 500 at Charlotte, Dodge introduced their first new design for 1969, the Charger 500, which did have the flush rear backlight carried over to the Daytona, & utilized a 1969 Dodge Coronet grille fir flush, without the hideaway headlights to address the two issues causing lift in the regular Charger, it's inset backlight & inset grille. Initial wind tunnel tests proved encouraging & Dodge took the odd tack of announcing the car at the 68 National 500, with prototypes on display for all to see, including the competing teams. Ralph Moody, of Ford's Holman & Moody powerhouse team took a look at it & went back to the H&M shops, He came up with the basic design for the 1969 Ford Torino Talladega, contacted Dearborn, & as it turned out, Ford was having design ideas along the same lines. They combined the best aspects of both designs & kept a lid on it until 1969 Speedweeks at Daytona. It proved superior aerodynamically to the Charger 500, & it was after that Dodge went on a crash course & came up with the Daytona. It was the 500 that Petty wanted to run in 69 & when being told he was a Plymouth driver & Plymouth had nothing new that he talked to Ford, who had been wooing him since his phenomenal 1967 season. They showed him the upcoming Talladega & he switch to them for the 1969 season, 13. Joshua posted: 11.17.2019 - 12:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wendell Scott's sponsor for this race was "Scott Racing" 14. thecautionlightnews posted: 09.23.2020 - 11:32 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Frank Gardner becomes the First Australian to race in NASCAR. 40 years later, Fellow Aussie Marcos Ambrose wins his first race, and the first for Australia. 15. Rob posted: 02.04.2021 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Final race for car owner Bondy Long. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: