Atlanta, Ga. (August 6, 1967) - With
pace setters Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker long gone and
cooling themselves in the shade of the garage area, Dick Hutcherson coasted to
victory in Sunday's Dixie 500 stock car race here at Atlanta International
Raceway.
Hutcherson, driving a 1967 Ford,
averaged 132.248 miles per hour and collected $16,505 for his first place
finish. It was his first superspeedway win since he started racing the NASCAR
circuit in 1964.
Finishing second was Paul Goldsmith
in a '67 Plymouth, followed by Lee Roy Yarbrough in a '67 Mercury. Donnie
Allison in a '67 Ford was fourth, and newcomer Bud Moore rounded out the top
five in a '67 Dodge Charger.
Hutcherson, who led four times in
the race for a total of 91 laps, took the lead for good on lap 262 in the 334 –
lap event over the 1.5-mile track. He moved into command when Petty's engine
blew on the backstretch after the Randleman charger had regained the lead after
losing time in the pits. The Plymouth driver had finished 25 straight races
prior to yesterday, winning 15 of them. The last race Petty had not finished
was the Atlanta 500 here on April 2.
Petty was the big leader in
Sunday's race, gunning his Plymouth into the lead three times for a total of
121 laps. He finished 17th after the engine blew on lap 262.
Six caution flags, which waved
for a total of 40 laps, slowed the race. The first came when Darel Dieringer
spun his '67 Ford in the third turn and hit the wall. Oil on the track, brought
out the second yellow flag, and the third came when Cale Yarborough spun on the
backstretch after the right front tire blew on his '67 Ford.
Buddy Baker brought out the
fourth caution when he slammed into the first turn guard railing as a result of
the right front tire blowing on his Dodge Charger. Oil on the track from Buck
Baker's engine brought out the fifth caution, and the sixth yellow flag waved
when Bobby Allison spun and nicked the wall in the third turn when the engine blew
in his car.
There were six leaders in the
race. Aside from Petty and Hutcherson, Buddy Baker led four times for 73 laps,
Yarborough two times for 28 laps, High Point's Jim Paschal was in front once
for 15 laps and Charlie Glotzbach was in command for 4 laps. Only 15 cars were
running at the finish.
Paschal, who finished 28th, was
involved in the most freak accident of the day. It happened when Yarborough
spun on the backstretch on lap 131.
While the caution flag was out
Paschal roared down pit road for a pit stop. David Pearson, driving a Ford, was
already in the pits, and pulled out of his stall right in front of Paschal.
Paschal, unable to stop, rammed into the rear of Pearson's car.
When the cars hit, Paschal spun
into the outside guard railing along pit road. The wreck damaged the left front
and right rear of his Plymouth, and smashed in the rear of Pearson's car.
Paschal was unable to continue in the race, but Pearson kept running, despite
damage to the rear of his Ford.
Petty, who was going for his 18th
victory of the season, which will tie him with Tim Flock for most victories won
in a single racing year, was in good shape to win the race until his engine
blew. Early in the race, on lap 83, he had pitted for tires and was in the pits
when the caution flag came out on lap 84. Due to the early stop he lost a lap,
but had battled back into the lead when engine trouble developed.
If there was a faster car in the
field, it would have been Buddy Baker's Dodge, which was prepared by Ray Fox. Baker
started third and took the lead on the first lap and held on to first place
through lap 33 when he pitted.
When Hutcherson took the lead
after Petty blew, he had a two lap command. He lost one lap to Goldsmith on a
pit stop and another lap on the track, but coasted home well ahead of the
Plymouth driver who ran flat out the last few laps in an attempt to overtake
Hutcherson. But Hutcherson's lead was too much to overcome.
Results –
1.
Dick
Hutcherson
2.
Paul
Goldsmith
3.
Lee
Roy Yarborough
4.
Donnie
Allison
5.
Bud
Moore
6.
John
Sears
7.
Neil
Castles
8.
G.C.
Spencer
9.
Roy
Mayne
10.
Bob
Wawak
11.
Bobby
Allison
12.
Bill
Dennis
13.
Bill
Seifert
14.
Wendell
Scott
15.
Blackie
Watt
16.
Henley
Gray
17.
Richard
Petty
18.
Darel
Dieringer
19.
David
Pearson
20.
Buck
Baker
21.
Clyde
Lynn
22.
Frank
Warren
23.
Buddy
Baker
24.
Elmo
Langley
25.
James
Hylton
26.
Roy
Tyner
27.
Earl
Brooks
28.
Jim
Paschal
29.
Cal
Yarborough
30.
Don
Biederman
31.
Sam
McQuagg
32.
Jabe
Thomas
33.
Bobby
Isaac
34.
Bill
Champion
35.
Doug
Cooper
36.
Don
Tarr
37.
Charlie
Glotzbach
38.
George
England
39.
Ken
Spikes
40.
Paul
Dean Holt
No comments:
Post a Comment