Richard Brickhouse enjoys the spoils of victory after winning the Talladega 500
Talladega, Ala. (September 16, 1967) - Richard Brickhouse, driving a borrowed 1969 Dodge Daytona Charger, charged through the final 26 miles of the boycotted Talladega 500 Sunday to win the inaugural Grand National race at Alabama International Motor Speedway, which most drivers found so dangerous they refused to race.
Brickhouse, of Rocky Point, S. C.,
stepped into the purple twin "T" tailed car when a driver boycott
took virtually every star on the big stock circuit out of the race Saturday.
His average speed was 153.778 miles per hour over the 2.66-mile, high-banked
tri-oval.
Brickhouse charged past Jim
Vandiver, Charlotte, N. C., on the 77th lap of the 188 lap chase, turned on the
steam, and took the checkered flag for his first victory in Grand National
competition and a $24,550 payday.
Although the driver boycott called
by NASCAR's professional Drivers Association limited the field to only a few
cars which could have won the race barring accidents, the entire 500 miles was
a dogfight between Brickhouse, Vandiver, the second place finisher, Ramo Stott,
Tiny Lund and Bobby Isaac.
The car Brickhouse drove belonged
to Ray Nichels and Paul Goldsmith. Goldsmith is a former Grand National Star.
Stott, Keokuk, Iowa, a driver on the ARCA circuit, was third in a 1969 Dodge
and, Isaac, Catawba, N. C., was fourth in the race's other airfoil-equipped
Dodge Daytona.
Although the drivers had been told
by the tire companies that they would not furnish tires for speeds of more than
190 mph, Brickhouse turned better than 195 over the final laps. "We got
our tire tests in on those last laps" an official of one tire firm said.
One of the things that triggered
the driver boycott was belief by drivers that tires built for the track were
not safe. The tires Brickhouse ran, however, had never been adequately tested,
tire men said.
"That was just great, just
great," Brickhouse said as his car pulled into victory lane, the first
time Chrysler has been in the winner's circle on a major superspeedway this
year.
In the battle to claim the first
Talladega crown, Brickhouse, Vandiver, Isaac, Stott, Lund and Dr. Don Tarr
seesawed back and forth into the lead 35 times. During most of the race, the
top cars were in the same lap - running two and three abreast at times.
Results -
1. Richard Brickhouse, Rocky Point,
N.C.
2. Jim Vandiver, Charlotte, N.C.
3. Ramo Stott, Keokuk, Iowa
4. Bobby Isaac, Catawba, N.C.
5. Richard Brooks, Spartanburg,
S.C.
6. Earl Brooks, Lynchburg, Va.
7. Jimmy Vaughn, Greenville, S.C.
8. Billy Hagen, Lafayette, La.
9. Tiny Lund, Cross, S.C.
10. Coo Coo Marlin, Columbia, Tenn.
11. Billy Ward, Talladega, Ala.
12. Ernie Shaw, Winston Salem, N.C.
13. Amos Johnson, Raleigh, N.C.
14. Bobby Fleming, Danville, Va.
15. Ben Arnold, Fairfield, Ala.
16. Dr. Don Tarr, North Miami
Beach, Fla.
17. Frank Sessoms, Darlington, S.C.
18. Buck Baker, Charlotte, N.C.
19. Dick Lawrence, Chesapeake, Va.
20. Dr. Wilbur Pickett, Daytona
Beach, Fla.
21. Larry Bach, Mishawaka, Ind.
22. Stan Starr Jr., Madison, Tenn.
23. Richard Childress, Winston
Salem, N.C.
24. C. B. Gwyn, Marion, Va.
25. Jim Hurtubise, North Tonawanda,
N.Y.
26. Earl Canavan, Old Fort Johnson,
N.Y.
27. Homer Newland, Detroit, Mich.
28. T. C. Hunt, Atlanta, Ga.
29. Roy Tyner, Lake View, S.C.
30. J. W. King, Oklahoma City,
Okla.
31. Harry Gailey, Claremont, Ga.
32. Doug Easton, Louisville, Ky.
33. Neil Castles, Charlotte, N.C.
34. Bob Burcham, Rossville, Ga.
35. Al Straub, Louisville, Ky.
36. Don Schisler, Anderson, Ind.
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