1968 Beltsville 300

Beltsville Speedway was specially designed with banked turns for stock car racing. Originally known as the "Baltimore-Washington Speedway", this track received its final name in its 19th month of operation.[3] The track hosted modified stock car racing vehicles alongside the other NASCAR series.[3] Wednesday nights were the original night for racing but the schedule eventually added Friday night racing.[3] Ten Grand National races were raced there including the popular Beltsville 300 series of races.[4]

It took two hours for David Pearson (in his Holman-Moody owned '68 Ford Torino) to defeat Bobby Isaac (in his '67 Dodge Charger) by one lap and five seconds in front of 8,700 people.[2] The majority of the starting grid would be driving Ford vehicles while Dodge, Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile and Plymouth made up the minority of the racing vehicles.[5] Notable crew chiefs who participated in the event were Ray Hicks, Jake Elder, Frankie Scott, Dale Inman and Harry Hyde.[6]

Notable speeds were: 74.844 miles or 120.450 kilometres per hour as the average speed and 83.604 miles or 134.548 kilometres per hour as the pole position speed.[2] The track was a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles or 0.805 kilometres.[2] Three hundred laps were raced on this track for a grand total of 150.0 miles or 241.4 kilometres.[2] There was one Canadian participant named Frog Fagan; he started in 20th place and finished the race in 22nd place.[2]

Total winnings for this race were $6,800 ($49,995 when considering inflation); David Pearson would receive $1,400 ($10,293 when considering inflation) while last-place finisher Wendell Scott would receive a meager $100 ($735 when considering inflation).[7] Tom Pistone was the start and park car for this race; he quit the race for reasons unknown.[2] Other notable racers who participated included Wendell Scott, Buck Baker, and J.D. McDuffie.[2]

Section reference:[2]

Section reference:[2]

• Start of race: Richard Petty starts the race with the pole position.
• Lap 3: Wendell Scott's bad oil pressure made him the last-place finisher.
• Lap 10: The head gasket on Frog Fagan's vehicle developed problems, forcing the Canadian to accept a 22nd-place finish.
• Lap 14: Clyde Lynn had a terminal crash; causing him to leave the race.
• Lap 82: Buck Baker's steering problem ended his day on the track.
• Lap 85: Pete Hamilton had a terminal crash, forcing him to leave the event.
• Lap 112: George Davis' rear end became a problem, forcing him to be pulled off for safety reasons.
• Lap 115: Tom Pistone left the race for reasons unknown.
• Lap 122: An oil leak ended J.D. McDuffie's hope of finishing the race.
• Lap 158: Richard Petty's engine acted up, ending his day on the track.
• Lap 159: David Pearson takes over the lead from Richard Petty.
• Lap 171: Elmo Langley's engine became faulty, bringing his day to an end.
• Lap 231: Bobby Isaac takes over the lead from David Pearson.
• Lap 243: David Pearson takes over the lead from Bobby Isaac.
• Lap 282: Jabe Thomas' engine problems forced him out of the race.
• Finish: David Pearson was officially declared the winner of the event.