Roy Russing... Died ... Worked as an aircraft engineer/instructor during WW2. A midget legend before the war, he was killed shortly after racing resumed in a midget crash.
Richard Petty took the lead with 40 laps to go and went on to beat Tiny Lund by a lap to win the NASCAR Grand National 'Virginia 500' at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. Fred Lorenzen appeared on his way to victory when his Holman-Moody Ford broke an axle. His crew made repairs so quickly that Lorenzen only lost 6 laps on the 1/2 mile paved oval. Jim Paschal was overcome by the heat and pitted just short of half way. A roar went up from the crowd when Lee Petty jumped into Paschal's car a drove the rest of the race, finishing 8th.
A.J. Foyt drove an Offenhauser powered Meskowski chassis to victory in the 100 mile USAC Championship race on the 1 mile paved Trenton Speedway in Trenton, NJ. It was Foyt's 2nd straight win in the event.
David Pearson went on to win the NASCAR GN 'Gwyn Staley Memorial' on the .625 mile paved North Wilkesboro Speedway, after leader LeeRoy Yarbrough blew an engine with 10 laps to go. Yarbrough had a 10 second lead in the Junior Johnson Ford when the motor blew. Pearson's Holman-Moody Ford crossed the stripe a lap ahead of Buddy Baker's Ray Fox Dodge.
Bobby Unser drove his turbocharged Offenhauser powered Eagle to victory in the 150 mile USAC Championship race on the 1 mile paved Trenton Speedway in Trenton, NJ. It was Unser's 3rd straight Champ car win, and made him 3 for 4 in '68 Champ car starts. Pole sitter Mario Andretti took the lead at the start with A.J. Foyt moving from 5th to 2nd on the first lap. Foyt was threatening Andretti when a halfshaft broke on lap 3, ending his day. Bobby Unser passed Andretti on lap 8 and began pulling away. Yellow flags closed the gap, but Unser quickly rebuilt his lead. Local favorite Wally Dallenbach and Gordon Johncock got past Andretti by lap 93 and put on a battle for the runner-up spot. On lap 124, Johncock spun while trying to lap Billy Vukovich in turn 1, moving Andretti back to 3rd. A sticking throttle caused Dallenbach to back off early for the turns, allowing Andretti to regain 2nd on lap 133. At the checkered, Unser was 2 seconds ahead of Andretti. Dallenbach, whose Finley-Offy was the only new car in the race, finished 3rd while Johncock recovered from his spin for 4th, all four on the lead lap. Ford's turbocharged V8 motor saw it's first serious effort, powering Joe Leonard and Jim Malloy's entries, but it performed disappointingly on the slick track. Leonard was the last car running, 5 laps down, and Malloy crashed into the wall when the turbo kicked in after being momentarily stunned by a rock that hit him in the face.
Kenny Weld won the feature race over Ray Tilley, Bobbie Adamson, Buddy Cochran and Mitch Smith at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove,PA
Wayne Reutimann won the Modified Stock Car race over his brother Buzzie at the Orange County Fair Speedway, Middletown, NY.
( Click here for the race report. )
Lynn Paxton and Keith Kauffman each won the 25 lap Super Sprint Car feature races at the Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA.
( Click here for the race report. )
Bobby Labonte won the IROC race at Talladega Speedway. Kenny Brack was second and Buddy Lazier was third. Labonte went on to win the IROC series that year.
Tony Elliott wins the USAC Sprint Car race over Dave Darland and Kevin Doty at the Twin Cities Raceway Park, North Vernon,IN
Mark Kinser wins the World of Outlaws Sprint Car race over Tim Shaffer, Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski at the Talladega Short Track, Talladega,AL
Davey Hamilton wins the USAC Western States Sprint Car race over Tony Hunt and Jeff Gardner at the Madera Speedway, Madera,CA
ONE DAY
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