Race Histories: 1968 Rebel 400
Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway was a familiar place for David Pearson during his illustrious NASCAR Winston Cup Series career. He went there a total of 10 times, but not many were more satisfying than his triumph in the 1968 Rebel 400.
Driving a Ford powered by a small 396 c.i. engine, Pearson won the race for his first superspeedway victory in almost seven years. "I had almost forgotten what it feels like to win a big track race," Pearson said.
Pearson finished 18 seconds ahead of runner-up Darel Dieringer, who was driving Mario Rossi's Plymouth. Richard Petty came in third, Buddy Baker was fourth and LeeRoy Yarbrough fifth. According to NASCAR's power-to-weight ratio, Pearson's car was allowed to weigh 293 pounds less than cars with larger engines. "Raw power is not the key to winning at this track," said Holman-Moody crew chief Dick Hutcherson. "We figured we could sacrifice a little speed on the straightaway in order to get lighter for handling in the turns. Some of those cars with the 427 c.i. engines were melting tires right and left."
Pearson led four times for 131 laps during the 291-lap event and lost better than a lap on the field when he slacked off in the final laps.
Baker survived a number of skirmishes en route to fourth place. Bobby Allison spun around after being tapped by Baker. Charlie Glotzbach clobbered the wall after another bump from the Charlotte driver.
"I was terrible," Baker said. "My dad (Buck Baker) won three times here, and I've wanted to win a race here for as long as I can remember. I guess I just tried too hard."
Allison later fell out with clutch failure, and Glotzbach dropped out with no oil pressure. Baker, a native of nearby Florence, had led 116 laps after starting sixth.
Curtis Turner made his return to NASCAR Grand National racing in the Friedkin Enterprises Plymouth. The 44-year-old Roanoke, Va., driver had replaced Jerry Grant in the Bill Ellis-engineered car and ran in the top 10 all day. A blown engine put him out late in the event.
Bobby Isaac finished seventh and held onto the point lead by 39 points over Pearson. Petty ranked a close third, 14 points behind Pearson.
Pearson average 132.699 mph before a relatively small estimated crowd of 22,500 spectators.
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