The 1968 Tidewater 250 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on May 18, 1968 at Langley Field Speedway

Langley Field Speedway

Langley Field Speedway was a NASCAR race track located in Hampton, Virginia that was involved in Sprint Cup Series racing from 1964 to 1970. The speedway was also used for NASCAR Nationwide Series races from 1984 to 1988. Richard Petty won two of his races here. Other winners for this track...

 in the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 community of Hampton

Hampton, Virginia

Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

.

Summary

Two hundred and fifty laps were raced on a paved oval track spanning 0.4 mile (0.643736 km) for a grand total of 100 miles (160.9 km). The race took one hour, twenty five minutes, and fifty-eight seconds to reach its conclusion. David Pearson was the winner of the race in front of ten thousand live audience members. Notable speeds were: 71.547 mi/h as the average speed and 80.801 mi/h as the pole position speed. Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 driver Frog Fagan

Frog Fagan

Harold "Frog" Fagan was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver from the Toronto subdivision of Willowdale, Ontario, Canada.-History:...

 participated here; he started in 14th place and ended in 13th place. Fagan managed to run 212 out of 250 laps before the race ending with him still in the running.

This would be Tim Pistone's final career start and Pete Hamilton's first finish in the top five. Total winnings for this race were $4,740 ($ in today's money) with the winner receiving $1,000 ($ in today's money).

Finishers

1. David Pearson
2. Bobby Isaac
   Bobby Isaac
   Bobby Isaac is a former NASCAR Grand National champion.-Early life:Isaac grew up on a farm near Catawba, North Carolina, the second youngest of nine children...
   
   † (highest finishing Dodge
   Dodge
   Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
   
    vehicle)
3. Buddy Baker
   Buddy Baker
   Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...
   
   †
4. James Hylton
   James Hylton
   James Harvey Hylton is a part-time race car driver. He is a two-time winner in NASCAR and competes in the ARCA RE/MAX Series,finishing 16th in points in 2006. He made headlines while attempting to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 at age 72...
   
   
5. Pete Hamilton
   Pete Hamilton
   Pete Hamilton is a retired American NASCAR racer. He won four times in his career , three times driving for Petty Enterprises. His father was a Ph.D. from Harvard University....
   
   
6. Richard Petty
   Richard Petty
   Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
   
   *
7. Tom Pistone
   Tom Pistone
   "Tiger" Tom Pistone is a former NASCAR Grand National driver from Chicago. He made his Grand National debut in 1955. He won two races and finished 6th in championship points in the 1959 season for Carl Rupert, his best season statistically...
   
   
8. Elmo Langley
   Elmo Langley
   Elmo Langley was a NASCAR driver and owner. Langley primarily used the number "64" on his race cars during his NASCAR career.-Racing career:...
   
   †
9. Clyde Lynn
   Clyde Lynn
   Clyde Lynn was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver from Christiansburg, Virginia and a runner-up for the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award in the year 1965...
   
   †
10. Neil Castles
    Neil Castles
    Neil "Soapy" Castles is a retired NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver that participate from 1957 to 1976.-History:...
    
    
11. Bobby Mausgrover
12. Wendell Scott
    Wendell Scott
    Wendell Oliver Scott was an American stock car racing driver from Danville, Virginia. He is the only black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. According to a 2008 biography of Scott, he broke the color barrier in Southern stock car racing on May 23, 1952, at the Danville...
    
    *†
13. Frog Fagan†
14. Jabe Thomas
    Jabe Thomas
    Cerry Ezra "Jabe" Thomas is a retired NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver who competed from the mid 1960s through the late 1970s. His son Ronnie was also a NASCAR Cup Series driver; competing from 1977 to 1989.-Career:Thomas drove 75243 laps of racing and earned $295,497 in total...
    
    
15. Roy Tyner
    Roy Tyner
    William Leroy "Roy" Tyner was a retired Native American NASCAR Grand National driver from Red Springs, North Carolina, USA.-Driver:...
    
    *† (only Chevrolet
    Chevrolet
    Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
    
     entry)
16. John Sears*†
17. Ed Negre
    Ed Negre
    Ed Negre is a retired NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1955 to 1979....
    
    *
18. Paul Dean Holt
    Paul Dean Holt
    Paul Dean Holt is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup driver and a competitor at the 1968 Fireball 300....
    
    *
19. Earl Brooks*
20. Henley Gray
    Henley Gray
    Henley Gray is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1964 to 1977.-Summary:...
    
    *

* Driver failed to finish race

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased