1968 Dixie 250

Two hundred and fifty laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) for a grand total of 125.0 miles (201.2 km).^[1] The race took one hour, forty-two minutes, and thirty-six seconds to reach its full conclusion: Bobby Isaac defeated Buddy Baker^[3] by more than a lap; bringing home $1,100 as the winner's top prize ($9,946 when considering inflation).^[4]

Canadian driver Frog Fagan participated in this event as the only non-American driver.^[1] Four thousand and five hundred people went to see speeds averaging 73.099 miles per hour (117.641 km/h) with Bobby Isaac gaining the pole position with a speed of 83.877 miles per hour (134.987 km/h).^[1] Bobby Isaac would go on to earn three pole positions during the 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season and 19 pole positions during the following season; making him a prototypical version of Ryan Newman with his blistering speeds that he would register during qualifying.^[5]

Notable crew chiefs who attended the race were Ray Hicks, Frankie Scott, Dale Inman and Harry Hyde.^[6]

Total winnings for this event were $6,260 ($56,604 when considering inflation).^[1] In this race, Bob Cooper finished in 22nd place and won $100 just for driving a stock car as fast and as efficiently as possible.^[1] A man could have easily supported himself by earning $100 a week back in the late-1960s and lived comfortably. In the 21st century, a typical person needs to make at least $1000 a week in order to make ends meet.

The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s.