Reigning champion, Bobby Isaac, and his team skipped the race out of protest. Isaac and crew chief Harry Hyde claimed Petty got preferential treatment by NASCAR officials during pre-race inspections. Isaac's team also skipped the following week's race at Bristol; however, I can't seem to find any article referring to Isaac's and Hyde's whining continuance. Apparently they got the message that no one cared (or NASCAR delivered a message to shut and race) because the team returned two weeks later at Atlanta.
Perhaps the most unique - yet respectful - trivia item about this race is described in the article. Because of a scheduled funeral, a caution flag turned into a temporary red flag situation so the funeral procession wouldn't be interrupted by all the race noise. Clearly a respectful action by the teams and NASCAR - but I'm not sure we'd see something like happen again today.
Article courtesy of Jerry Bushmire |
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