1969 NASCAR at Riverside Raceway

One of my very favorite racetracks is/was the Riverside Raceway in Riverside, California. I was even lucky enough to have season tickets for the track in its last few years of existence around 1985/1986. It was a slow process of conversion into a shopping center. I saw many of our NASCAR heroes race on the road course and even got an autograph from Harry Gant when I crashed one of his fan club events at the track.

Back in the day, the NASCAR season did not begin with Daytona. The 1969 NASCAR Cup season officially began with the Georgia 500 on November 17, 1968, at Middle Georgia Raceway. The season also included a race on December 8th, the Alabama 200 at Montgomery (Ala.) Speedway. The Riverside 7th Annual Motor Trend Riverside 500 was held on January 19, 1969. Obviously, this was right before the Talladega was homologated and able to race. However, the 1968 and 1969 Torino/Fairlane were still kicking butt on the track before its arrival. The hero and favorite at Riverside Raceway was unarguably Dan Gurney. At the time, he was unknown to most Southern and East Coast race fans, but on the West Coast, he was “The Man”.

His accomplishments with all kinds of race cars, along with his engineering capabilities, would go on to make him known around the World and respected as a gentleman and a master of racing. This recognition and his abilities are some of the reasons Ford/Mercury celebrated him with the 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Dan Gurney Special. Don’t forget, Dan was the co-driver with AJ Foyt to win the 1967 24 Hours of LeMans for Ford!

I was fortunate enough to meet Dan while I lived in Southern CA. We visited in his office at All American Racers. I was able to tour his trophy room, and he obliged me by signing a race helmet I had with me. He drove NASCARs for the Wood Brothers with the number 121 while his teammate, Cale Yarbourgh, drove the number 21. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. Of all the drivers and celebrities I have met over the years, Dan was by far the most impressive and friendly.

Dan was all but unbeatable at Riverside, and the track honored him in 1969 with an artistic rendering of him and his number 121 on the cover of the Official Program.

Things were very different in 1969. The following are excerpts from the official Riverside Raceway program for the year. Below are the results for the 1968 6th Annual Motor Trend Ricerside 500. You will see a lot of familiar names here as well as some from the West Coast that you likely never heard of. Also note that there were 44 entries!

Above is a list of 1969 track records by lap for the track. Note that all but one record for the race were set in 1968 (prior to the 69 race). If you look at the list of record holders, it contains very few different individuals. Only four, to be exact, and they all were terrific drivers.