1969 NASCAR Grand National Recap

David Pearson racked up his third NASCAR Grand National champ­ionship in 1969, taking the points lead in April and holding it for the remainder of the 54-race season.

1969 NASCAR Grand National Champion David Pearson

With his win in the 250-miler at Richmond on April 13, Pearson took the points lead from Richard Petty, never to relinquish it. Petty's bid for a third championship was derailed in May when he missed two races due to broken ribs suffered in a crash at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway.

Pearson's third NASCAR title came in only his fourth concentrated attempt at the largest plum of the annual NASCAR Grand National campaign. He finished third in 1964 during his first full-season run, and won in 1966, 1968, and 1969.

Bobby Isaac was the most prolific winner in 1969, winning 17 NASCAR Grand National races. He finished 6th in the final standings. For the rest of the standings from the 1969 NASCAR Grand National season, see the chart below.

1969 NASCAR Grand National Standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Wins	Earnings
1	David Pearson	4,170	11	$229,760
2	Richard Petty	3,813	10	129,906
3	James Hylton	3,750	0	114,416
4	Neil Castles	3,530	0	54,367
5	Elmo Langley	3,383	0	73,092
6	Bobby Isaac	3,301	17	92,074
7	John Sears	3,166	0	52,281
8	Jabe Thomas	3,103	0	44,989
9	Wendell Scott	3,015	0	47,451
10	Cecil Gordon	3,002	0	39,679
11	E.J. Trivette	2,988	0	35,896
12	Bill Champion	2,813	0	33,656
13	Bill Seifert	2,765	0	44,361
14	J.D. McDuffie	2,741	0	30,861
15	Ben Arnold	2,736	0	33,256
16	LeeRoy Yarbrough	2,712	7	193,211
17	Henley Gray	2,517	0	29,335
18	Earl Brooks	2,454	0	34,793
19	Dave Marcis	2,348	0	32,383
20	Bobby Allison	2,055	5	69,483
21	Dick Brooks	1,780	0	28,187
22	Buddy Baker	1,769	0	62,928
23	Cale Yarborough	1,715	2	74,240
24	Donnie Allison	1,662	1	78,055
25	Richard Brickhouse	1,660	1	45,637
26	G.C. Spencer	1,562	0	21,660
27	Ed Negre	1,465	0	15,160
28	Friday Hassler	1,421	0	17,690
29	Frank Warren	1,299	0	15,677
30	Hoss Ellington	1,210	0	16,552
31	Roy Tyner	1,191	0	12,302
32	Dr. Ed Hessert	1,113	0	17,690
33	Buddy Arrington	1,099	0	12,975
34	Dick Johnson	1,055	0	11,182
35	Buddy Young	981	0	15,542
36	Dub Simpson	959	0	12,915
37	Charlie Glotzbach	944	0	36,090
38	Roy Mayne	924	0	9,875
39	Wayne Smith	922	0	10,340
40	Paul Goldsmith	892	0	22,305
41	Dr. Don Tarr	855	0	13,720
42	Ken Meisenhelder	627	0	5,630
43	Pete Hazelwood	598	0	4,160
44	Sonny Hutchins	535	0	9,552
45	Wayne Gillette	509	0	5,827
46	Paul Dean Holt	485	0	4,442
47	Johnny Halford	465	0	4,200
48	Ray Elder	433	0	7,200
49	John Kennedy	417	0	6,462
50	Dick Polling	408	0	5,467

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