The 1967 Atlanta 500, held on April 2 at Atlanta International Raceway, drew a massive crowd of 70,000 fans for a competitive 44-car field. Cale Yarborough captured the pole in the #21 Wood Brothers Ford with a qualifying speed of 148.996 mph and went on to dominate the race in commanding fashion.
Yarborough led an impressive 301 of the 334 laps and cruised to victory by a full lap over runner-up Dick Hutcherson. Buddy Baker finished third, Charlie Glotzbach fourth, and Bobby Isaac fifth. The event averaged 131.238 mph and was slowed by six cautions for 39 laps. Yarborough earned a winner’s share of $21,035 from the purse for his dominant performance.
The race was not without drama. Richard Petty blew an engine on lap 215 while running strong, and Mario Andretti slapped the wall, ending his day early. James Hylton salvaged a sixth-place finish, which extended his championship points lead to 4,098 over Petty.
In practice before the race, legendary driver Curtis Turner suffered one of the most spectacular crashes in speedway history while piloting Smokey Yunick’s controversial Chevrolet Chevelle. The car lost control at high speed, became airborne for an estimated 40-50 feet, and tumbled violently in a series of barrel rolls. Miraculously, Turner walked away uninjured, but the car was completely destroyed. Yunick, known for his innovative (and often rule-bending) machines, withdrew from the event after the wreck commenting “I don’t want to build the car that kills Curtis Turner. I want him to retire so we can still be friends.”
This win marked Yarborough’s first victory with the Wood Brothers team and showcased the #21 Ford’s superiority on the 1.5-mile superspeedway.
