In practice, the car was 9 miles per hour off the pace; this led to jeers from his fellow drivers that he just could not drive the best level of equipment that was available at the time.

Bobby Allison climbed in the car afterward and went the same speed while Wendell did the best he could with it until the engine grenaded.

[4] The pace car driver was Robert "Bob" Colvin who was nearly arrested for violating the "blue laws" before he found out that they were for someone else's bad checks.

[2][3] A Rookie of the Year from 1957, Ken Rush, would make his final NASCAR Cup Series appearance in this event.

[5] Notable crew chiefs included Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, Darrell Bryant, and Lee Gordon.