Martinsville 1968 Camaro RS/SS 396 Conv Pace Car NASCAR Virginia 500 1968

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This is a great photo of the white 1968 Camaro RS/SS 396 convertible pace car lettered up for the 1968 Virginia 500 NASCAR Grand National event that took place at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia on Sunday, April 28, 1968.  Cale Yarborough won the race in his 1968 Mercury. 

This Camaro was used by the track for multiple events during the 1968 racing season.  Notice that in these pictures the car is wearing Goodyear raised white letter tires.  Later in the year those tires would be swapped out for white sidewall tires.  See my other threads for photos and information.

I spotted the photo in a recent post on the Pace Car and Truck Owners and Enthusiasts Facebook page.  I did some research and found that it was originally posted on the Martinsville Speedway Facebook page back in 2018: https://www.facebook.com/pg/MartinsvilleSpeedway/photos/

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The interesting thing is that just like in the later NASCAR race held at the track this Camaro did not actually pace the Virginia 500.  Newsreel footage of the race shows that a white 1968 Chevrolet Station Wagon was used as the pace car.  This same station wagon was also used to pace the Old Dominion 500 NASCAR Grand National race held at the track on Sunday, September 22, 1968.  I'm still not sure why they chose to use a station wagon as the pace car over the Camaro.  It happened at least twice, so it couldn't possibly be chalked up to mechanical problems.

See the newsreel footage of the race here: https://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2216860

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Here is the cover of the souvenir event program. (worthpoint)