1969 Permatex 300 at Daytona (partially found footage of NASCAR Late Model Sportsman race; 1969)

This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its discussion of a fatal motor racing accident.

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The field being parked on the track following the fatal accident.

Status: Partially Found

The 1969 Permatex 300 at Daytona was the 3rd race of the 1969 NASCAR Late Model Sportsman National Championship. Occurring on February 22nd at Daytona National Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by LeeRoy Yarbrough driving a 1966 Ford. The event however is most known for the fatal accident involving Don MacTavish, who was killed instantly following two heavy crashes.

Background

Heading into the race, the Permatex 200 and Stardust 150 had already taken place, with Hershel McGriff and Clem Proctor being the respective winners. Details of qualifying remain unclear, although according to the Ultimate Racing History, Yarbrough's car won the pole position after being driven by Donnie Allison, with MacTavish qualifying sixth out of 40 participants. Tiny Lund in a 1966 Dodge would lead 73 of the 120 laps, but by the finish was leapfrogged by Yarbrough's 1966 Ford, Yarbrough having led 40 laps to claim the win and $9,225 in prize money. Dutch Hoag also overtook Lund in a 1965 Dodge to finish second. Red Farmer, who would ultimately be the 1969 Sportsman Champion, finished eighth in a 1966 Ford.

Death of Don MacTavish

On lap 8, Don MacTavish had completed turn 4 in his 1966 Mercury Comet when he suddenly lost control of his vehicle. According to Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal, MacTavish had spun after hitting an oil slick, and went sideways. After a vain attempt to regain control, MacTavish crashed into a wall head-on at 185mph. The entire front end of the car was destroyed, with the engine, transmission and parts of the firewall being thrown free. It left the motionless MacTavish completely exposed to the elements. His car then spun into the face of oncoming cars, where Sam Sommers' 1961 Ford collided directly with the wreckage, and left the Comet bouncing onto the grass. MacTavish was crushed by both crashes, and lost parts of both his legs. Ultimately, medics at the race stated he was killed instantly, aged 28.

MacTavish was the 1966 NASCAR National Sportsman Division Champion, and had gained a positive reputation by competing in demolition derby events. A 100-lap "Don MacTavish Memorial Race" would be held at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway three months after his death, while in 2001 he would be posthumously inducted into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame.

Availability

Footage of Don MacTavish's fatal accidents and its aftermath remain publicly accessible, thanks to a YouTube video from movracefan and a Dailymotion clip from All Racing Legends, which also includes graphic images of the aftermath. However, this remains the only publicly accessible footage of the 1969 Permatex 300 at Daytona. ABC were known to have filmed the race, although it was not broadcast live. Nevertheless, it did broadcast highlights of the race on ABC Wide World of Sports, including footage of the fatal crashes being preceded by a warning of its graphic nature and to not allow children to watch the clip. Ultimately, these highlights are now missing as of the present day.

Gallery

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  The aftermath of the crashes.

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  Don MacTavish.

See Also

• 1960 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1960)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• 1961 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1961)
• 1962 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1962 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1963 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1963)
• 1963 Richmond 250 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session and race; 1963)
• 1964 Atlanta 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 National 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 Richmond 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session; 1964)
• 1964 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1965 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1965 National 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1965 Rebel 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1966 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1966 Southern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1967 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1970 Alabama 500 (found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 Wilkes 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Myers Brothers 250 (lost footage and official documents of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)
• 1972 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Bowman-Gray 100 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand American Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Firecracker 400 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Rebel 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Twin 125s (partially found footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1972)
• 1973 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1974 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
• 1975 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Dixie 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1975)
• 1975 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1976 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Dixie 500 (lost CBS footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Rebel 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Riverside 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Talladega 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Winston 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1978 NAPA National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1978)
• 1979 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
• 1979 Daytona ARCA 200 (lost footage of ARCA Racing Series race; 1979)‎
• 1979 Dixie 500 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1979)
• 1979 Gabriel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
• 1979 Southeastern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
• 1979 Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1979)
• 1981 Coca-Cola 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1981 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1982 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Eastern 150 (lost footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Twin 125s race 1 (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1982 Winston Western 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Southern 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1983)
• 1984 Delaware 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Goody's Sportsman 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1984)‎
• 1985 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1985)
• 1986 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1986)
• 1988 Miller High Life 500 (partially lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1988)
• 1989 Busch Clash (lost footage of pre-season NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1989)
• 1990 Daytona ARCA 200 (partially found footage of ARCA Racing Series race; 1990)
• 1992 Atlanta 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1992)
• 1995 Winston 100/1995 Duron Paints And Wallcoverings 100 (partially found footage of NASCAR Sportsman Division Series doubleheader; 1995)
• 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 (partially found televised footage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; 1996)
• 2002 K&N Filters 150 (lost footage of NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour race; 2002)
• Jason Leffler (lost footage of fatal 410 Sprint Car accident; 2013)
• Jeff Gordon's 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 crash (lost on-board footage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race crash; 2008)
• NASCAR (partially found uncut footage of stock car races; 1960-present)