Richard Brickhouse passed away on Friday, July 24, at his home in Rocky Point, North Carolina. The former NASCAR driver was 87 years old.
Brickhouse started 39 NASCAR Cup races in his racing career, finishing fourth on debut at Rockingham in 1968. He made appearances in both the 1969 and 1970 Daytona 500, placing 12th and sixth in very respectable showings.
However, Brickhouse’s defining moment came at Talladega Superspeedway in 1969. In the highly controversial inaugural running of the event, most of the top drivers boycotted race due to concerns over safety.
Brickhouse was among a small handful of Cup drivers who did not bow out of the race, and at the request of Chrysler, he piloted the No. 99 Dodge Charger Daytona originally meant for Charlie Glotzbach. Drivers from lower divisions also helped to fill out the majority of the field.
Brickhouse led 33 laps that day, beating Jim Vandiver to the checkered flag for his one and only win as a NASCAR Cup Series driver. Talladega is now one of the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule, and has hosted well over 100 Cup races, but it was Brickhouse who won the first on September 14, 1969.
An obituary for Brickhouse says that his victory in the 1969 Talladega 500 remained “a memory he cherished throughout his life.”
Brickhouse was a guest at Talladega in 2009 to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of his historic win, and even placed the victory wreath on that year’s race winner, Jamie McMurrary.
Richard Brickhouse wins
Photo by: ISC Archives – Getty Images for NASCAR
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