1961 Southern 500

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1961 Southern 500
Race details
Race 42 of 52 in the 1961 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
1961 Southern 500 program cover.png
The 1961 Southern 400 program cover, celebrating the 50th anniversary of naval aviation.
DateSeptember 4, 1961
Location Darlington Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 2.213 km (1.375 miles)
Distance 364 laps, 500.5 mi (805.477 km)
Scheduled distance 364 laps, 500.5 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 117.787 mph
Pole position
Driver
Most laps led
Driver Fireball Roberts {{{Most_Team}}}
Laps 180
Winner
No. 29 Nelson Stacy

The 1961 Southern 500 was a race that took place at Darlington Raceway on 4 September 1961, in the NASCAR Grand National Series. It was the forty-second race of the 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series.

Contents

Nelson Stacy won after 364 laps, after taking the lead from Fireball Roberts late in the race. [1] [2] It was the first of Stacy's four Grand National victories in his career. [3]

Qualifying

Pos. [4] #DriverMakeTeam/OwnerTimeAvg. Speed (mph)
122 Fireball Roberts '61 Pontiac Smokey Yunick 128.680
228 Fred Lorenzen '61 Ford Holman-Moody 128.437
329 Nelson Stacy '61 Ford Dudley Farrell 127.020
48 Joe Weatherly '61 Pontiac Bud Moore Engineering 126.890
543 Richard Petty '61 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 125.906
66 Ralph Earnhardt '61 Pontiac Owens Racing 125.906
744 Jim Paschal '61 Pontiac Petty Enterprises 125.866
842 Marvin Panch '61 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 125.158
93 David Pearson '61 Pontiac John Masoni 127.783
1094 Banjo Matthews '61 Ford Banjo Matthews 127.012
1187 Buck Baker '61 Chrysler Buck Baker 126.339
1272 Bobby Johns '61 Ford Shorty Johns 125.938
139 Bunkie Blackburn '61 Ford Wildcat Williams 125.842
1427 Junior Johnson '61 Pontiac Rex Lovette 125.364
154 Rex White '61 Pontiac Jack Smith 124.489
1686 Buddy Baker '61 Chrysler Buddy Baker 124.410
1766 Bill Morgan '61 Ford Ratus Walters 126.372
1846 Larry Frank '61 Pontiac Jack Smith 125.994
1924unknown*Pontiac125.245
2052 Cale Yarborough '61 Ford Julian Buesink 125.023
2185 Emanuel Zervakis '61 Chevrolet Monroe Shook 124.489
222 Tommy Irwin '61 Chevrolet Tom Daniels 124.387
2332 Joe Caspolich '61 Ford J. L. Cheatham 124.169
2419 Herman Beam '60 Ford Herman Beam 120.247
2559 Tiny Lund '61 Pontiac B. G. Holloway 126.711
2690 Dave Mader '61 Chevrolet Dave Mader 125.578
2714 Johnny Allen '61 Chevrolet Joe Lee Johnson 124.208
2880 Darel Dieringer '61 Ford Tubby Gonzales 124.114
2982 Marvin Porter '61 Ford Harry Dunbar 124.029
301 Paul Lewis '61 Chevrolet Jess Porter 123.990
315 Woodie Wilson '61 Pontiac Leroy Faucett 123.172
327 Jim Reed '61 Chevrolet Jim Reed 123.004
3330 Elmo Langley '60 Chevrolet Fred Clark 122.517
3411 Ned Jarrett '61 Chevrolet B. G. Holloway 122.388
3510 T.C. Hunt '61 Dodge Fred Wheat 121.988
3654 Jimmy Pardue '60 Chevrolet Jimmy Pardue 121.487
3747 Bob Burdick**Pontiac Jack Smith 121.264
3896 Friday Hassler '60 Chevrolet J. L. Cheatham 120.812
3968 Ed Livingston '61 Ford Curtis Crider 120.072
4062 Curtis Crider '61 Mercury Curtis Crider 119.854
4174 L.D. Austin '61 Chevrolet L.D. Austin 118.060
4275 Red Hollingsworth '60 Chevrolet J. D. Braswell 114.902
4393 George Green*Ford114.576
4499 George Alsobrook '61 Ford Joe Jones 114.167

*Did not compete for unknown reasons.

**Driver changed to Rex White for the race.

Results

Fin [5] [6] St#DriverMakeTeam/OwnerSponsorLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1329 Nelson Stacy '61 Ford Dudley Farrell Ron's Ford Sales, Holt-Stacy36472running$18,430
2122 Fireball Roberts '61 Pontiac Smokey Yunick 364180running$10,670
393 David Pearson '61 Pontiac John Masoni Daytona Kennel3636running$5,060
4744 Jim Paschal '61 Pontiac Petty Enterprises 3590running$2,625
52085 Emanuel Zervakis '61 Chevrolet Monroe Shook 3590running$2,450
63311 Ned Jarrett '61 Chevrolet B. G. Holloway 3540running$1,500
72614 Johnny Allen '61 Chevrolet Joe Lee Johnson 3480running$1,195
81824 Roscoe Thompson '60 Pontiac James Turner 3470running$1,195
966 Ralph Earnhardt '61 Pontiac Owens Racing 3460engine$875
103647 Rex White '61 Pontiac Jack Smith 3450running$925
111272 Bobby Johns '61 Ford Shorty Johns 3440running$750
121666 Bill Morgan '61 Ford Ratus Walters Cafe Burgundy3420running$700
133230 Elmo Langley '60 Chevrolet Fred Clark 3410running$500
141427 Junior Johnson '61 Pontiac Rex Lovette Holly Famrs3370running$450
152459 Tiny Lund '61 Pontiac B. G. Holloway 3230crash$650
164074 L.D. Austin '61 Chevrolet L.D. Austin 3210running$350
173554 Jimmy Pardue '60 Chevrolet Jimmy Pardue 3160running$300
183962 Curtis Crider '61 Mercury Curtis Crider Mims Amusement Co.3120running$750
192319 Herman Beam '60 Ford Herman Beam 3120running$250
201746 Larry Frank '61 Pontiac Jack Smith 2730spindle$480
212590 Dave Mader '61 Chevrolet Dave Mader 2620timing$280
2248 Joe Weatherly '61 Pontiac Bud Moore Engineering 22913rf hub$370
23317 Jim Reed '61 Chevrolet Jim Reed 2280brakes$200
241586 Buddy Baker '61 Chrysler Buddy Baker 2210bearings$700
253410 T.C. Hunt '61 Dodge Fred Wheat 2060rear end$700
26543 Richard Petty '61 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 20141engine$1,110
271187 Buck Baker '61 Chrysler Buck Baker 1900con rod$220
28212 Tommy Irwin '61 Chevrolet Tom Daniels 1640rocker arm$200
29228 Fred Lorenzen '61 Ford Holman-Moody 15852throttle$950
301952 Cale Yarborough '61 Ford Julian Buesink 1350engine$200
31842 Marvin Panch '61 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 940carburetor$200
322882 Marvin Porter '61 Ford Harry Dunbar 850crash$200
33291 Paul Lewis '61 Chevrolet Jess Porter 810crash$200
34305 Woodie Wilson '61 Pontiac Leroy Faucett 790crash$200
353868 Ed Livingston '61 Ford Curtis Crider 790head gasket$200
361094 Banjo Matthews '61 Ford Banjo Matthews 650engine$430
372232 Joe Caspolich '61 Ford J. L. Cheatham 500rear end$200
382780 Darel Dieringer '61 Ford Tubby Gonzales 450rear end$300
39139 Bunkie Blackburn '61 Ford Wildcat Williams 340head gasket$200
403796 Friday Hassler '60 Chevrolet J. L. Cheatham 220brakes$200
414399 George Alsobrook '61 Ford Joe Jones 20handling$200
424175 Red Hollingsworth '60 Chevrolet J. D. Braswell 20handling$200
434293 Lee Reitzel '60 Ford Lee Reitzel 20handling$200

Crashes

Among the 43 competitors in the 1961 Southern 500, Marvin Potter, Paul Lewis and Woodie Wilson were involved in a crash, resulting in them coming 32nd, 33rd and 34th respectively. [7] Tiny Lund crashed toward the end of the race, finishing in 15th position. [8]

Thurmond speech

Prior to the commencement of the race, South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond was present to give a political speech in which he claimed that South Carolina would secede from the United States because of its opposition to civil rights legislation. The American Spectator reported that spectators responded to the speech with enthusiasm, and the infield at Darlington was "so violent and liquor-soaked that the area was fenced off and not even the police would enter for anything less than a shooting". [9]

References

  1. Bob Carroll (1992). The Sports Video Resource Guide: A Fan's Sourcebook for All the Best in Sports Videos. Simon & Schuster. p. 185. ISBN   978-0-671-73446-6.
  2. Lyle Kenyon Engel; Jim Hunter (1973). Stock Car Racing U.S.A. Dodd, Mead. p. 120. ISBN   978-0-396-06641-5.
  3. Meinstereifel, Ronald L. (2004). Day-By-Day in NASCAR History. McFarland & Co. p. 198. ISBN   0786417994 . Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  4. "1961 Southern 500 qualifying results". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021.
  5. "1961 Southern 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  6. "1961 Southern 500 race results". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021.
  7. "NASCAR: 1961 Southern 500". Racinghub. Racinghub. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  8. Perry Allen Wood (January 10, 2014). Declarations of Stock Car Independents: Interviews with Twelve Racers of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. McFarland. p. 111. ISBN   978-0-7864-5780-9.
  9. Yates, Brock. "The NASCAR Red State". Volume 38 Issue 3. No. April 2005. The American Spectator. Retrieved July 17, 2021.