1963 Daytona 500

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1963 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 7 of 55 in the 1963 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1963 Daytona 500 program cover and logo.jpg
1963 Daytona 500 program cover
Date February 24, 1963 (1963-02-24)
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Average speed 151.556 mph (243.906 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Banjo Matthews
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Junior Johnson Ray Fox
Duel 2 Winner Johnny Rutherford Smokey Yunick
Most laps led
Driver Fred Lorenzen Holman-Moody
Laps 77
Winner
No. 21 Ford Tiny Lund Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC's WWOS
Announcers Bill Flemming and Chris Economaki

The 1963 Daytona 500, the 5th running of the event held on February 24, 1963, was won by Tiny Lund driving a 1963 Ford. Lund drove his number 21 to victory in three hours and 17 minutes. There were 2 cautions flags which slowed the race for 10 laps. [1]

Contents

Weather played a critical role in Tiny Lund winning this race; with temperatures reaching up to 75 °F (24 °C) and wind speeds up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h). [2] Lund won by making only four pit stops, but he would not have been able to make the distance on four pit stops had the first ten laps not been run under caution to dry the track from earlier rains. Had the race not started under caution, Lund would have had to make five pit stops, just as Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett did. He was able to win on four pit stops alone because of the slow start time.

Race report

Lund filled in for an injured Marvin Panch, who suffered injuries after a testing crash in a Maserati. Panch was to drive a Wood Brothers car in the 500. [3] The win was Lund's first victory of the season. [4]

Jim Cushman, Bubba Farr, Dick Good, Ted Hairfield, and John Rogers retired from professional stock car racing after this event. [5] Drivers who failed to qualify for the race were: Bobby Isaac (#99), Buck Baker (#87), Pete Stewart (#57), Cale Yarborough (#52), Larry Thomas (#36), Roy Mayne (#33), Chuck Daigh (#25), Rodger Ward (#16), Al Terrell (#9) and Bill Foster (#2). [6]

It was the first Daytona 500 start for LeeRoy Yarbrough, H. B. Bailey, Stick Elliott, Wendell Scott, A. J. Foyt, Jim Hurtubise, and Bob Cooper. Only Daytona 500 starts for Troy Ruttman, Bob James, Red Foote, Len Sutton, Floyd Powell, Frank Graham, John Rogers, Dick Good, Bubba Farr, and Ted Hairfield. Last Daytona 500 starts for Nelson Stacy, Joe Weatherly, Tommy Irwin, Rex White, Ed Livingston, Jim Cushman, Herman Beam, Jim McGuirk, and Jack Smith. [1]

Parnelli Jones, at the wheel of Bill Stroppe's factory-backed Mercury, comes home 15th in the second of his three Daytona 500 appearances. [1] While a great finish wasn't in the cards here about three months later Jones would go on to win the Indianapolis 500.

The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s.

This race marked the first time that ABC's Wide World of Sports covered the race. It also helped to dispel the long-standing stereotypes of the Southern United States after the rest of the United States witnessed an emotional inspiring win.[ citation needed ]

Race results

Pos [1] GridNo.DriverEntrantManufacturerLapsWinningsLaps ledTime/Status
11221 Tiny Lund Wood Brothers Racing 1963 Ford 200$24,550173:17:56
2228 Fred Lorenzen Holman-Moody 1963 Ford 200$15,54077+24 seconds
3811 Ned Jarrett Charles Robinson1963 Ford 200$8,70026Lead lap under green flag
41029 Nelson Stacy Holman-Moody 1963 Ford 199$8,2750+1 Lap
5110 Dan Gurney Holman-Moody 1963 Ford 199$3,5500+1 Lap
62343 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises 1963 Plymouth 198$2,5000+2 Laps
7147A Bobby Johns Shorty Johns1963 Pontiac 198$2,60010+2 Laps
8268 Joe Weatherly Bud Moore Engineering 1963 Pontiac 197$1,5000+3 Laps
9413 Johnny Rutherford Smokey Yunick 1963 Chevrolet 196$1,2500+4 Laps
101344 Tommy Irwin Stewart McKinney1963 Ford 195$1,0000+5 Laps
11906 Larry Frank Holman-Moody 1963 Ford 195$1,5005+5 Laps
121514 Troy Ruttman Bill Stroppe1963 Mercury 195$1,0000+5 Laps
132239 LeeRoy Yarbrough E. A. McQuagg1962 Pontiac 194$1,0000+6 Laps
1464 Rex White Rex White 1963 Chevrolet 194$1,1004+6 Laps
151615 Parnelli Jones Bill Stroppe1963 Mercury 194$1,0000+6 Laps
161826 Darel Dieringer Bill Stroppe1963 Mercury 192$6750+8 Laps
172580 Sal Tovella Tom Hawkins1963 Ford 192$6750+8 Laps
182732 Bob James Roscoe Sanders1963 Plymouth 191$6750+9 Laps
194904 H. B. Bailey H. B. Bailey 1961 Pontiac 188$6750+12 Laps
203018 Stick Elliott Toy Bolton 1962 Pontiac 188$6750+12 Laps
21122 Fireball Roberts Banjo Matthews 1963 Pontiac 182$65011Engine
224256 Ed Livingston Mamie Reynolds1962 Ford 180$5500+20 Laps
234795 Jim Cushman Jack Russell1963 Plymouth 176$5500+24 Laps
244519 Herman Beam Herman Beam 1963 Ford 175$5500+25 Laps
253954 Jimmy Pardue Pete Stewart 1962 Pontiac 169$5500Transmission
264134 Wendell Scott Wendell Scott 1962 Chevrolet 168$5500Engine
27702 A. J. Foyt Ray Nichels 1963 Pontiac 143$5506Spin out
283741 Jim Hurtubise Petty Enterprises 1963 Plymouth 113$5500Engine
293584 Red Foote Rocky Hinton1963 Ford 113$5500Con rod
301769 Johnny Allen Lou Sidoit1963 Mercury 111$5500Engine
313307 Len Sutton Ray Nichels 1963 Pontiac 97$5500Engine
322103 G. C. Spencer Ray Fox 1963 Chevrolet 95$1,55021Engine
332970 Floyd Powell Paul Clayton1962 Pontiac 94$5500Wheel studs
344468 Frank Graham Ed Livingston1961 Ford 93$5500Engine
353658 John Rogers John Rogers1961 Pontiac 72$5500Handling
363442 Jim Paschal Petty Enterprises 1963 Plymouth 72$5500Ignition
371981 Dick Good Romy Hammes1963 Ford 68$5500Spin out
384305 Jim McGuirk Ray Nichels 1962 Pontiac 67$5500Fumes
392851 Bob Cooper Bob Cooper 1962 Pontiac 53$5500Engine
40501 Paul Goldsmith Ray Nichels 1963 Pontiac 39$1,25011Piston
41465 Billy Wade Cotton Owens 1963 Dodge 32$5500Valves
4233 Junior Johnson Ray Fox 1963 Chevrolet 26$1,75012Distributor
433171 Bubba Farr W. M. Harrison1963 Chevrolet 22$5500Fuel pump
443847 Jack Smith Jack Smith 1963 Chrysler 19$5500Flywheel
452010 Bunkie Blackburn Jim Stephens1962 Pontiac 18$5500Water pump
464067 Reb Wickersham Reb Wickersham 1962 Pontiac 18$5500Engine
473273 Ralph Earnhardt Acey Taylor1962 Pontiac 15$5500Fuel pump
48506 David Pearson Cotton Owens 1963 Dodge 12$5500Handling
492472 Ted Hairfield Parker Snead1963 Ford 11$5500Clutch
504862 Curtis Crider Curtis Crider 1962 Mercury 4$5500Handling

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "1963 Daytona 500". racing-reference.info. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  2. "Weather History for the 1963 Daytona 500 race". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  3. "1963 NASCAR Grand National Recap". HowStuffWorks, Inc ; Publications International, Ltd. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  4. Fleischman, Bill; Al Pearce (2004). "Race Results: 1949–2002; 1960" . The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide: 2004. Vol. 2004 (10 ed.). Canton, MI: Checkered Flag Press; Visible Ink Press. pp.  225–226 of 576. ISBN   0-681-27587-1.
  5. Retirements from NASCAR at Race Database
  6. Qualifying information for the 1963 Daytona 500 at Racing Reference