1963 Old Dominion 500

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1963 Old Dominion 500
Race details [1]
Race 48 of 55 in the 1963 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Martinsville Speedway track map.png
A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway
Date September 22, 1963 (1963-09-22)
Official name Old Dominion 500
Location Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 0.844 km (0.525 miles)
Distance 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds of 17.1 miles per hour (27.5 km/h)
Average speed 67.486 mph (108.608 km/h)
Attendance 20,000
Pole position
Driver Fox Racing
Time 24.530 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Fred Lorenzen Holman-Moody
Laps 421
Winner
No. 28Fred LorenzenHolman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1963 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 22, 1963, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.

Contents

Background

Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races. [2] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long. [3] The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking. [3]

Race report

The race was scheduled for 500 laps; taking three hours and forty-two minutes to complete. [4] Fred Lorenzen defeated Marvin Panch by a single lap and two seconds. [4] Twenty thousand people came to witness three lead changes and five cautions for eighteen laps. [4] Junior Johnson won the pole position for this race; driving speeds up to 73.379 miles per hour (118.092 km/h) in qualifying. [4] Speeds during the actual race managed to reach up to 67.486 miles per hour (108.608 km/h). [4]

Jimmy Massey became the last-place finisher after having to drop out prior to the race due to a terminal crash with Jimmy Pardue. [4] Jack Anderson pulled out of the race on lap 13 after dealing with a faulty head gasket in his vehicle. [4] An oil leak would take Bobby Keck out of the action on lap 26. [4] A faulty vehicle bearing forced Perk Brown out of the race on lap 43. [4] Problems with the vehicles' brakes would force Major Melton and Fred Harb to retire from the race. [4]

Perk Brown and Major Melton would end their NASCAR Grand National Series careers after the conclusion of this race. [4]

Most of the car owners that were involved in the race were independents and had no affiliation with a multi-car team. [5] This race still holds the record for the fewest leaders in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville along with the 1961 Old Dominion 500, the 1965 Old Dominion 500 and the 1976 Old Dominion 500. [6] Individual winnings for this race were as low as $100 ($995 when adjusted for inflation) and as high as $3,800 ($37,818 when adjusted for inflation). [7]

At least nine notable crew chiefs attended this race; including Ray Fox, Herman Beam, Glen Wood and Herb Nab. [8]

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.

Timeline

Section reference: [4]

Qualifying

GridNo.DriverManufacturerSpeed [9] Qualifying time [9] Owner
13 Junior Johnson '63 Chevrolet73.37924.530 Ray Fox
228 Fred Lorenzen '63 Ford73.28924.560 Holman-Moody
322 Fireball Roberts '63 Ford72.84524.710Holman-Moody
44 Rex White '63 Mercury72.14424.950 Rex White
521 Marvin Panch '63 Ford72.14424.960 Wood Brothers
611 Ned Jarrett '63 Ford71.88425.040Charles Robinson
78 Joe Weatherly '63 Mercury71.82725.060 Bud Moore
86 David Pearson '63 Dodge71.77025.080 Cotton Owens
941 Richard Petty '63 Plymouth71.74125.090 Petty Enterprises
105 Billy Wade '63 Dodge71.40025.210Cotton Owens

Failed to qualify: Bobby Keck (#57), Possum Jones (#05) [9]

Top 20 finishers

Pos [4] No.DriverManufacturerLapsLaps ledTime/Status
128 Fred Lorenzen Ford5004213:42:16
221 Marvin Panch Ford4990+1 laps
38 Joe Weatherly Mercury4970+2 laps
46 David Pearson Dodge4960+4 laps
541 Richard Petty Plymouth4960+4 laps
65 Billy Wade Dodge4950+5 laps
722 Fireball Roberts Ford4890+11 laps
829 Nelson Stacy Ford4880+12 laps
947 Jack Smith Plymouth4880+12 laps
1087 Buck Baker Pontiac4770+23 laps
1136 Larry Thomas Dodge4770+23 laps
1219 Cale Yarborough Ford4740+26 laps
1362 Curtis Crider Mercury4610+39 laps
1460 Bud Harless Pontiac4610+39 laps
1509 Larry Manning Chevrolet4590+41 laps
1686 Worth McMillion Pontiac4470+53 laps
1767 Reb Wickersham Pontiac4300Terminal vehicle damage
1834 Wendell Scott Chevrolet4030+97 laps
1911 Ned Jarrett Ford3620Engine problem
2099 Larry Frank Ford3000Vehicle overheated

References

  1. Weather information for the 1963 Old Dominion 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Race information about the 1963 Old Dominion 500 at Racing Reference
  5. Car ownership information Archived 2015-02-05 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  6. List of fewest leaders at Martinsville Speedway at CBS Sports
  7. Winnings information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  8. 1963 Old Dominion 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  9. 1 2 3 Qualifying information at Racing Reference
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series Season
1963
Succeeded by
1963 untitled race at Dog Track Speedway
Preceded by Old Dominion 500 races
1963
Succeeded by