1964 Atlanta 500

Last updated
1964 Atlanta 500
Race details [1]
Race 13 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season
FredLorenzen1964Atlanta500.jpg
Fred Lorenzen, in victory circle, after winning the 1964 Atlanta 500
Date April 5, 1964 (1964-April-05)
Official name Atlanta 500
Location Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501.000 mi (806.281 km)
Weather Cold with temperatures of 57.9 °F (14.4 °C); wind speeds of 17.1 miles per hour (27.5 km/h)
Average speed 134.137 mph (215.873 km/h)
Attendance 50,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver Holman Moody
Most laps led
DriverFred LorenzenHolman Moody
Laps 206
Winner
No. 28Fred LorenzenHolman Moody
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers unknown

The 1964 Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 5, 1964, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia, the fifth annual race in the history of the Atlanta 500 series of races.

Contents

This race had only ten vehicles surviving to the finish. Many of top NASCAR teams suffered from engine failure along with the non-contenders. Five race-ending crashes were recorded in this event; with some footage of the race being used for the drive-in movie Speed Lovers .

Background

Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate track to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. [3] However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.

The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long. [4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five. [4]

Race report

All 39 drivers on the grid were American-born. [2] Notable drivers who finished outside the top ten included Darel Dieringer, Paul Goldsmith, Roy Tyner, Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Fireball Roberts, and A. J. Foyt. [2] [5] Fred Lorenzen defeated Bobby Isaac by two laps after almost four hours to extend the era of "Fearless Freddie's Fast Ford". [2] [5] Fifty thousand spectators would see four caution periods lasting for 19 laps and 11 lead changes. [2] [5] Goldsmith would flip his car after leading the first 55 laps but would get out of the wreckage unharmed. [6] [7]

Jimmy Helms and Ken Spikes made their first NASCAR Cup starts while Dave MacDonald raced his final NASCAR race here. [5] Neil Castles ended in last place due to a handling problem on the second lap of this 334-lap race. [2] [5]

The total purse of the race was $57,655 ($481,098 when adjusted for inflation); Lorenzen would walk away with $18,000 ($150,200 when adjusted for inflation). [8] Notable crew chiefs in this event include Jimmy Helms, Dale Inman, Herb Nab, Bud Allman, Glen Wood, Shorty Johns, Bud Moore and Banjo Matthews. [9]

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.

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
128 Fred Lorenzen '64 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
200 A. J. Foyt '64 Ford Banjo Matthews
325 Paul Goldsmith '64 Plymouth Ray Nichels
422 Fireball Roberts '64 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
51 Billy Wade '64 Mercury Bud Moore
626 Bobby Isaac '64 Dodge Ray Nichels
715 Parnelli Jones '64 Mercury Bill Stroppe
843 Richard Petty '64 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
93 Junior Johnson '64 Dodge Ray Fox
1006 Larry Frank '64 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
1112 Dan Gurney '64 Ford Wood Brothers
1221 Marvin Panch '64 Ford Wood Brothers
1354 Jimmy Pardue '64 Plymouth Charles Robinson
1441 Buck Baker '64 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
1501 Rex White '64 Mercury Bud Moore

Top 10 finishers

Pos [2] GridNo.DriverManufacturerLapsWinningsLaps ledTime/Status
1128 Fred Lorenzen Ford 334$18,0002063:46:05
2626 Bobby Isaac Dodge332$8,06537+2 laps
31811 Ned Jarrett Ford 331$4,5000+3 laps
493 Junior Johnson Dodge330$2,9250+4 laps
51441 Buck Baker Plymouth327$1,8000+7 laps
62235 Tiny Lund Plymouth326$1,2750+8 laps
7843 Richard Petty Plymouth325$1,1000+9 laps
8245 Jim Paschal Dodge315$1,0500+19 laps
92882 Bill McMahan Pontiac279$9250+55 laps
103095 Ken Spikes Dodge269$9250+65 laps

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

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References

  1. "1964 Atlanta 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "1964 Atlanta 500 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  3. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "1964 Atlanta 500 racing information". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  6. "NASCAR at Atlanta". DaveMacDonald.net. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  7. "1964 Paul Goldsmith flip @ Atlanta". YouTube . Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  8. "1964 Atlanta 500 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  9. "1964 Atlanta 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
Preceded by
1963
Atlanta 500 races
1964
Succeeded by
1965