1964 Old Dominion 500

Last updated
1964 Old Dominion 500
Race details [1]
Race 56 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Martinsville Speedway track map.png
A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway
Date September 24, 1964 (1964-September-24)
Official name Old Dominion 500
Location Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.525 mi (0.844 km)
Distance 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures of 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds of 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)
Average speed 67.32 mph (108.34 km/h)
Attendance 18,214
Pole position
Driver Holman-Moody
Time 24.260 seconds
Most laps led
DriverFred LorenzenHolman-Moody
Laps 493
Winner
No. 28Fred LorenzenHolman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1964 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 24, 1964, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. Forty professional stock car racing drivers would become involved in an event that would become legendary.

Contents

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.

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

Fred Lorenzen defeated Richard Petty by ⅓ of a second in front of a live audience of 18,214 spectators; becoming the first recipient of the now-famous Martinsville Grandfather Clock. [4] [5] Lorenzen would also pick up his third win in a row at Martinsville.

Typical qualifying times for the race ranged from 24.2 seconds to 25.2 seconds with vehicles driving between 71.2 miles per hour (114.6 km/h) and 74.1 miles per hour (119.3 km/h). [6] In addition to six changes in the lead driver, there were also six caution flags given out for 28 laps. [4] The entire race took three hours and twenty-four minutes to go from green flag to the checkered flag. Top prize at the race was $4,715 ($39,344 when adjusted for inflation). [4] Doug Yates and Buddy Arrington both qualified for the race but failed to start in it. [4] Major Melton would make his final NASCAR Grand National Cup Series appearance in this race. [4] The majority of the entries belonged to the Ford Motor Company. Model years for each vehicle ranged from 1962 to 1964; complying with the NASCAR rules and regulations for that era. [4]

NASCAR was authorized to hand out a grand total of $17,580 to each of the drivers who participated in this event ($146,695 when adjusted for inflation). [7] Even with his second-place finish, Petty clinched his first NASCAR championship after this race. [4] Bill Whitley was credited as the actual last-place driver after acquiring a transmission problem on lap 6; bringing home a paycheck of $150 ($1,252 when adjusted for inflation). [7]

At least 16 notable crew chiefs were recorded as attending this race; including Bud Moore, Herman Beam, Glen Wood, Bud Allman, Banjo Matthews and Vic Ballard. [8]

Doug Wilson would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race.

Qualifying

GridNo.DriverManufacturerSpeed [6] Qualifying time [6] Owner
128 Fred Lorenzen '64 Ford74.19624.260 Holman-Moody
227 Junior Johnson '64 Ford73.77024.400 Banjo Matthews
311 Ned Jarrett '64 Ford73.61924.450 Bondy Long
47 Bobby Johns '64 Ford73.52924.480Holman-Moody
521 Marvin Panch '64 Ford73.46924.500 Wood Brothers
625 Paul Goldsmith '64 Plymouth73.28924.560 Ray Nichels
741 Jim Paschal '64 Plymouth73.17024.600 Petty Enterprises
81 Billy Wade '64 Mercury73.05124.640 Bud Moore
900 Cale Yarborough '64 Ford72.78624.730Holman-Moody
1049 G.C. Spencer '64 Ford72.55124.810 G.C. Spencer

A non-championship race determined the final 20 starters in the Old Dominion 500. Only Richard Petty and Doug Yates managed to lead laps in the event; Petty would go on to win the qualifying race. [9]

Top 20 finishers

Pos [4] No.DriverManufacturerLapsLaps ledTime/Status
128 Fred Lorenzen Ford5004933:42:49
243 Richard Petty Plymouth5005+0.33 laps
327 Junior Johnson Ford4991+1 lap
421 Marvin Panch Ford4990+1 lap
511 Ned Jarrett Ford4971+3 laps
616 Darel Dieringer Mercury4910+9 laps
726 Bobby Isaac Dodge4910+9 laps
86 David Pearson Dodge4910+9 laps
91 Billy Wade Mercury4900+10 laps
1000 Cale Yarborough Ford4890+11 laps
115 Earl Balmer Dodge4870+13 laps
1249 G.C. Spencer Ford4860+14 laps
133 Buck Baker Dodge4840+16 laps
1419 Larry Thomas Ford4800+20 laps
1546 J.T. Putney Plymouth4520+48 laps
1684 Bert Robbins Ford4510+49 laps
1731 Al White Ford4410+59 laps
1809 Roy Mayne Ford4360+64 laps
1917 Junior Spencer Ford4360+66 laps
2083 Worth McMillion Pontiac4360+66 laps

Timeline

Section reference: [4]

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References

  1. Weather information for the 1964 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 1964 Old Dominion 500 at Racing-Reference.info
  5. From Sandstone To Sterling: The Top 10 Trophies In NASCAR Archived 2013-05-04 at the Wayback Machine at Front Stretch
  6. 1 2 3 Qualifying information for the 1964 Old Dominion 500 at Racing Reference
  7. 1 2 1964 Old Dominion 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  8. 1964 Old Dominion 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  9. 1964 Old Dominion 500 Qualifying Race at Ultimate Racing History
Preceded by
1964 untitled race at Orange Speedway
NASCAR Grand National Series Season
1964
Succeeded by
1964 untitled race at Savannah Speedway
Preceded by Old Dominion 500 races
1964
Succeeded by