1964 Volunteer 500

Last updated

1964 Volunteer 500
Race details [1] [2]
Race 42 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Bristol Motor Speedway map.png
Layout of Bristol Motor Speedway
Date July 26, 1964 (1964-07-26)
Official name Volunteer 500
Location Bristol International Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 0.857 km (0.533 miles)
Distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.8 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 87.1 °F (30.6 °C); wind speeds of 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Average speed 78.004 mph (125.535 km/h)
Attendance 25,500 [3]
Pole position
Driver Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 442
Winner
No. 28 Fred Lorenzen Holman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1964 Volunteer 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on July 26, 1964, at Bristol International Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.

Contents

Buddy Baker won the Saturday qualifying race to earn 25th starting position, but was replaced by Jimmy Helms in the 500 lap feature.

Race report

There was a racing grid of 36 drivers who were all born in the United States of America. [3] Fred Lorenzen defeated Richard Petty by slightly more than a lap in front of 25,500 people in order to win the top prize of $4,185 USD ($41,114 when adjusted for inflation). [2] [3] Petty was considered to be on pace to win the race until his rear end failed on the last lap; forcing him to accept a second-place finish. [2] [3] However, Petty's car developed the problem sometime before starting the final lap. [2] [3] As a result, Petty had a big enough lead to where Lorenzen did not catch him until the car failed entirely. [2] [3]

Five lead changes were made and the caution flag was waved only once for 14 laps. [2] [3] Darrell Bryant received the last place finish and a measly $275 paycheck ($2,702 when adjusted for inflation) for a fuel pressure issue on lap 1 that forced him out of the race. [2] [3] Petty would receive the pole position for his qualifying speed of 82.910 miles per hour (133.431 km/h) while the average speed of the race would be 78.044 miles per hour (125.600 km/h). [3]

Bristol was a flatter track during the 1960s and the banking was more shallow.

Darrell Bryant and Doug Wilson would make their NASCAR debuts here. [4] Johnny Nave would exit the NASCAR Cup Series after this race. [4] Fourteen notable crew chiefs participated in the event; including Herman Beam, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews, Herb Nab and Jimmy Helms. [5]

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 [3] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
143Richard Petty'64 PlymouthPetty Enterprises
225Paul Goldsmith'64 PlymouthRay Nichels
31Billy Wade'64 MercuryBud Moore
421Marvin Panch'64 FordWood Brothers
511Ned Jarrett'64 FordBondy Long
66David Pearson'64 DodgeCotton Owens
727Junior Johnson'64 FordBanjo Matthews
828Fred Lorenzen'64 FordHolman-Moody Racing
926Bobby Isaac'64 DodgeRay Nichels
1016Darel Dieringer'64 MercuryBud Moore
1141Jim Paschal'64 PlymouthPetty Enterprises
123Buck Baker'64 DodgeRay Fox
1303LeeRoy Yarbrough'64 DodgeRay Fox
145Earl Balmer'64 DodgeCotton Owens
1519Larry Thomas'64 FordHerman Beam
1682Bunkie Blackburn'64 PontiacCasper Hensley
1754Jimmy Pardue'64 PlymouthCharles Robinson
1878Buddy Arrington'63 DodgeBuddy Arrington
1934Wendell Scott'63 FordWendell Scott
2009Roy Mayne'62 ChevroletBob Adams

Top 10 finishers

Pos [3] GridNo.DriverManufacturerLapsWinningsLaps ledTime/Status
1828 Fred Lorenzen '64 Ford 500$4,18513:12:12
2143 Richard Petty '64 Plymouth499$2,730442Missing rear end
31141 Jim Paschal '64 Plymouth499$1,5000+1 lap
41303 LeeRoy Yarbrough '64 Dodge489$1,2600+11 laps
51519 Larry Thomas '64 Ford 482$9750+18 laps
61754 Jimmy Pardue '64 Plymouth479$8250+21 laps
7421 Marvin Panch '64 Ford 463$7750Missing rear end
82009 Roy Mayne '62 Chevrolet 461$6500+39 laps
91878 Buddy Arrington '63 Dodge455$5500Missing rear end
102246 J.T. Putney '62 Chevrolet 449$5000+51 laps

Timeline

Section reference: [3]

References

  1. "1964 Volunteer 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "1964 Volunteer 500 racing results". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "1964 Volunteer 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "1964 Volunteer 500 racing results". Race Database. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  5. "1964 Volunteer 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series Season
1964
Succeeded by