1965 Wilkes 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 51 of 55 in the 1965 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
| Date | October 3, 1965 | ||
| Location | North Wilkesboro Speedway (North Wilkesboro, North Carolina) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.625 mi (1.005 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 250 mi (402 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds up to 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 88.801 miles per hour (142.911 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Fred Lorenzen | Holman Moody | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Laps | 204 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 26 |
Junior Johnson |
Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1965 Wilkes 400 is a NASCAR Grand National Series racing event that took place on October 3, 1965 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the American community of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
Summary
During this 400-lap event, the only drivers to clinch the lead were Fred Lorenzen, Junior Johnson, and Cale Yarborough. There were 35 drivers who qualified for this race; Buddy Arrington would be credited as the last-place due to being involved in a crash with three other drivers on his thirteenth lap. All of the drivers on the racing grid were born in the United States of America. Most of automobiles present at this race belong to the Ford manufacturer.[2]
Fifteen thousand fans would see an event that would last for two hours and forty-eight minutes. Fred Lorenzen would qualify for the pole position by virtue of driving up to 101.58 miles per hour or 163.48 kilometres per hour during his solo qualifying session. Only two of the top-ten finishers would drive a Dodge vehicle while Chevrolet stock cars would finish anywhere between the middle of the pack to near the end of the pack.[2] Junior Johnson defeated Cale Yarborough by two laps in order to clinch his final victory ever in the NASCAR Cup Series.[2] Frank Weathers would retire from driving in the top-level NASCAR series after this event.[3]
Individual winnings for each driver ranged from $4,475 for Junior Johnson ($33,149.02 when inflation is taken into effect) and $150 for Buddy Arrington ($1,111.14 when inflation is taken into effect). Total winnings assigned for this racing event by NASCAR officials was $17,050 ($126,299.63 when inflation is taken into effect).[4]
Top ten finishers
- Junior Johnson
- Cale Yarborough
- Ned Jarrett
- David Pearson
- Curtis Turner
- Marvin Panch
- Junior Spencer
- Tom Pistone
- G.C. Spencer
- Buddy Baker
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1965 Wilkes 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 1965 Wilkes 400 racing information at Racing Reference
- ↑ 1965 Wilkes 400 racing information at Race Database
- ↑ 1965 Wilkes 400 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
| Preceded by 1965 Old Dominion 500 |
NASCAR Grand National Series Season 1965 |
Succeeded by 1965 National 400 |
| Preceded by 1964 |
Wilkes 400 races 1965 |
Succeeded by 1966 |