1963 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 55 in the 1963 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway. | |||
| Date | February 24, 1963 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Average speed | 151.556 miles per hour (243.906 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Fireball Roberts | Banjo Matthews | |
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Junior Johnson | Ray Fox | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Johnny Rutherford | Smokey Yunick | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Fred Lorenzen | Holman-Moody | |
| Laps | 77 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. Ford |
Tiny Lund |
Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC's WWOS | ||
| Announcers | Bill Flemming and Chris Economaki | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | n/a | ||
The 1963 Daytona 500, the 5th running of the event held on February 24, 1963 was won by Tiny Lund driving a 1963 Ford. Lund drove his number 21 to victory in three hours and 17 minutes. There were 2 cautions flags which slowed the race for 10 laps.[1]
Weather played a critical role in Tiny Lund winning this race; with temperatures reaching up to 75 °F (24 °C) and wind speeds up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).[2] Lund won by making only four pit stops, but he would not have been able to make the distance on four pit stops had the first ten laps not been run under caution to dry the track from earlier rains. Had the race not started under caution, Lund would have had to make five pit stops, just as Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett did. He was able to win on four pit stops along because of the slow start time.
Summary
Lund filled in for an injured Marvin Panch, who suffered injuries after a crash in a Maserati was driving a Wood Brothers car.[3] The win was Lund's first victory of the season.[4]
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.
This race marked the first time that ABC's Wide World of Sports covered the great American Race. It also helped to dispel the long-standing stereotypes of the Southern United States after the rest of the United States witnessed an emotional inspiring win.
Top ten finishers
- Tiny Lund – #21
- Fred Lorenzen – #28
- Ned Jarrett – #11
- Nelson Stacy – #29
- Dan Gurney – #0
- Richard Petty – #43
- Bobby Johns – #7A
- Joe Weatherly – #8
- Johnny Rutherford – #13
- Tommy Irwin – #44
References
- ↑ "1963 Daytona 500". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ↑ "Weather History for the 1963 Daytona 500 race". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
- ↑ Auto editors of Consumer Guide. "1963 NASCAR Grand National Recap". HowStuffWorks, Inc ; Publications International, Ltd. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ↑ Fleischman, Bill; Al Pearce (2004). "Race Results: 1949-2002; 1960". The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide: 2004 2004 (10 ed.). 43311 Joy Rd. #414, Canton, MI, 48187: Checkered Flag Press; Visible Ink Press. pp. 225–226 of 576. ISBN 0-681-27587-1.
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