1965 Wilkes 400

The 1965 Wilkes 400 is a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series, also formerly known as the Winston Cup Series and the Winston Cup 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.

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 any more.

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 ($33,489.26 when inflation is taken into effect) and $150 for Buddy Arrington ($1,122.54 when inflation is taken into effect). Total winnings assigned for this racing event by NASCAR officials was $17,050 ($127,595.93 when inflation is taken into effect).^[4]

Top ten finishers^[2]

1. 26-Junior Johnson
2. 27-Cale Yarborough
3. 11-Ned Jarrett
4. 6-David Pearson
5. 47-Curtis Turner
6. 21-Marvin Panch
7. 17-Junior Spencer
8. 59-Tom Pistone
9. 49-G.C. Spencer
10. 88-Buddy Baker

Timeline^[2]

• Start of race: Fred Lorenzen starts the race with the pole position
• Lap 13: Buddy Arrington had a terminal crash; causing him to "finish" the event in last place
• Lap 14: Richard Petty and Bobby Isaac would crash at the same time; ending both of their chances of winning the race
• Lap 82: Henley Gray had a terminal crash; forcing him to withdraw from the race
• Lap 154: An oil leak ended Jabe Thomas' chance of winning the race
• Lap 191: Junior Johnson takes over the lead from Fred Lorenzen
• Lap 198: Paul Lewis' vehicle developed engine problems; taking him out of the race
• Lap 219: Fred Lorenzen started having engine problems; forcing him out of the event
• Lap 311: Cale Yarborough takes over the lead from Junior Johnson
• Lap 317: Junior Johnson takes over the lead from Cale Yarborough
• Lap 318: Roy Mayne became the final DNF of the race due to problems with his car's engine
• End of race: Junior Johnson wins the race directly from the pole position^[5]

References