1964 Capital City 300
Race details[1][2] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 53 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Layout of Richmond International Speedway | |||
Date | September 14, 1964 | ||
Official name | Capital City 300 | ||
Location | Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway (Richmond, Virginia) | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.542 mi (0.872 km) | ||
Distance | 300 laps, 150 mi (241 km) | ||
Weather | Mild with temperatures approaching 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) | ||
Average speed | 66.89 miles per hour (107.65 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Bondy Long | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Junior Johnson | Matthews Racing | |
Laps | 117 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 5 | Cotton Owens | Owens Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | untelevised | ||
Announcers | none |
The 1964 Capital City 300 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on September 14, 1964 at Virginia State Fairgrounds in Richmond, Virginia. Notable drivers who appeared at this race were Elmo Langley, Wendell Scott, Tiny Lund, Roy Tyner and Richard Petty.[2]
There were 33 American-born drivers on the grid; no foreigners attempted to qualify for this racing event.[2] Vehicles registered from this race varied in year models from 1962 to 1964.[2] NASCAR team owners that were fortunate enough to afford the 1964 model of stock car vehicles found that their vehicles could exceed 175 miles per hour or 282 kilometres per hour in the right circumstances; bringing in an era of unlimited horsepower. Having this level of speed within the sanctioned NASCAR events brought forth many events in addition to tragedies throughout the year in addition to the remainder of the 1960s.[3]
Summary
During this race, there were lead changes between Billy Wade, Junior Johnson, and Cotton Owens.
300 laps were completed in more than two hours; with Cotton Owens defeating his employee David Pearson by only a lap.[2] Pearson was 29 years old on the day that the race was held; he was considered to be on the prime of his career recording seven short track victories throughout the summer of 1964. At this time, Pearson was trying to swallow more than he could chew in his NASCAR career so Owens had to teach him a lesson in the pragmatic side of stock car racing.[4] As Owens' last win in his NASCAR career, this event served to remind the spectators who watched this event that not even the biggest NASCAR superstars are totally immune to losing their optimal racing performance during their twilight years.[5]
Ned Jarrett qualified for the pole position for this race with a top speed of 66.89 miles per hour (107.65 km/h).[2] Meanwhile, the average speed of the race would be a mere 61.955 miles per hour (99.707 km/h).[2] Two of the drivers who finished in the "top ten" (Jarrett and Junior Johnson) had problems with their engines during the later laps of the race.[2] Doug Yates, then an independent driver/owner, finished in last-place due to an oil pressure issue on the first lap.[2] Individual track earnings for this event ranged from the winner's share of $2,400 ($18,311.59 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $150 ($1,144.47 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse was $12,535 ($95,639.9 when adjusted for inflation).[6]
Finishing order
- Cotton Owens†
- David Pearson
- Richard Petty
- Larry Thomas†
- Ned Jarrett*
- Neil Castles
- Roy Tyner†
- Junior Johnson*
- Mark Hurley
- E.J. Trivette
- Jimmy Pardue†
- Buddy Arrington
- Worth McMillion*
- Billy Wade*†
- Doug Cooper
- Elmo Langley*†
- Bobby Isaac*†
- Darel Dieringer*†
- Gene Hobby*
- Roy Mayne*
- Wendell Scott*†
- Jim Paschal*†
- Curtis Crider*
- Buck Baker*†
- Jack Anderson*
- Doug Moore*
- Don Branson*†
- Bob Cooper*
- Joe Cote*
- Steve Young*
- Tiny Lund*†
- Bob Derrington*
- Doug Yates*
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race
Timeline
- Start of race: Billy Wade started out with the pole position
- Lap 10: Junior Johnson took over the lead from Billy Wade
- Lap 66: Billy Wade took over the lead from Junior Johnson
- Lap 132: Junior Johnson took over the lead from Billy Wade
- Lap 170: Cotton Owens took over the lead from Junior Johnson
- Lap 188: Junior Johnson took over the lead from Cotton Owens
- Lap 203: Billy Wade managed to blow his engine while he was racing
- Lap 206: Worth McMillion would lose the rear end of his vehicle
- Lap 223: Jimmie Pardue managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle; causing him to leave early for safety reasons
- Lap 264: Junior Johnson had to leave the race due to engine problems
- Lap 265: Cotton Owens took over the lead from Junior Johnson
- Lap 280: Ned Jarrett's engine blew while he was racing
- End of race: Cotton Owens wins the race
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1964 Capital City 300 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1964 Capital City 300 racing information at Racing-Reference
- ↑ 1964 NASCAR Grand National Recap at How Stuff Works
- ↑ RETRO RACING: OWENS TAUGHT YOUNGER PEARSON A LESSON IN 1964 at NASCAR.com
- ↑ 1964 Capital City 300 racing information at Race-Database
- ↑ Racing information for the 1964 Capital City 300 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
Preceded by 1964 Buddy Shuman 250 |
Grand National Series races 1964 |
Succeeded by 1964 untitled race at Old Dominion Speedway |