1965 Atlanta 500
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 55 in the 1965 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 Layout of Atlanta International Speedway, used until 1996 | |||
| Date | April 11, 1965 | ||
| Official name | Atlanta 500 | ||
| Location | Atlanta International Raceway (Hampton, Georgia) | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi (2.400 km) | ||
| Distance | 334 laps, 501.0 mi (804 km) | ||
| Weather | Warm with temperatures up to 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds up to 13 miles per hour (21 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 129.410 miles per hour (208.265 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Wood Brothers | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Marvin Panch | Wood Brothers | |
| Laps | 241 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Marvin Panch | Wood Brothers | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1965 Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on April 11, 1965 at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.
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
There were 44 American-born male drivers on the grid - without any foreigners or minorities trying to compete in the event.[2] This race was the sixth Atlanta 500 to ever take place in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, the racing series would ultimately come to an end in 2011 to make room for a race at Kentucky Speedway.[3] While the previous year's race was televised on CBS, this race was completely unbroadcasted on television.
Jim Conway would be the race's last-place finisher due to a clutch issue on lap 1 out of the regulation period of 334 laps.[2] Marvin Panch managed to defeat Bobby Johns by two seconds in front of a screaming crowd of 50,700 people in his 1965 Ford Galaxie vehicle.[2] There were eight lead changes in addition to five caution flags waved for 26 laps; making this race last almost four hours in length.[2] The average speed of the race was 129.410 miles per hour (208.265 km/h) while Panch earned the pole position with a qualifying speed of 145.581 miles per hour (234.290 km/h).[2][4] Other drivers in the top ten were: Ned Jarrett, Dick Hutcherson, Buddy Baker, Tiny Lund, Bobby Allison, Larry Hess, Paul Lewis, and Bub Strickler.[2][4]
Vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company practically had the monopoly on this racing event.[2][4] Jim Conway would make his introduction into the NASCAR Cup Series in this race while Danny Byrd would leave the series after this race.[5]
Timeline
- Start of race: Darel Dieringer officially began the race with the pole position
- Lap 1: Jim Conway managed to lose control over his vehicle's clutch
- Lap 2: Vehicle handling issues managed to take Bud Harless out of the race
- Lap 5: Cotton Wallace had to leave the race because his tires were rubbing with his vehicle; Robert Vaughn experienced oil pressure issues
- Lap 12: Sway bar issues managed take Ned Setzer out of the race
- Lap 13: Buddy Arrington managed to lose control over his vehicle's clutch
- Lap 24: Tim Pistone managed to blow his vehicle's engine
- Lap 26: The head gasket came off Reb Wickersham's vehicle; forcing him out of the race
- Lap 29: Oil pressure issues caused Wendell Scott to abandon the race
- Lap 41: Earl Balmer took over the lead from Darel Dieringer
- Lap 47: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Earl Balmer
- Lap 71: Marvin Panch took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen
- Lap 104: Bobby Johns took over the lead from Marvin Panch
- Lap 108: Marvin Panch took over the lead from Bobby Johns
- Lap 178: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Marvin Panch
- Lap 189: Marvin Panch took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen
- Lap 298: Johnny Rutherford managed to blow his engine; forcing him to exit the race for safety reasons
- Lap 299: G.C. Spencer managed to overheat his vehicle while racing at high speeds
- Lap 309: Bub Strickler had a terminal crash; forcing him to leave the race prematurely
- End of race: Marvin Panch became the winner of the event
References
- ↑ "1965 Atlanta 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "1965 Atlanta 500 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ↑ "Atlanta Motor Speedway Announces Schedule For 2011 NASCAR Season". www.atlantamotorspeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- 1 2 3 "1965 Atlanta 500 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ↑ "Introductions to and departures from NASCAR". Race Database. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
| Preceded by 1965 untitled race at Orange Speedway |
NASCAR Grand National races 1965 |
Succeeded by 1965 Greenville 200 |
| Preceded by 1964 |
Atlanta 500 races 1965 |
Succeeded by 1966 |