1960 Daytona 500

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1960 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 5 of 44 in the 1960 NASCAR Grand National Series
1960 Daytona 500 program cover
1960 Daytona 500 program cover
Date February 14, 1960 (1960-02-14)
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures of 61 °F (16 °C); wind speeds of 31 miles per hour (50 km/h)[1]
Average speed 124.74 miles per hour (200.75 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Cotton Owens
Most laps led
Driver Junior Johnson John Masoni
Laps 67
Winner
No. 27 Junior Johnson John Masoni

The 1960 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on February 14, 1960, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It was the 5th race of the 1960 season, and was won by Junior Johnson in a 1959 Chevrolet.

Summary[]

The 200 lap race started with Cotton Owens on the pole and Jack Smith joining him on the front row. Junior Johnson won the four hour race driving a 59 Chevy owned by John Masoni. A crowd of 38,775 watched as Johnson drove the number 27 to victory after starting in the 9th position.[2]

Bud Burdick, Pappy Crane, Dick Foley, Dick Freeman, Tommy Herbert, Dave Hirschfield, Bob Kosiski, Shep Langdon and Bill Lutz would retire from NASCAR after this event.[3]

Pre-race[]

In late January 1960, the CBS network sent anchorman Bud Palmer and 50 other employees to Daytona to cover the events in the first-ever televised coverage of a NASCAR event.[4] CBS announced that their CBS Sports Spectacular show would televise a couple compact car races and the Grand National Pole Position races at Daytona on January 31st. On February 13th a Modified-Sportsman race took place. NASCAR officials lined up 73 cars to take the green flag. Less than a minute and a half after the green flag flew, mayhem ensued when Dick Foley's Chevy got out of shape. While Foley was able to gather control of his car, and finish the race in tenth place, 37 other vehicles behind him crashed while attempting to avoid the confusion. Twelve cars flipped, and a total of 24 drivers were unable to continue the race. Five ambulances responded to transport 8 drivers to local hospitals. Four drivers were released that day, and four drivers were held overnight. Notable drivers Ralph Earnhardt, Wendell Scott, and Speedy Thompson were among those forced out of the race.[5] Driver Speedy Thompson was quoted as saying

It was the worst accident I've ever seen. It's just a miracle that no-one got hurt any worse than they did

It took cleaning crews and tow trucks only 39 minutes to clear the track for the restart. Marion "Bubba" Farr went on to win the record setting crash fest. He drove a 1956 Ford modified with a 1958 Lincoln engine and 6 carburetors, and finished with an average speed of 116 mph (187 km/h).[5]

Qualifying races[]

Fireball Roberts won the first 100-mile (160 km) qualifying race, and Jack Smith won the second on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) track.[6] Roberts grabbed his victory on the paved oval completing the 40 laps in 45 minutes, with two cautions in a 1960 Pontiac. Roberts started second beside Cotton Owens who won the pole with a speed of 149 mph (240 km/h). Owens finished second, and Fred Lorenzen rounded out the top 3 with 2 cautions for 5 laps.[7] The first caution came on lap 1 when Gene White, Dave Hirschfield, and Tommy Irwin all got together coming out of turn two. Irwin and his Ford Thunderbird took a trip into lake Lloyd located in the infield, and Irwin had to swim to safety as the car was nearly submerged. By the time the yellow flag had been displayed, Roberts had already advanced to the front of the pack, and would never relinquish the lead. The win would give Roberts his 22nd NASCAR victory. [8]
Smith and his 1960 Pontiac captured the victory from the pole with a qualifying speed of 148 mph (238 km/h), and completed the second race in just over 40 minutes with an average speed of 146.5 mph (235.8 km/h). There were 2 cautions; and Bobby Johns finished second with Jim Reed grabbing the third spot.[9] The first single lap caution came when spun on lap six, and the second caution, also a one lap slow down, came when Johnny Dodd Jr. crashed into the wall on lap 15. The dubious distinction of bringing out the first ever black flag fell to Herman "Turtle" Beam on lap 8 when officials noticed that Beam was running without his safety helmet, which he had forgotten on the starting grid. Smith set a record for the time by winning with the combination of his speed, and the minimal caution laps. The win was Smith's second of the year, and 12,500 people looked on as he and Roberts grabbed the two top spots in the qualifying races.[8]

Race[]

Race day was a brisk day with a high of 61 °F (16 °C), with steady winds at 31 miles per hour (50 km/h), strong gusts, and no rain.[1] The high winds, combined with the high speeds resulted in 32 laps being run under caution, and multiple crashes. Tommy Herbert suffered a broken arm and severe eye injury when his T-bird flipped and blew apart when he crashed into the wall on the back straightaway on lap 118. The engine went one direction, the car another, and the front end assembly took flight up to 75 feet in the air. Driving through the wreckage, Pappy Crane spun, then rolled his Chevy, but was not hurt. Also included in the attrition was George Green whose car burst into flame forcing him to leap from the car to safety, and Tom Pistone who lost control with 2 laps remaining and hit the turn 4 wall. [8] Junior Johnson took the lead with nine laps remaining when Bobby Johns spun, and Johnson went on to win the race.[4] Johns had grabbed the lead on lap 172, but the winds pulled his back window out, and he lost control.[8] The win was Johnson's first victory of the season.[10]

The 1960 race was is remembered as being the slowest Daytona 500 race in history, as Johnson averaged just 124 mph (200 km/h) over the 500 miles (800 km).[11]

Legacy[]

There were so many cars destroyed or damaged during the 500 that NASCAR officials felt compelled to cancel a couple races that were scheduled for the following weekend. Palmetto Speedway and Hollywood Speedway both lost their scheduled 100-mile (160 km) events due to the carnage at Daytona.[5][8]

Race winner Junior Johnson went on to achieve multiple accolades in the following years; including being inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 and being selected as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. On February 4, 2010, NASCAR announced that Johnson would be Grand Marshal for the 50th anniversary of his 1960 victory.

Part of Johnson's duties as Grand Marshal would be to utter the immortal words "Gentleman, start your engines" at the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 on February 14, 2010.[12]

Official results[]

The race lasted 4:00:30, with an average speed of 124.74 mph (200.75 km/h).

Fin[13][14] St # Driver Sponsor Make Team Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 9 27 Junior Johnson Daytona Kennel '59 Chevrolet John Masoni 200 67 running 19600
2 4 3 Bobby Johns Stephens Pontiac '59 Pontiac 200 22 running 8600
3 19 43 Richard Petty '60 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 200 29 running 6450
4 14 42 Lee Petty '60 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 200 14 running 3650
5 11 69 Johnny Allen Hanley Dawson Chevrolet '60 Chevrolet 199 0 running 3300
6 54 11 Ned Jarrett Aldridge Motor Co. '60 Ford Ned Jarrett 199 0 running 2075
7 53 26 Curtis Turner Courtesy Ford '60 Ford Holman-Moody 199 0 running 1650
8 5 28 Fred Lorenzen Rupert Safety Belt '60 Ford Fred Lorenzen 198 0 running 1150
9 8 4 Rex White Piedmont, Friendly '60 Chevrolet 198 9 running 925
10 15 85 Emanuel Zervakis Shook's Transfer '60 Chevrolet 197 0 running 800
11 18 73 KSTP-TV '59 T-Bird 197 0 running 600
12 52 59 Tom Pistone Thor '60 Chevrolet 196 26 crash 500
13 10 49 Bob Welborn Atlanta International Raceway '60 Chevrolet 195 0 running 400
14 6 7 Jim Reed Jim Reed's Garage '60 Chevrolet 195 0 running 350
15 20 29 '60 Chevrolet 195 0 running 350
16 12 48 Atlanta International Raceway '60 Chevrolet 195 0 running 325
17 31 63 Skinner Bros. '59 Pontiac 195 0 running 325
18 29 87 Buck Baker Don Allen Chevrolet, Albright Boats '60 Chevrolet 194 0 running 300
19 22 93 Banjo Matthews Sunbeam Systems '59 T-Bird Banjo Matthews 193 0 running 375
20 28 64 Shep Langdon Lafayette Motor Sales '60 Ford 192 0 running 300
21 38 54 Jimmy Pardue Lowe's '59 Dodge 192 0 running 200
22 60 76 Larry Frank Thor '59 Chevrolet 191 0 running 200
23 2 47 Jack Smith Boomershine '60 Pontiac 191 14 running 900
24 50 99 Wilbur Rakestraw '60 Ford 189 0 running 200
25 25 61 Jones Motor Co. '59 T-Bird 188 0 running 200
26 61 41 Pat Milliken Ford '60 Ford 187 0 running 200
27 34 56 Ken Johnson Nypenn '60 Ford 186 0 running 200
28 33 67 David Pearson W.M. Mason Motor Co. '59 Chevrolet 185 0 running 200
29 16 71 Skinner Bros. '59 Pontiac 184 0 running 200
30 37 1 Brownie King Faircloth Chevy Co. '60 Chevrolet 183 0 running 200
31 27 34 G.C. Spencer Westhair Engineering '59 Chevrolet 183 0 running 200
32 62 19 Herman Beam Carter County Motor Co. '60 Ford 175 0 running 200
33 49 33 Reb Wickersham Flying Rebel Racing Team '60 Oldsmobile 175 0 running 700
34 63 74 L.D. Austin '58 Chevrolet 175 0 running 100
35 30 16 Leppere Pontiac '59 Pontiac 171 0 running 200
36 35 35 Mel Larson Sun City '60 Pontiac 166 0 running 275
37 65 14 Arlington Ford Sales '60 Ford 164 0 running 200
38 56 24 '60 Ford 160 0 running 300
39 21 39 Stark Special '60 Chevrolet 155 0 running 200
40 1 6 Cotton Owens Hedge's Pontiac '60 Pontiac 149 0 transmission 200
41 7 12 Joe Weatherly Courtesy Ford '60 Ford 146 0 crankshaft 300
42 43 8 '60 Chevrolet 144 0 crash 200
43 45 78 Roy Tyner Tuxedo Plumbing Co. '60 Chevrolet 143 0 crash 200
44 36 30 Air Lift '59 T-Bird 125 0 200
45 48 25 Air Lift '60 Ford 118 0 crash 200
46 51 98 Marvin Panch Courtesy Ford, Air Port Auto '60 Ford 117 0 oil leak 300
47 41 60 Polytronics Lab Inc. '60 Dodge 116 0 engine 700
48 26 15 Crossroads Motel '60 Ford 110 0 engine 200
49 59 13 Florida Military School '60 Plymouth 94 0 engine 200
50 67 58 '59 Chevrolet 89 0 crash 200
51 64 45 Tiny Lund '60 Oldsmobile 83 0 steering 100
52 55 10 Elmo Langley Cafe Burgundy '59 Buick 77 0 crankshaft 275
53 58 44 Wynn's Friction Proofing '60 Ford 75 0 engine 250
54 44 97 Parnelli Jones Vel's Ford '60 Ford 73 0 engine 200
55 46 32 George Green Watauga Chevrolet '58 Chevrolet 67 0 fire 200
56 39 88 Red Farmer Kenny Hannan Ford '60 Ford 65 0 200
57 3 22 Fireball Roberts Gilman Pontiac '60 Pontiac 51 19 engine 400
58 42 95 Midtown Motors '60 Ford 50 0 engine 200
59 24 70 Jack Purser's Esso Service '58 Pontiac 31 0 windshield 200
60 13 53 Bob Burdick '60 Ford 31 0 275
61 23 66 '59 Chevrolet 30 0 200
62 17 94 Speedy Thompson Warrior Motel '60 Ford Banjo Matthews 28 0 engine 200
63 66 2 '60 Buick 21 0 axle 100
64 57 77 Joe Lee Johnson Tuxedo Plumbing Co. '60 Ford 18 0 engine 200
65 68 92 Webster Garage '60 Ford 14 0 100
66 40 51 W.P. Still Oldsmobile '59 Oldsmobile 11 0 clutch 200
67 32 52 Fergus Ford '60 Ford 5 0 engine 200
68 47 50 Razz Bowen Ford '60 Ford 5 0 crash 200
Failed to qualify
5 Ford
9 Ford
18 Fritz Wilson Ford
31 Johnny Beauchamp Ford Holman-Moody
36 Ford
38 Eddie Gray Ford
75 Ford
79 Ford
86 Chevrolet
90 Ford
96 John Rostek Ford

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Weather of the 1960 Daytona 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  2. ^ "1960 Daytona 500". racing-reference.info. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  3. ^ "1960 Daytona 500". Race Database. racermetrics. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Auto editors of Consumer Guide. "1960 NASCAR Grand National Recap". HowStuffWorks, Inc ; Publications International, Ltd. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c Fielden, Greg (1993). Forty Years of Stock Car Racing: The Superspeedway Boom 1959-1964 (5th ed.). USA: Garfield Press. pp. 53–55 of 319. ISBN 0-9621580-1-1.
  6. ^ staff. "1960 Grand National Results". Racing Reference Info. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  7. ^ staff. "1960 Daytona 500 Qualifier #1". Racing Reference Info. Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e Fielden, Greg (1993). Forty Years of Stock Car Racing: The Superspeedway Boom 1959-1964 (5th ed.). USA: Garfield Press. pp. 57–60 of 319. ISBN 0-9621580-1-1.
  9. ^ staff. "1960 Daytona 500 Qualifier #2". Racing Reference Info. Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  10. ^ Fleischman, Bill; Al Pearce (2004). "Race Results: 1949–2002; 1960". The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide: 2004. 2004 (10 ed.). Canton, MI: Checkered Flag Press; Visible Ink Press. pp. 224 of 576. ISBN 0-681-27587-1.
  11. ^ Harris, Mike (February 15, 1988). "Bobby Allison outduels his son: Time is third slowest for Daytona 500". The Lewiston Daily Sun. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  12. ^ "1960 Daytona 500 Champion Junior Johnson Named Grand Marshal For 52ND Annual Daytona 500". Daytona International Speedway. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  13. ^ "1960 Daytona 500 race results". Racing-Reference.
  14. ^ "1960 Daytona 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
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