1961 Greenville 200

Auto race held at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in 1961 February 2025 CUST Race 10 of 52 in the 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series season Greenville 200 Weather information for the 1961 Greenville 200 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1961 04 1 1961 10 52 Greenville 200 Greenville-Pickens Speedway (Greenville, South Carolina) Dirt oval 0.500 0.805 200 100.000 160.934 Chilly with temperatures of 62.1 F C; wind speeds of 20 mph km/h 52.189 mi/h 5,000 Junior Johnson Rex Lovette Rex White Rex White 106 85 Emanuel Zervakis Monroe Shook The 1961 Greenville 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 1, 1961, at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina. Race report After nearly two hours of racing 200 laps, Emanuel Zervakis emerged as the winner as he managed to defeat Richard Petty by an unknown margin in front of a crowd of 5000 people. This would make the first of two career victories for Zervakis and the only time that a driver with the number 85 to have two career victories in NASCAR Cup Series history.1961 Greenville 200 racing information at Racing Reference All 21 of the drivers on the grid were American-born males. Doug Yates would receive the last-place finish due to a driveshaft issue on the eighth lap. Other notable names who competed were: Junior Johnson, Roy Tyner, and Ned Jarrett. Johnson would qualify for the pole position with speeds up to 62.09 mph km/h during the qualifying sessions. Four cautions slowed the race for 20 laps; there was only one crash during the entire race. Bob Barron was a middle-aged rookie who started in 20th place and finished in 18th place. After the 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series season, Barron attempted to do only one more NASCAR Cup Series race while making attempts to look into it further. Zervakis would make his first win in his NASCAR career at this racing event.1961 Greenville 200 racing information at Race-Database Bud Allman was one of the notable crew chiefs at the race; he worked on Ned Jarrett's #11 Ford vehicle.1961 Greenville 200 crew chiefs information at Racing Reference The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 27 Junior Johnson '60 Pontiac Rex Lovette 2 85 Emanuel Zervakis '60 Chevrolet Monroe Shook 3 47 Jack Smith '61 Pontiac Jack Smith 4 4 Rex White '60 Chevrolet Rex White 5 43 Richard Petty '60 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 6 23 Doug Yates '59 Plymouth Raeford Johnson 7 86 Buck Baker '61 Chrysler Buck Baker 8 67 David Pearson '60 Chevrolet G.C. Spencer 9 11 Ned Jarrett '60 Ford B.G. Holloway 10 48 G.C. Spencer '60 Chevrolet G.C. Spencer 11 54 Jimmy Pardue '59 Chevrolet Jimmy Pardue 12 2 Tommy Irwin '67 Ford T-Bird Tom Daniels 13 17 Fred Harb '59 Ford Fred Harb 14 9 Roy Tyner '60 Ford Roy Tyner 15 0 Bobby Waddell '59 Dodge Bobby Waddell 16 1 Paul Lewis '61 Chevrolet Jess Potter 17 35 George Green '59 Plymouth M.J. Black 18 62 Curtis Crider '59 Plymouth Curtis Crider 19 19 Herman Beam '60 Ford Herman Beam 20 71 Bob Barron '60 Dodge Bob Barron 21 30 Doug Cox '59 Ford T-Bird Doug Cox Finishing order Section reference: 30em Emanuel Zervakis (No. 85) Richard Petty (No. 43) Rex White (No. 4) G.C. Spencer (No. 48) Buck Baker (No. 86) Jimmy Pardue (No. 54) Fred Harb (No. 17) George Green (No. 35) Bobby Waddell (No. 0) David Pearson (No. 67) Curtis Crider (No. 62) Doug Cox (No. 30) Herman Beam (No. 19) Ned Jarrett (No. 11) Roy Tyner (No. 9) Junior Johnson (No. 27) Tommy Irwin (No. 2) Bob Barron (No. 71) Jack Smith (No. 47) Paul Lewis (No. 1) Doug Yates (No. 23) Timeline Section reference: Start of race: Junior Johnson started the race with the pole position. Lap 8: Doug Yates had troubles with his driveshaft, making him the last-place finisher. Lap 33: Paul Lewis suffered a terminal crash, forcing him to leave the event prematurely. Lap 49: Jack Smith's engine blew in his racing vehicle. Lap 54: Bob Barron's vehicle had a faulty clutch. Lap 68: Tommy Irwin's problematic steering caused him to exit the race prematurely. Lap 69: Junior Johnson developed fuel pump problems on this lap, ending his day on the track. Lap 70: Rex White takes over the lead from Junior Johnson. Lap 99: Roy Tyner had to leave the race due to transmission issues. Lap 100: Ned Jarrett managed to overheat his vehicle, causing his early departure from the race. Lap 149: Axle problems forced Herman Bean to drop out of the race. Lap 176: Emanuel Zervakis takes over the lead from Rex White. Lap 181: David Pearson ran out of gasoline, causing him to exit the race. Finish: Emanuel Zervakis was officially declared the winner of the event. References 1961 Atlanta 500 1961 untitled race at Orange Speedway NASCAR Grand National races 1961 Greenville 200 Greenville 200 Category:NASCAR races at Greenville-Pickens Speedway