1961 World 600

Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1961 February 2025 CUST Race 24 of 52 in the 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series season World 600 http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/zipcode/28027/1961-05-28 Weather information for the 1961 World 600 The Old Farmers' Almanac 2012-09-05 1961 05 28 1961 24 52 1961_World_600_program_cover_and_logo.jpg 1961 World 600 program cover World 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina 1.500 2.414 400 600 965 Temperatures of 73 F C; wind speeds of 10.1 mph km/h 111.633 mi/h 46,538 http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1961-24&series=W Racing information for the 1961 World 600 Racing Reference 2012-09-05 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises David Pearson John Masoni 225 3 David Pearson John Masoni ABC Chris Economaki The 1961 World 600, the second running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that took place on May 28, 1961, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Chris Economaki called the race in one of the few televised NASCAR races of the 1960s. A series of two qualifying events took place on May 21 to determine the starting grid for this event. This race began a streak of 1856 consecutive NASCAR races where at least one of the drivers in the race was from North Carolina. The streak would come to an end after Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not race in the 2012 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte after getting a concussion after the previous race at Talladega. Background Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 mi km on quad-oval track located in Concord, North Carolina, was the location for the race.NASCAR Race Tracks http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ NASCAR.com NASCAR Media Group https://web.archive.org/web/20110603231316/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ June 3, 2011 May 24, 2016 The track's turns were banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was five degrees.NASCAR Tracks—The Charlotte Motor Speedway http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/media/facts/ Charlotte Motor Speedway https://web.archive.org/web/20110428214510/http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/media/facts/ April 28, 2011 May 24, 2016 The back stretch, opposite of the front, also had a five degree banking. Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR Grand National Series twice during the season, with the other race being the National 400. The track opened for the inaugural World 600 one year earlier, and was built by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner. Around 46,538 spectators attended the race. Race report Four hundred laps were raced over a paved oval track spanning 1.500 mi km with a time of five hours, twenty-two minutes, and twenty-nine seconds. Seven cautions were waved for fifty-seven laps. David Pearson defeated Fireball Roberts by more than two laps for his first NASCAR Cup series victory. Even though there were 55 cars in the event, only 19 vehicles were allowed to qualify during each pre-race qualifying session. The average speed was 111.633 mi/h while the pole position speed was 131.611 mi/h. The qualifying races only set the front row (which is the opposite of what happens before the Daytona 500). A lot of drivers chose not to participate in qualifying. Attendance for this race was 46,538 and the top prize was $24,280 ($ when adjusted for inflation). The last place competitor received $200 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Competitors for this race included: Ralph Earnhardt, Ned Jarrett, Tiny Lund, Junior Johnson, Joe Weatherly, Richard Petty, and Roy Tyner. Ralph Earnhardt was competitive early, leading four times and finishing 11th. A terrible crash occurred to driver Reds Kagle; he would lose a leg in this race when his car penetrated the outside guard rail. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8iru6_reds-kagle-crashes-in-1961-world-60_auto Reds Kagle crashes in 1961 World 600 at Charlotte Daily Motion 2012-09-06 Notable crew chiefs for the race were Ray Fox, Bud Allman, Smokey Yunick, Mario Rossi, Roy Burdick, Shorty Johns and Joseph Meyer. https://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1961-24/W/C 1961 World 600 crew chiefs information Racing Reference 2018-08-28 It would be the final race for the future Hall of Famer, Tim Flock. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer 1 43 Richard Petty '61 Plymouth 2 8 Joe Weatherly '61 Pontiac 3 3 David Pearson '61 Pontiac 4 20 Marvin Panch '60 Pontiac 5 28 Fred Lorenzen '61 Ford 6 6 Ralph Earnhardt '61 Pontiac 7 18 Tommy Irwin '61 Pontiac 8 4 Rex White '61 Chevrolet 9 16 Speedy Thompson '61 Ford 10 22 Fireball Roberts '61 Pontiac 11 11 Ned Jarrett '61 Chevrolet 12 72 Bobby Johns '61 Ford 13 53 Bob Burdick '61 Pontiac 14 47 Bob Welborn '61 Pontiac 15 87 Buck Baker '61 Chrysler 16 24 Roscoe Thompson '60 Pontiac 17 85 Emanuel Zervakis '61 Chevrolet 18 94 Banjo Matthews '61 Ford 19 46 Jack Smith '61 Pontiac 20 21 Curtis Turner '61 Ford Finishing order Section reference:1961 World 600 - The Third Turn https://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/1961_World_600 2021-05-07 www.thethirdturn.com en FinSt#DriverSponsorMakeLapsLedStatus133David Pearson'61 Pontiac400225running21022Fireball Roberts'61 Pontiac3986running384Rex White'61 Chevrolet3970running41111Ned Jarrett'61 Chevrolet39730running52514Jim Paschal'61 Pontiac3940running63930Tiny Lund'60 Chevrolet3920running71946Jack Smith'61 Pontiac3923running81447Bob Welborn'61 Pontiac3920running92327Junior Johnson'61 Pontiac3900running1028Joe Weatherly'61 Pontiac38914running1166Ralph Earnhardt'61 Pontiac38675running12301Paul Lewis'61 Chevrolet3860running133382Joe Eubanks'61 Ford3840running143710T.C. Hunt'61 Dodge3760running151785Emanuel Zervakis'61 Chevrolet3750running165493Lee Reitzel'60 Ford3710running174461Elmo Langley'59 T-Bird3710running184396Friday Hassler'60 Chevrolet3680running191272Bobby Johns'61 Ford3670running20718Tommy Irwin'61 Pontiac3610driveshaft21385Bobby Waddell'59 Chevrolet3610running224138Ed Markstellar'61 Ford3600running234823Doug Yates'61 Plymouth3580running244219Herman Beam'60 Ford3570running254957Wes Morgan'61 Chevrolet3470running263286Buddy Baker'61 Chrysler3420rear end271353Bob Burdick'61 Pontiac3380crash281894Banjo Matthews'61 Ford3360engine293680Tubby Gonzales'61 Ford3360rear end30143Richard Petty'61 Plymouth33247engine312648G.C. Spencer'60 Chevrolet3250running325571Bob Barron'60 Dodge2910flagged332169Johnny Allen'61 Chevrolet2830rear end34292Reds Kagle'61 Ford2770crash35528Fred Lorenzen'61 Ford2740a frame36509Roy Tyner'60 Ford2660crash372415Tim Flock'61 Ford2550engine384568Ed Livingston'60 Ford2540engine393554Jimmy Pardue'60 Chevrolet2210bell housing404662Curtis Crider'61 Mercury2030crankshaft41916Speedy Thompson'61 Ford1860camshaft421587Buck Baker'61 Chrysler1470overheating43420Marvin Panch'60 Pontiac1400crash442021Curtis Turner'61 Ford1390crash453144Marvin Porter'60 Plymouth1360engine462229Nelson Stacy'61 Ford1280bearing473466Jimmy Thompson'60 Ford1130axle485331Gene Stokes'61 Studebaker950oil pressure49277Jim Reed'61 Chevrolet930valve spring501624Roscoe Thompson'60 Pontiac700clutch514740Bobby Allison'60 Chevrolet530axle522889Joe Lee Johnson'61 Chevrolet400crash534075Larry Frank'61 Pontiac100timing545151Doug Cox'59 T-Bird60engine555235E.J. Trivette'59 Plymouth30axle Timeline Section reference: Start: Joe Weatherly was leading the pack as the cars officially crossed the start/finish line. Lap 2: David Pearson took over the lead from Joe Weatherly. Lap 3: Joe Weatherly took over the lead from David Pearson; E.J. Trivette's vehicle suddenly developed problems with its axle. Lap 6: Doug Cox fell out with engine failure. Lap 10: The timing on Larry Frank's vehicle became abnormal. Lap 16: Ralph Earnhardt took over the lead from Joe Weatherly. Lap 34: Jack Smith took over the lead from Ralph Earnhardt. Lap 37: Ralph Earnhardt took over the lead from Jack Smith. Lap 40: Joe Lee Johnson inflicted terminal vehicle damage. Lap 49: David Pearson took over the lead from Ralph Earnhardt. Lap 53: Ralph Earnhardt took over the lead from David Pearson; the axle on Bobby Allison's vehicle developed problems. Lap 70: David Pearson took over the lead from Ralph Earnhardt; the clutch on Roscoe Thompson's vehicle started acting abnormally. Lap 81: Ned Jarrett took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 93: The valve spring on Jim Reed's vehicle started acting strangely. Lap 95: The oil pressure on Gene Stokes' vehicle suddenly became abnormal. Lap 111: Ralph Earnhardt took over the lead from Ned Jarrett. Lap 113: Axle problems took Jimmy Thompson out of the race. Lap 128: Problems with the vehicle's bearing took Nelson Stacy out of the race. Lap 136: Marvin Porter fell out with engine failure. Lap 139: David Pearson took over the lead from Ralph Earnhardt; Curtis Turner inflicted terminal vehicle damage. Lap 140: Marvin Panch inflicted terminal vehicle damage. Lap 147: Buck Baker managed to overheat his vehicle. Lap 178: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 201: Fireball Roberts took over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 207: David Pearson took over the lead from Fireball Roberts. Lap 248: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 254: Ed Livingston managed to overheat his vehicle. Lap 255: Tim Flock managed to overheat his vehicle. Lap 272: David Pearson took over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 277: Reds Kagle inflicted terminal vehicle damage. Lap 283: The rear end of Johnny Allen's vehicle became dangerously loose. Lap 291: Bob Barron was disqualified from the race by the virtue of the black flag. Lap 332: Richard Petty fell out with engine failure. Lap 336: Tubby Gonzales's vehicle developed a dangerously loose rear end; Banjo Matthews fell out with engine failure. Lap 338: Bob Burdick fell out with engine failure. Lap 342: The rear end of Buddy Baker's vehicle became dangerously loose. Finish: David Pearson was officially declared the winner of the event. References 1961 untitled race at Ascot Stadium 1961 untitled race at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds NASCAR Grand National Races 1961 World 600 World 600 Category:NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway World 600