1961 Daytona 500

Tragedy struck during the preliminaries of Daytona Speedweeks when a driver from Phoenix Arizona crashed in turn 3 of the 2.5-mile (4.0-kilometre) track. Harold Haberling was killed when his 1955 modified Chevy flipped in the 31-degree banking. This was the first fatality at the facility since 1959.[3]

One week prior to the Daytona 500 drivers competed in a first-ever 150-mile (240-kilometre) "compact car" race. Lee Petty won the race contested on the 3.1-mile (5.0 km) infield track in a 1960 Valiant with an average speed of 83.546 miles per hour (134.454 km/h). Joe Weatherly would flip his 1960 Falcon upside down during the race, but no other cars were involved in the accident, and Weatherly was not injured. Weatherly then went on to win a 10-lap, 25-mile (40 km) event dubbed a "Race of Champions" on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) banked tri-oval. Drivers competed in the same cars that they would run in the Daytona 500. The race proved to be a tough loss for Fireball Roberts, who had started at the rear of the field but managed to charge to the lead in only 4 laps. On the last lap, Weatherly overtook Roberts at the finish line, winning by only 2 feet.[4]

A total of 70 drivers registered to run in the 1961 Daytona 500, but only the top 60 would be scheduled to start the race.[3] A total of 13 teams came to Daytona with the new, more aerodynamically designed 1961 Pontiacs contributed by the manufacturer. Smokey Yunick brought Fireball Roberts as his primary driver for the new model vehicle, and it was Roberts who suggested that Yunick add teammate Marvin Panch. Panch was a 'last minute' addition to Yunick's team and given the year-old 1960 Pontiac rather than one of the newer models. When approached, Yunick relented to allowing Panch to drive Roberts' Pontiac Catalina from the previous year, saying: "If you think that much about [the '60 Pontiac], take it outside." [the shop], where the mechanics prepared the car for the 500.[5]

During the initial 2-lap qualifying trials Fireball Roberts set a new track record of 155.700 miles per hour (250.575 km/h) average speed over the 5-mile (8.0 km) run. The second fastest average belonged to Joe Weatherly in his 1961 Pontiac, with Cotton Owens, Curtis Turner, and Marvin Panch rounding out the top 5. Roberts broke the previous track record speed of 152.129 mph (244.828 km/h) set by Jack Smith the previous July.[6] Roberts' effort was the first of three consecutive pole positions that he captured from 1961 through 1963. The 3 "consecutive" poles was a first, and a record which Roberts still shares with Bill Elliott (1985–87) and Ken Schrader (1988–90).[7]

Prior to the start of the main event, drivers were understandably apprehensive due to the large number of mishaps during the qualifying races.[17] This prompted officials to hold a meeting explaining that rough driving would not be tolerated, and during the race, two cars were black-flagged for driving too slowly to be considered safe.[18] A total of 51,287 fans arrived in Daytona to witness the race which was run at an average speed of 149.601 mph (240.759 km/h).[19] Unofficial estimates placed the total in attendance at over 65,000 people, with speculation of perhaps 100,000. Seventeen drivers in the starting field were designated rookies by NASCAR, and were identified by having their rear bumpers painted with 'Day-glo' paint.[18] Smokey Yunick instructed Panch to not run too close to teammate Roberts so that if Roberts were caught up in any altercations on the track then both cars would not risk being taken out in the same incident.[20]

Fireball Roberts started on the pole for the 500-mile (800 km) event, with Joe Weatherly on the outside front row. Roberts jumped out front and held the lead through lap 12 when Banjo Mathews took the point position.[19] Roberts traded the lead position with Mathews, Junior Johnson, Nelson Stacy for the first 42 laps. At lap 43 Roberts took command of the race in dominating style; and continued to lead for the majority of the race, building a lead of 2 laps over the rest of the field.[17] Although Richard Petty did not start the race, he did drive in relief for Bob Wellborn from lap 120 through 169, after which Wellborn resumed the driving duties. On lap 182 driver Darel Dieringer contacted the outside fence, but managed to make repairs in time to finish the race.[18] There were a total of nine lead changes between five drivers, and the race was completed without a single caution. Roberts would come back and lead a total of 170 of the 200 laps, including 145 consecutive laps from the 45th to the 187th.[19] Then on lap 187, with more than a two-lap lead on second place teammate Panch, Roberts' engine failed knocking him out of the race.[17] Marvin Panch took his first lead of the race with only 13 laps remaining, and held on to reach the checkered flag first, 16 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Joe Weatherly's number 8,[19] who completed the race on one set of tires.[18] The caution-free event was one of only 3 times that the iconic race ran the entire distance under green; with 1959 and 1962 being the only other 2 times it's occurred.[21]

While Pontiac's factory heads had wanted a new year model to win the race, car owner Yunick was so pleased with Panch's performance that he upped his promised take of 40% to 50% of the winnings, saying: "Tell you what. Anybody good enough to win the race is worth 50 percent to me."[20] Panch completed the 500 miles (800 km) with only one change of tires, and in a then-record for a 500-mile (800 km) closed course race of any kind,[5] completed the contest in 3 hours, 20 minutes, and 32 seconds. That time equated to an average speed of 149.601 mph (240.759 km/h),[19] which was more than 2 mph (3.2 km/h) faster the pole qualifier of the Indianapolis 500 that same year.[22][lower-alpha 1] Since Daytona did not have a designated "Victory lane" at the time, after the race Panch pulled his winning car into the infield grass, and celebrated the win with Bill France Sr., Yunick, and his family.[5] The victory was Panch's first NASCAR win since the 1957 season, and the only victory of the 1961 season.[23] Years after retiring from the sport, Panch would rebuild a replica of his winning Pontiac and tour the NASCAR circuit.[24]

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

• Fleischman, Bill; Pearce, Al (2004). "At A Glance: Year-by-Year Summaries; 1961". The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide: 2004. 2004 (10 ed.). 43311 Joy Rd. #414, Canton, MI, 48187: Checkered Flag Press; Visible Ink Press. pp. 148–149. ISBN 978-0-681-27587-4.CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Fielden, Greg; Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (2005). "1960s". NASCAR: A Fast History. 2004 (1 ed.). 7373 North Cicero Avenue, Lincolnwood, Illinois, 60712: Publications International, Ltd. pp. 100–109. ISBN 978-1-4127-1155-5.CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

• Video: Petty and Beauchamp crash during qualifying event.
• 1961 Daytona 500 trivia from nascar.com