1960 National 400
The 1960 National 400 was a Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 16, 1960, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 42 of 44 in the 1960 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway | |||
| Date | October 16, 1960 | ||
| Official name | National 400 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi (2.410 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.5 km) | ||
| Weather | Very hot with temperatures of 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds of 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 112.905 mph (181.703 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | John Hines | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Fireball Roberts | John Hines | |
| Laps | 197 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Speedy Thompson | Wood Brothers | |
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.
Background
Around 29,166 spectators traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway to watch the race. Located in Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway is a banked 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval that opened a few months earlier for the inaugural World 600.
Charlotte Motor Speedway was designed and built by Bruton Smith and partner and driver Curtis Turner in 1959. The first World 600 NASCAR race was held at the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) speedway on June 19, 1960. On December 8, 1961, the speedway filed bankruptcy notice. Judge J.B. Craven of US District Court for Western North Carolina reorganized it under Chapter 10 of the Bankruptcy Act; Judge Craven appointed Robert "Red" Robinson as the track's trustee until March 1962. At that point, a committee of major stockholders in the speedway was assembled, headed by A.C. Goines and furniture store owner Richard Howard. Goines, Howard, and Robinson worked to secure loans and other monies to keep the speedway afloat.[3]
Race report
Bob Barron and Friday Hassler would make their NASCAR Grand National debut appearances here. Unfortunately, this would be Bob Barron's only start of the 1960 NASCAR Grand National Series season.[4] Charlie Glotzbach would also make his NASCAR big league debut at this race but to a much smaller fanfare.
The race was held on a dry circuit; with no precipitation recorded around the speedway.[5]
It took three hours and thirty-two minutes to complete 267 laps on a paved oval track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km).[2][6] Seven cautions were waved by NASCAR officials for 34 laps.[2] Speedy Thompson defeated Richard Petty by one lap and twelve seconds in front of nearly 30,000 spectators while going 112.905 miles per hour (181.703 km/h);[2][7] helping the Wood Brothers' racing team earn their one of their first NASCAR wins as owners. Thompson would get his penultimate win of his NASCAR Cup career in this race; winning for the last time at the 1960 Capital City 400.[8]
Fireball Roberts was the qualifier for the pole position with a speed of 133.465 miles per hour (214.791 km/h).[2] Eight notable crew chiefs participated in the event; including Cotton Owens, Leonard Wood and Bud Moore.[9] He would eventually blow a tire on lap 232; causing him to crash and lose the lead.[10] There were fifty drivers who would ultimately participate in this event; all of them were American-born males.[2]
Fred Lorenzen would earn the event's last-place finish for a vibration problem that he developed on lap 4; earning only $200 for that day ($1,470 when adjusted for inflation).[2][11] Lowe's was one of the corporate sponsors of this racing event;[2] they still sponsor NASCAR to this very day through frequent Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.
Qualifying
| Grid[2] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Fireball Roberts | '60 Pontiac | John Hines |
| 2 | 47 | Jack Smith | '60 Pontiac | Jack Smith |
| 3 | 21 | Speedy Thompson | '60 Ford | Wood Brothers |
| 4 | 4 | Rex White | '60 Chevrolet | Rex White |
| 5 | 12 | Joe Weatherly | '60 Ford | Holman-Moody Racing |
| 6 | 5 | Bobby Johns | '60 Pontiac | Cotton Owens |
| 7 | 44 | Jim Paschal | '60 Plymouth | Petty Enterprises |
| 8 | 26 | Curtis Turner | '60 Ford | Holman-Moody Racing |
| 9 | 85 | Emuanel Zervakis | '60 Chevrolet | Monroe Shook |
| 10 | 87 | Buck Baker | '60 Chevrolet | Buck Baker |
| 11 | 11 | Ned Jarrett | '60 Ford | Ned Jarrett |
| 12 | 73 | Johnny Beauchamp | '60 Chevrolet | Dale Swanson |
| 13 | 7 | Jim Reed | '60 Chevrolet | Jim Reed |
| 14 | 27 | Junior Johnson | '60 Pontiac | John Masoni |
| 15 | 89 | Joe Lee Johnson | '60 Chevrolet | Joe Lee Johnson |
| 16 | 2 | Possum Jones | '60 Chevrolet | Tom Daniels |
| 17 | 94 | Banjo Matthews | '60 Ford | Banjo Matthews |
| 18 | 69 | Johnny Allen | '60 Chevrolet | Hanley Dawson |
| 19 | 42 | Lee Petty | '60 Plymouth | Petty Enterprises |
| 20 | 35 | Don O'Dell | '60 Pontiac | J.D. Braswell |
| 21 | 43 | Richard Petty | '60 Plymouth | Petty Enterprises |
| 22 | 78 | Friday Hassler | '60 Chevrolet | E.C. Wilson |
| 23 | 49 | Bob Welborn | '60 Ford | Bob Welborn |
| 24 | 81 | Larry Frank | '60 Ford | Shorty Rollins |
| 25 | 10 | T.C. Hunt | '60 Plymouth | Fred Wheat |
Failed to qualify: Buddy Baker (#20), Leroy Thomas, Wilbur Rakestraw (#99), Bob Duell (#95), Gerald Duke (#92), Speedy Thompson (#90), Charles Griffin (#78), Elmo Henderson (#70), Tiny Lund (#63), Jim Whitman (#60), Jim Cook (#38), Tommy Irwin (#36), Jimmy Massey (#21), LeeRoy Yarbrough[12]
Top 10 finishers
| Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Winnings | Laps led | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 21 | Speedy Thompson | Ford | 267 | $12,710 | 44 | 3:32:50 |
| 2 | 21 | 43 | Richard Petty | Plymouth | 266 | $5,550 | 0 | +1 lap |
| 3 | 11 | 11 | Ned Jarrett | Ford | 266 | $3,275 | 13 | +1 lap |
| 4 | 6 | 5 | Bobby Johns | Pontiac | 265 | $2,880 | 0 | +2 laps |
| 5 | 14 | 27 | Junior Johnson | Pontiac | 265 | $1,855 | 0 | +2 laps |
| 6 | 4 | 4 | Rex White | Chevrolet | 265 | $2,050 | 0 | +2 laps |
| 7 | 9 | 85 | Emanuel Zervakis | Chevrolet | 263 | $1,100 | 0 | +4 laps |
| 8 | 7 | 44 | Jim Paschal | Pontiac | 261 | $920 | 0 | +6 laps |
| 9 | 30 | 59 | Tom Pistone | Pontiac | 260 | $700 | 0 | +7 laps |
| 10 | 17 | 94 | Banjo Matthews | Ford | 259 | $725 | 0 | +8 laps |
Timeline
Section reference: [2]
References
- "1960 National 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
- "1960 National 400 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- Charlotte Observer timeline on Charlotte Motor Speedway Archived November 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- "Driver Bob Barron Career Statistics". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
- "Charlotte NASCAR Climatology" (PDF). SERCC. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
- "1960 National 400 additional track information". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- "1960 National 400 information (exact comparison between Petty and Thompson)". Racin' Today. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- "Driver Speedy Thompson's Win Statistics". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
- "1960 National 400 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- "1960 National 400 information (second reference)". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- "About the last-place finisher of the 1960 National 400". Everything Stock Car. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- "1960 National 400 qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
| Preceded by 1960 Wilkes 320 |
NASCAR Grand National Series Season 1960 |
Succeeded by 1960 Capital City 200 |
| Preceded by none |
National 400 races 1960 |
Succeeded by 1961 |