1961 NASCAR Grand National Series
The 1961 NASCAR Grand National season was the 13th season of
Season recap
Ned Jarrett only won one race in 1961, at Birmingham, Alabama, but his consistency proved to be the winning factor in capturing the season's championship. Second place finisher, and 1960s defending champion, Rex White won 7 times throughout the season, but Jarrett's 33 top-10 finishes over 46 of the 52 events was enough to capture the points needed for the season's championship. Third place finisher Emanuel Zervakis captured 2 wins in 38 attempts, and former champion Joe Weatherly won a total of 9 times in only 25 attempts. NASCAR icon Fireball Roberts also had two victories, but only raced in 22 events.[3]
On May 28 during the second running of the
Races
Daytona 500
The third Daytona 500 in the history of NASCAR occurred on February 26, 1961. Marvin Panch won the race in more than three hours after teammate Fireball Roberts suffers a blown engine while leading. Both Lee Petty and son Richard crashed during their respective 100 mile qualifying events, forcing Petty Enterprises into a noncompetitive role for the 1961 Daytona 500. Son Richard crashed through the guardrail and suffered a sprained ankle, and while the car remained upright, the crash kept him from competing. Lee tangled with Johnny Beauchamp when Beauchamp caught Petty's back bumper sending both cars through the guardrail with Petty's car being destroyed. Petty suffered multiple life-threatening injuries, but recovered. While Beauchamp also suffered injuries to his head, they were less serious.[7] Fireball Roberts and Joe Weatherly each won one of the 100-mile qualifying events.[4]
- 20 – Marvin Panch
- 8 – Joe Weatherly
- 31 – Paul Goldsmith
- 80 – Fred Lorenzen
- 6 – Cotton Owens
- 47 – Jack Smith
- 11 – Ned Jarrett
- 69 – Johnny Allen
- 87 – Buck Baker
- 59 – Tom Pistone
Rebel 300
This event took place on May 6, 1961. Fred Lorenzen was the winner of this 2½ hour long race.
- 28 – Fred Lorenzen
- 21 – Curtis Turner
- 69 – Johnny Allen
- 53 – Bob Burdick
- 22 – Fireball Roberts
- 3 – Marvin Panch
- 6 – Ralph Earnhardt
- 94 -Banjo Matthews
- 72 – Bobby Johns
- 11 – Ned Jarrett
World 600
This event would make
- 3 – David Pearson
- 22 – Fireball Roberts
- 4 – Rex White
- 11 – Ned Jarrett
- 14 – Jim Paschal
- 30 – Tiny Lund
- 46 – Jack Smith
- 47 – Bob Welborn
- 27 – Junior Johnson
- 8 – Joe Weatherly
- 34 – Wendell Scott
Dixie 400
The 1961 Dixie 400 was a
Seven automobile manufacturers from the United States would demonstrate their fastest stock car vehicles in an attempt to impress new vehicle sales on Monday. Homologation rules during this era only allowed drivers to bring vehicles that are street-legal and driver to the track directly by the competing driver(s). A filming of a full-length feature
- 3 – David Pearson
- 27 – Junior Johnson
- 22 – Fireball Roberts
- 47 – Jack Smith
- 43 – Richard Petty
- 14 – Johnny Allen
- 11 – Ned Jarrett
- 46 – Bob Welborn
- 51 – Woodie Wilson
- 6 – Marvin Panch
National 400
The 1961 National 400 was a
David Pearson, Fireball Roberts and Junior Johnson would dominate the early portion of the race. This race would last for roughly three hours and twenty minutes; an audience of more than 35,000 NASCAR followers would see race cars reaching up to 120 miles per hour (190 km/h). Ken Rush was credited with the last-place finish due to problems with his rocker arm on lap 16 out of this 267-lap stock car racing event. Junior Johnson's "top ten" finish came as a result of a problem with one of his wheels on lap 256; he was destined for a "top five" finish until he encountered that problem
Most of the vehicles in the race were either Pontiacs or Ford. Junior Johnson, Bob Welborn and Fireball Roberts would be the joint leaders during the middle portion of the race.
- 8 – Joe Weatherly
- 43 – Richard Petty
- 18 – Bob Welborn
- 6 – Cotton Owens
- 4 – Rex White
- 42 – Darel Dieringer
- 85 – Emanuel Zervakis
- 14 – Joe Lee Johnson
- 27 – Junior Johnson
- 30 – J. C. Hendrix
References
- ^ a b c "1961 NASCAR Grand National Results". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ "NASCAR Grand National standings for 1961". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ Fleischman & Pearce 2004, p. 149.
- ^ a b c d Auto Editors of Consumer Guide. "1961 NASCAR Grand National Recap". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Who Can Beat The Pontiacs". St. Petersburg Times. Sports – Section C. March 1961. p. 1. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ "NASCAR Grand National standings for 1960". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- ^ Fielden 2005, p. 102.
Bibliography
- Fleischman, Bill; Pearce, Al (2004). "At A Glance: Year-by-Year Summaries; 1961". The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide: 2004. Vol. 2004 (10 ed.). Canton, Michigan: Checkered Flag Press; Visible Ink Press. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0-681-27587-1.
- Fielden, Greg; Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (2005). "1960s". NASCAR: A Fast History. Vol. 2004 (1 ed.). Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd. pp. 100–109. ISBN 1-4127-1155-X.