Official name Old Dominion 500 | ||
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Date September 22, 1963 (1963-September-22) Course Permanent racing facility0.525 mi (0.844 km) Distance 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km) Weather Mild with temperatures approaching 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds up to 17.1 miles per hour (27.5 km/h) | ||
The 1963 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on September 22, 1963, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.
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Background
Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long. The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.
Summary
Possum Jones and Bobby Keck were the two drivers not to qualify for this event. The race was scheduled for 500 laps; taking three hours and forty-two minutes to complete. Fred Lorenzen defeated Marvin Panch by a single lap and two seconds. Twenty thousand people came to witness three lead changes and five cautions for eighteen laps. Junior Johnson won the pole position for this race; driving speeds up to 73.379 miles per hour (118.092 km/h) in qualifying. Speeds during the actual race managed to reach up to 67.486 miles per hour (108.608 km/h). Jimmy Massey became the last-place finisher after having to drop out prior to the race due to a terminal crash with Jimmy Pardue. Most of the car owners that were involved in the race were independents and had no affiliation with a multi-car team.
This race still holds the record for the fewest leaders in a NASCAR Cup Series race along with the 1961 Old Dominion 500, the 1965 Old Dominion 500 and the 1976 Old Dominion 500. Individual winnings for this race were as low as $100 ($782.28 when adjusted for inflation) and as high as $3,800 ($29,726.74 when adjusted for inflation).
The transition to purposely-built racers 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; most of the cars were trailered to events or hauled in by trucks.
Top ten finishers
- Fred Lorenzen (No. 28)
- Marvin Panch (No. 21), 1 lap behind
- Joe Weatherly (No. 8), 3 laps behind
- David Pearson (No. 6), 4 laps behind
- Richard Petty (No. 41), 4 laps behind
- Billy Wade (No. 5), 5 laps behind
- Fireball Roberts (No. 22), 11 laps behind
- Nelson Stacy (No. 29), 12 laps behind
- Jack Smith (No. 47), 12 laps behind
- Buck Baker (No. 87), 23 laps behind