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1963 Pickens 200

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Official name
  
Pickens 200

Date
  
July 30, 1963; 53 years ago (1963-07-30)

Location
  
Greenville-Pickens Speedway (Greenville, South Carolina)

Course
  
Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.804 km)

Distance
  
200 laps, 100 mi (160 km)

Weather
  
Warm with temperatures approaching 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds up to 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)

The 1963 Pickens 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on June 30, 1963, at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina.

Contents

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.

Summary

Three lead changes ended up circulating amongst three different race leaders.

Two cautions were initiated by NASCAR with the average speed of the competitors being 62.456 miles per hour (100.513 km/h). Pole position winner Ned Jarrett would earn the post with a speed of 65.526 miles per hour (105.454 km/h) on his 1963 Ford Galaxie before losing to Richard Petty driving his 1963 Plymouth Belvedere in the actual race. J. D. McDuffie would crash into the wall on his first lap in his 1961 Ford Galaxie vehicle; causing him to become the last-place finisher of the race. Frank Warren would make his NASCAR debut racing against Buck Baker, Neil Castles, Joe Weatherly, Wendell Scott (NASCAR's first African-American competitor), and Cale Yarborough.

This racing event took place on a dirt track oval with 200 laps being the pre-determined number of laps according to the NASCAR officials who sanctioned the event.

Timeline

  • Start of race: Ned Jarrett started the race with the pole position while J.D. McDuffie's vehicle suffered from a terminal crash
  • Lap 10: Jack Smith's vehicle overheated, causing him to withdraw from the race
  • Lap 23: Bunkie Blackburn's engine came to a screeching halt; Billy Wade developed problems with his vehicle's differential
  • Lap 70: David Pearson takes over the lead from Ned Jarrett
  • Lap 71: Stick Elliott's V-gasket became problematic, causing him to leave the race
  • Lap 90: Curtis Crider's fuel pump developed problems, forcing him out of the race
  • Lap 106: Ned Jarrett takes over the lead from David Pearson
  • Lap 149: Richard Petty takes over the lead from Ned Jarrett
  • Lap 172: Neil Castles' vehicle had its spindle become problematic, forcing him to withdraw from the event
  • Finish: Richard Petty was officially declared the winner of the event

    • Top ten finishers

    1. Richard Petty (No. 41)
    2. Ned Jarrett (No. 11)
    3. Buck Baker (No. 87), 1 lap behind
    4. Fred Harb (No. 2), 5 laps behind
    5. Bobby Isaac (No. 99), 5 laps behind
    6. David Pearson (No. 6), 5 laps behind
    7. Tiny Lund (No. 32), 8 laps behind
    8. Joe Weatherly (No.05), 9 laps behind
    9. Frank Warren (No. X), 10 laps behind
    10. Wendell Scott (No. 34), 10 laps behind

    References

    1963 Pickens 200 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA