Official name Sandlapper 200 | ||
Date August 8, 1963; 53 years ago (1963-08-08) Course Permanent racing facility0.500 mi (0.804 km) Distance 200 laps, 100 mi (160 km) Weather Hot with temperatures approaching 95.0 °F (35.0 °C); winds up to 11.10 miles per hour (17.86 km/h) | ||
The 1963 Sandlapper 200 was the site of Richard Petty's 25th NASCAR Grand National win for Petty Enterprises (now Richard Petty Motorsports).
Contents
Taking place on August 8, 1963, at Columbia Speedway in Columbia, South Carolina. Two hundred laps were done on a dirt track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km). 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.
Background
Columbia Speedway was an oval racetrack located in Cayce, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. It was the site of auto races for NASCAR's top series from 1951 through 1971. For most of its history, the racing surface was dirt. The races in April and August 1970 were two of the final three Grand National races ever held on a dirt track.
The track was paved before hosting its last two Grand National races in 1971.
Summary
This race was the last time that the letter "X" could be legally used as a race number. An amendment to one of NASCAR's rules made by Bill France, Sr. forced all drivers to use only single-digit and double-digit race car numbers started in the 1963 Western North Carolina 500 event. As a result, cars could no longer use letters and/or numbers higher than "99" at any NASCAR Cup Series racing event.
It took one hour, forty-seven minutes, and fifty-five seconds for Richard Petty to defeat David Pearson with a margin of nine seconds. Pearson and Petty would start a bitter rivalry during the course of the race that would ultimately influence all future rivalries in the NASCAR Cup Series. The notable speeds were: 55.598 miles per hour (89.476 km/h) as the average speed and 69.014 miles per hour (111.067 km/h) as the pole position speed. 8,500 people attended this untelevised race. Other notable participants included: J.D. McDuffie, Wendell Scott, Cale Yarborough and Buck Baker. Possum Jones scored last place in the race after only finishing five laps due to tire issues.
Frank Warren finished the race 13th in his unsponsored 1961 Pontiac Catalina vehicle (with the X designation for his driver number) after starting in 18th place. He received $100 ($782.28 when considering inflation) as a part of his winnings. Total winnings for this race were $4,825 ($37,745.14 when considering inflation) with Petty receiving most of it with $1,140 ($8,918.02 when considering inflation).
Billy Oswald would retire from professional stock car racing after the completion of this event.
Finishing order
* DNF