Date August 11, 1963; 53 years ago (1963-08-11) Official name Western North Carolina 500 Course Permanent racing facility0.500 mi (0.804 km) Distance 500 laps, 250 mi (310 km) Weather Mild with temperatures approaching 78.1 °F (25.6 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) | ||
The 1963 Western North Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on August 11, 1969, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina.
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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
The race took three hours and thirteen minutes to successfully complete. Fred Lorenzen won the race with an average speed of 77.673 miles per hour (125.003 km/h) and defeated Richard Petty by outlapping him once. Five hundred laps were done on an oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) in front of 14500 live spectators. Total winnings for this race were $13,765 ($107,681.20 when adjusted for inflation) while Lorenzen walked away as the biggest cash earner with a $2,550 paycheck ($19,948.21 when adjusted for inflation). Possum Jones (the last place finisher) came home from the race with a meager $150 ($1,173.42 when adjusted for inflation) as a result of only completely eight laps of the race due to a fuel leak.
A balanced mixture of Ford vehicles in addition to vehicles from the Plymouth, Dodge and Chevrolet brands kept the race interesting for people who were looking to buy a new automobile during the early 1960s. Chrysler's lone entry was with driver Major Melton who had to leave the race after 324 laps due to problem with his grease seal. A lot of the team owners in the race were wealthy individuals who had the money to cope with the constant travelling expenses that was expected in a NASCAR season.
Tommy Irwin would never race in a NASCAR Cup Series race after this one due to his lackluster performance. Constant vibrations in his vehicles forced him off the track after 264 laps; Stewart McKinney was his faithful crew chief. McKinney's crew chief career only lasted throughout 1963 with six good finishes for his stable of five NASCAR drivers.
Timeline
Finishing order
* Driver failed to finish race