Official name Atlanta 500 | ||
Date April 5, 1964 (1964-April-05) Location Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km) Distance 334 laps, 501.000 mi (806.281 km) Weather Cold with temperatures reaching a maximum of 57.9 °F (14.4 °C); wind speeds up to 17.1 miles per hour (27.5 km/h) | ||
The 1964 Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on April 5, 1964, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia. As the fifth annual race in the history of the Atlanta 500 series of racing events, it was a milestone race in NASCAR Cup Series history.
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Even by 1964 standards, this race was rather brutal with only ten vehicles surviving to the finish. Many of top NASCAR teams suffered from engine failure along with the non-contenders. Ford and Chevrolet used this race as a major "battleground" to determine whose vehicle was the most innovative and had the best endurance. Five terminal crashes were recorded in this event; with some footage of the event being used for the drive-in movie Speed Lovers.
Background
Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate track to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.
The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.
Summary
All 39 drivers on the grid were American-born with no foreigners either attempting to qualify or competing in the actual race itself. Notable drivers who finished outside the top ten included Darel Dieringer, Paul Goldsmith, Roy Tyner, Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Fireball Roberts, and A. J. Foyt. Fred Lorenzen managed to defeat Bobby Isaac by two laps after almost four hours of racing action in order to extend the era of "Fearless Freddie's Fast Ford". Fifty thousand live spectators would see four caution periods lasting for 19 laps and 11 changes in the lead spot for the race. Goldsmith would flip his car after leading the first 55 laps but would get out of the wreckage completely unharmed.
Jimmy Helms and Ken Spikes would make their introductions into the NASCAR professional stock car racing circuit here while Dave MacDonald would say his final goodbyes from professional auto racing here. Neil Castles ended up finishing in last-place due to a handling problem on the second lap of this 334-lap race.
The total winning purse of the racing event would be $57,655 ($445,217.85 when adjusted for inflation); Lorenzen would walk away with a handsome $18,000 ($138,997.85 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.