Official name Old Dominion 500 | ||
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Date September 24, 1964 (1964-September-24) Course Permanent racing facility0.525 mi (0.844 km) Distance 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km) Weather Warm with temperatures approaching 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds up to 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h) | ||
The 1964 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on September 24, 1964, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. Forty professional stock car racing drivers would become involved in an event that would become legendary.
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.
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
Fred Lorenzen defeated Richard Petty by ⅓ of a second in front of a live audience of 18,214 spectators; becoming the first recipient of the now-famous Martinsville Grandfather Clock.
In addition to six changes in the lead driver, there were also six caution flags given out for 28 laps. The entire race took three hours and twenty-four minutes to go from green flag to the checkered flag. Top prize at the race was $4,715 ($36,409.72 when adjusted for inflation). Doug Yates and Buddy Arrington both qualified for the race but failed to start in it. NASCAR was authorized to hand out a grand total of $17,580 to each of the drivers who participated in this event ($135,754.57 when adjusted for inflation).
Even with his second-place finish, Petty cliched his first NASCAR championship after this race. Bill Whitley was credited as the actual last-place driver after acquiring a transmission problem on lap 6; bringing home a paycheck of $150 ($1,158.32 when adjusted for inflation). The majority of the entries belonged to the Ford Motor Company. Model years for each vehicle ranged from 1962 to 1964; complying with the NASCAR rules and regulations for that era. Doug Wilson would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race.
Top ten finishers
- Fred Lorenzen (No. 28)
- Richard Petty (No. 43)
- Junior Johnson (No. 27)
- Marvin Panch (No. 21), 1 lap behind
- Ned Jarrett (No. 11), 3 laps behind
- Darel Dieringer (No. 16), 9 laps behind
- Bobby Isaac (No. 26), 9 laps behind
- David Pearson (No. 6), 10 laps behind
- Billy Wade (No. 1), 11 laps behind
- Cale Yarborough (No. 00), 12 laps behind