1964 Pennsylvania 200

1964 Pennsylvania 200
Race details[1][2]
Race 41 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date July 21, 1964; 60 years ago (1964-07-21)
Official name Pennsylvania 200
Location Lincoln Speedway (New Oxford, Pennsylvania)
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.805 km)
Distance 200 laps, 100.0 mi (160.9 km)
Weather Hot with temperatures of 87.1 °F (30.6 °C); wind speeds of 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)
Average speed 82.568 miles per hour (132.880 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Owens Racing
Most laps led
Driver Bob Welborn Holman-Moody
Laps 125
Winner
No. 6 David Pearson Owens Racing
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1964 Pennsylvania 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on July 21, 1964, at Lincoln Speedway in New Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Race report

[edit]

There were 21 drivers on the grid; all of them were American-born males.[2] Frank Tanner received the last-place finish due to an oil pressure issue on lap 2 out of the 200 laps that made up the regulation length of the race.[2] There were only two lead changes; David Pearson managed to defeat Richard Petty by 11 seconds in only one hour and twelve minutes.[2] While Pearson achieved a pole position with a speed of 86.289 miles per hour (138.869 km/h), the average speed of the race was only 82.586 miles per hour (132.909 km/h).[2]

Bob Welborn would retire from NASCAR after this race; having gone winless since the 1959 Western North Carolina 500.[3] Wendell Scott managed to charge ahead from a disappointing 21st place to a respectable fourth place during the course of the race.[2] There were only 2 cautions in this race; making it relatively safe even by today's standards.[2]

Notable crew chiefs that participated in this race included Jimmy Helms, Vic Ballard, Bob Cooper, Dale Inman and Wendell Scott (who also owned the vehicle and drove it in the same race).[4]

The transition to purpose-built racecars 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.

Qualifying

[edit]
Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 6 David Pearson '64 Dodge Cotton Owens
2 06 Bob Welborn '64 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
3 41 Richard Petty '64 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
4 11 Ned Jarrett '64 Ford Bondy Long
5 60 Doug Cooper '63 Ford Bob Cooper
6 54 Jimmy Pardue '64 Plymouth Charles Robinson
7 72 Doug Yates '64 Plymouth Doug Yates
8 88 Neil Castles '62 Chrysler Buck Baker
9 02 Curtis Crider '63 Mercury Curtis Crider
10 55 Earl Brooks '63 Chevrolet Wendell Scott
11 49 Doug Moore '64 Chevrolet G.C. Spencer
12 68 Bob Derrington '63 Ford Bob Derrington
13 03 LeeRoy Yarbrough '64 Dodge Ray Fox
14 31 Al White '63 Ford Al White
15 45 Louis Weathersbee '63 Plymouth Louis Weathersbee
16 10 Bernard Alvarez '64 Ford Bernard Alvarez
17 64 Elmo Langley '63 Ford John Berejoski
18 9 Roy Tyner '64 Chevrolet Roy Tyner
19 66 Frank Tanner '63 Ford Frank Tanner
20 01 Pete Boland '63 Mercury Curtis Crider
21 34 Wendell Scott '63 Ford Wendell Scott

Finishing order

[edit]

Section reference:[2]

  1. David Pearson (No. 6)
  2. Richard Petty (No. 41)
  3. Jimmy Pardue (No. 54)
  4. Wendell Scott (No. 34)
  5. Doug Yates (No. 72)
  6. Curtis Crider (No. 02)
  7. Al White (No. 31)
  8. Doug Cooper (No. 60)
  9. Roy Tyner (No. 9)
  10. Bob Derrington (No. 68)
  11. Bob Welborn* (No. 06)
  12. Earl Brooks* (No. 55)
  13. Neil Castles* (No. 88)
  14. Elmo Langley* (No. 64)
  15. Ned Jarrett* (No. 11)
  16. Louis Weathersbee* (No. 45)
  17. Doug Moore* (No. 49)
  18. LeeRoy Yarbrough* (No. 03)
  19. Bernard Alvarez* (No. 10)
  20. Pete Boland* (No. 01)
  21. Frank Tanner* (No. 66)

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

[edit]

Section reference:[2]

  • Start of race: Bob Welborn started the race with the pole position.
  • Lap 2: Oil pressure issues made Frank Tanner the last-place finish; Pete Boland had issues with steering his racing vehicle.
  • Lap 4: Ignition problems forced Doug Moore to stop racing for the remainder of the day.
  • Lap 10: Louis Weatherbee had a terminal crash, forcing him to withdraw from the event.
  • Lap 32: Ned Jarrett had an issue with his engine, causing him to exit the race.
  • Lap 50: Elmo Langley noticed that his brakes no longer worked, ending his day on the track.
  • Lap 107: The rear end of Neil Castles' vehicle became a concern to NASCAR officials, forcing him to exit the race.
  • Lap 109: Transmission issues took away Earl Brooks' chance of winning the race.
  • Lap 126: David Pearson takes over the lead from Bob Welborn.
  • Lap 169: Bob Welborn developed engine issues; forcing him to leave the race.
  • Finish: David Pearson was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1964 Pennsylvania 200 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "1964 Pennsylvania 200 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  3. ^ "Welborn leaves NASCAR". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  4. ^ "1964 Pennsylvania 200 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series Season
1964
Succeeded by