1961 World 600
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| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 24 of 52 in the 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 1961 World 600 program cover | |||
| Date | May 28, 1961 | ||
| Official name | World 600 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.414 km (1.500 miles) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures of 73 °F (23 °C); wind speeds of 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 111.633 miles per hour (179.656 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 46,538[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Petty Enterprises | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | John Masoni | |
| Laps | 225 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | David Pearson | John Masoni | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC | ||
| Announcers | Chris Economaki | ||
The 1961 World 600, the second running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that took place on May 28, 1961, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Chris Economaki called the race in one of the few televised NASCAR races of the 1960s. A series of two qualifying events took place on May 21 to determine the starting grid for this event.
This race began a streak of 1856 consecutive NASCAR races where at least one of the drivers in the race was from North Carolina. The streak would come to an end after Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not race in the 2012 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte after getting a concussion after the previous race at Talladega.
Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval track located in Concord, North Carolina, was the location for the race.[3] The track's turns were banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was five degrees.[4] The back stretch, opposite of the front, also had a five degree banking.[4] Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR Grand National Series twice during the season, with the other race being the National 400. The track opened for the inaugural World 600 one year earlier, and was built by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner. Around 46,538 spectators attended the race.
Race report
Four hundred laps were raced over a paved oval track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km) with a time of five hours, twenty-two minutes, and twenty-nine seconds.[2] Seven cautions were waved for fifty-seven laps. David Pearson defeated Fireball Roberts by more than two laps for his first NASCAR Cup series victory.[2] Even though there were 55 cars in the event, only 19 vehicles were allowed to qualify during each pre-race qualifying session.
The average speed was 111.633 miles per hour (179.656 km/h) while the pole position speed was 131.611 miles per hour (211.807 km/h).[2] The qualifying races only set the front row (which is the opposite of what happens before the Daytona 500). A lot of drivers chose not to participate in qualifying.
Attendance for this race was 46,538 and the top prize was $24,280 ($255,481 when adjusted for inflation).[2] The last place competitor received $200 ($2,104 when adjusted for inflation).[2] Competitors for this race included: Ralph Earnhardt, Ned Jarrett, Tiny Lund, Junior Johnson, Joe Weatherly, Richard Petty, and Roy Tyner. Ralph Earnhardt was competitive early, leading four times and finishing 11th.[2]
A terrible crash occurred to driver Reds Kagle; he would lose a leg in this race when his car penetrated the outside guard rail.[2][5]
Notable crew chiefs for the race were Ray Fox, Bud Allman, Smokey Yunick, Mario Rossi, Roy Burdick, Shorty Johns and Joseph Meyer.[6]
It would be the final race for the future Hall of Famer, Tim Flock.
Qualifying
| Grid[2] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 43 | Richard Petty | '61 Plymouth |
| 2 | 8 | Joe Weatherly | '61 Pontiac |
| 3 | 3 | David Pearson | '61 Pontiac |
| 4 | 20 | Marvin Panch | '60 Pontiac |
| 5 | 28 | Fred Lorenzen | '61 Ford |
| 6 | 6 | Ralph Earnhardt | '61 Pontiac |
| 7 | 18 | Tommy Irwin | '61 Pontiac |
| 8 | 4 | Rex White | '61 Chevrolet |
| 9 | 16 | Speedy Thompson | '61 Ford |
| 10 | 22 | Fireball Roberts | '61 Pontiac |
| 11 | 11 | Ned Jarrett | '61 Chevrolet |
| 12 | 72 | Bobby Johns | '61 Ford |
| 13 | 53 | Bob Burdick | '61 Pontiac |
| 14 | 47 | Bob Welborn | '61 Pontiac |
| 15 | 87 | Buck Baker | '61 Chrysler |
| 16 | 24 | Roscoe Thompson | '60 Pontiac |
| 17 | 85 | Emanuel Zervakis | '61 Chevrolet |
| 18 | 94 | Banjo Matthews | '61 Ford |
| 19 | 46 | Jack Smith | '61 Pontiac |
| 20 | 21 | Curtis Turner | '61 Ford |