The race took three hours and thirteen minutes to successfully complete; qualifying trials rained out, so Fred Lorenzen got the pole by the luck of the draw.[3] 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.[3] Five hundred laps were done on an oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) in front of 14500 live spectators.[3] Total winnings for this race were $13,765 ($141,376 when adjusted for inflation) while Lorenzen walked away as the biggest cash earner with a $2,550 paycheck ($26,190 when adjusted for inflation). Possum Jones (the last place finisher) came home from the race with a meager $150 ($1,541 when adjusted for inflation) as a result of only completely eight laps of the race due to a fuel leak.[3]
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 a 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 traveling expenses that were expected in a NASCAR season.[4]
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.[3] McKinney's crew chief career only lasted throughout 1963 with six good finishes for his stable of five NASCAR drivers.[5] Other crew chiefs involved in the race were Crawford Clements, Frank McMillion, Herb Nab, Herman Beam, and Ray Fox.[6]
Section reference:[3]
- Start of race: Fred Lorenzen started the race with the pole position but was quickly overtaken by Ned Jarrett.
- Lap 8: Racing fuel was leaking from Possum Jones' car, causing him to leave the event.
- Lap 30: Stick Elliott had a terminal crash, forcing him to withdraw from the event.
- Lap 14: Fred Lorenzen takes over the lead from Ned Jarrett.
- Lap 189: Richard Petty takes over the lead from Fred Lorenzen.
- Lap 199: Lee Reitzel had a terminal crash, forcing him to withdraw from the event.
- Lap 216: G.C. Spencer had a terminal crash, forcing him to withdraw from the event.
- Lap 224: Fred Lorenzen takes over the lead from Richard Petty.
- Lap 379: Elmo Langley had problems with his vehicle's engine, forcing him to exit the race.
- Finish: Fred Lorenzen was officially declared the winner of the event.
Section reference:[3]
* Driver failed to finish race