1964 Atlanta 500
Race details[1]
Race 13 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Fred Lorenzen, in victory circle, after winning the 1964 Atlanta 500
Fred Lorenzen, in victory circle, after winning the 1964 Atlanta 500
Date April 5, 1964 (1964-April-05)
Official name Atlanta 500
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 of 57.9 °F (14.4 °C); wind speeds of 17.1 miles per hour (27.5 km/h)
Average speed 134.137 mph (215.873 km/h)
Attendance 50,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Holman Moody
Most laps led
Driver Fred Lorenzen Holman Moody
Laps 206
Winner
No. 28 Fred Lorenzen Holman Moody
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers unknown

The 1964 Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 5, 1964, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia, the fifth annual race in the history of the Atlanta 500 series of races.

This race had only ten vehicles surviving to the finish. Many of top NASCAR teams suffered from engine failure along with the non-contenders. Five race-ending crashes were recorded in this event; with some footage of the race 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[4]

Race report

All 39 drivers on the grid were American-born.[2] 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.[2][5] Fred Lorenzen defeated Bobby Isaac by two laps after almost four hours to extend the era of "Fearless Freddie's Fast Ford".[2][5] Fifty thousand spectators would see four caution periods lasting for 19 laps and 11 lead changes.[2][5] Goldsmith would flip his car after leading the first 55 laps but would get out of the wreckage unharmed.[6][7]

Jimmy Helms and Ken Spikes made their first NASCAR Cup starts while Dave MacDonald raced his final NASCAR race here.[5] Neil Castles ended in last place due to a handling problem on the second lap of this 334-lap race.[2][5]

The total purse of the race was $57,655 ($566,405 when adjusted for inflation); Lorenzen would walk away with $18,000 ($176,833 when adjusted for inflation).[8] Notable crew chiefs in this event include Jimmy Helms, Dale Inman, Herb Nab, Bud Allman, Glen Wood, Shorty Johns, Bud Moore and Banjo Matthews.[9]

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

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 28 Fred Lorenzen '64 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
2 00 A. J. Foyt '64 Ford Banjo Matthews
3 25 Paul Goldsmith '64 Plymouth Ray Nichels
4 22 Fireball Roberts '64 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
5 1 Billy Wade '64 Mercury Bud Moore
6 26 Bobby Isaac '64 Dodge Ray Nichels
7 15 Parnelli Jones '64 Mercury Bill Stroppe
8 43 Richard Petty '64 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
9 3 Junior Johnson '64 Dodge Ray Fox
10 06 Larry Frank '64 Ford Holman-Moody Racing
11 12 Dan Gurney '64 Ford Wood Brothers
12 21 Marvin Panch '64 Ford Wood Brothers
13 54 Jimmy Pardue '64 Plymouth Charles Robinson
14 41 Buck Baker '64 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
15 01 Rex White '64 Mercury Bud Moore

Top 10 finishers

Pos[2] Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Winnings Laps led Time/Status
1 1 28 Fred Lorenzen Ford 334 $18,000 206 3:46:05
2 6 26 Bobby Isaac Dodge 332 $8,065 37 +2 laps
3 18 11 Ned Jarrett Ford 331 $4,500 0 +3 laps
4 9 3 Junior Johnson Dodge 330 $2,925 0 +4 laps
5 14 41 Buck Baker Plymouth 327 $1,800 0 +7 laps
6 22 35 Tiny Lund Plymouth 326 $1,275 0 +8 laps
7 8 43 Richard Petty Plymouth 325 $1,100 0 +9 laps
8 24 5 Jim Paschal Dodge 315 $1,050 0 +19 laps
9 28 82 Bill McMahan Pontiac 279 $925 0 +55 laps
10 30 95 Ken Spikes Dodge 269 $925 0 +65 laps

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

References

  1. ^ "1964 Atlanta 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1964 Atlanta 500 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  3. ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e "1964 Atlanta 500 racing information". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  6. ^ "NASCAR at Atlanta". DaveMacDonald.net. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  7. ^ "1964 Paul Goldsmith flip @ Atlanta". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  8. ^ "1964 Atlanta 500 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  9. ^ "1964 Atlanta 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
Preceded by1963 Atlanta 500 races 1964 Succeeded by1965
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