1962 World 600
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 53 in the 1962 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
| Date | May 27, 1962 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km) | ||
| Weather | Extremely hot with temperatures reaching up to 91.9 °F (33.3 °C); wind speeds to 9.2 miles per hour (14.8 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 125.552 mph (202.056 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | ||
| Laps | 208 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 29 | Nelson Stacy | ||
The 1962 World 600, the 3rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series race held on May 27, 1962 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 23rd race of the 1962 NASCAR Grand National Series season.
Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States, 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious World 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the National 400. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI).
Summary
Nelson Stacy won the race over the second-placer driver by a time of 32.35 seconds; making his third race victory of out a grand total of four. The race lasted four hours, forty-six minutes, and forty-four seconds. Average driving speed during the race was 125.552 miles per hour (202.056 km/h) while the pole position qualifier drove at a speed of 140.15 miles per hour (225.55 km/h) during qualifying. Two cautions were given out at the race for a distance of 14 laps. Eighteen lead changes were recorded during the race.[2]
Only 0.14 inches of rain were reported around the vicinity of the speedway during the day of the race.[3]
David Pearson was leading with seven laps to go. It was an extremely hot day and Pearson thought said it was hard to see cause he had to wipe the sweat from his head on the straightaway. While leading with seven laps to go, his car just quit on him.[2] No warning or nothing. It just quit. He said it was one of the most disappointing losses of his career.
Red Foote would make his NASCAR debut in this race while Gerald Duke and Herb Tillman would retire from professional stock car racing after this event. Joe Weatherly's respectable second-place finish managed to boost him ahead of Jack Smith in the championship standings.[4]
Nine notable crew chiefs were in attendance for this race; including Bud Moore, Herman Beam, Glen Wood, Herb Nab and Ratus Walters.[5]
Top ten finishers
| Pos[2] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Money | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | Nelson Stacy | '62 Ford | 400 | 13 | $25,505 | 4:46:44 |
| 2 | 8 | Joe Weatherly | '62 Pontiac | 400 | 0 | $11,105 | +32.35 seconds |
| 3 | 0 | Fred Lorenzen | '62 Ford | 399 | 0 | $6,870 | +1 lap |
| 4 | 43 | Richard Petty | '62 Plymouth | 397 | 5 | $5,400 | +3 laps |
| 5 | 66 | Larry Frank | '62 Ford | 395 | 0 | $3,475 | +5 laps |
| 6 | 11 | Ned Jarrett | '62 Chevrolet | 394 | 0 | $3,600 | +6 laps |
| 7 | 3 | David Pearson | '62 Pontiac | 393 | 208 | $4,695 | Engine failure |
| 8 | 21 | Marvin Panch | '62 Ford | 393 | 0 | $1,600 | +7 laps |
| 9 | 22 | Fireball Roberts | '62 Pontiac | 393 | 27 | $2,095 | +7 laps |
| 10 | 41 | Bunkie Blackburn | '62 Plymouth | 393 | 0 | $1,100 | +7 laps |
References
- ↑ Weather information at the Old Farmers' Almanac
- 1 2 3 Race information at Racing Reference
- ↑ Charlotte NASCAR Climatology information at SERCC
- ↑ 1962 World 600 results at Race Database
- ↑ Crew chief information at Racing Reference