1960 International 200

The 1960 International 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on June 26, 1960, at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

1960 International 200
Race details[1][2]
Race 22 of 44 in the 1960 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date June 26, 1960 (1960-June-26)
Official name International 200
Location Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.250 mi (0.421 km)
Distance 200 laps, 50.0 mi (35.0 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 90 °F (32 °C); wind speeds of 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)
Average speed 45.782 miles per hour (73.679 km/h)
Attendance 10,500
Pole position
Driver
Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver Glen Wood Wood Brothers
Laps 200
Winner
No. 16 Glen Wood Wood Brothers
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

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.

Background

Bowman Gray Stadium is a NASCAR sanctioned 1⁄4-mile (0.40 km) asphalt flat oval short track and longstanding football stadium located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most legendary venues, and is referred to as "NASCAR's longest-running weekly race track". Bowman Gray Stadium is part of the Winston-Salem Sports and Entertainment Complex and is home of the Winston-Salem State University Rams football team.[3] It was also the home of the Wake Forest University football team from 1956 until Groves Stadium (later BB&T Field) opened in 1968.

Race report

It took one hour and five minutes to resolve two hundred laps of racing.[2] The average speed of the race was 45.872 miles per hour (73.824 km/h) while Lee Petty would qualify for the pole position with a speed of 47.850 miles per hour (77.007 km/h).[2] These speeds would be relatively slow on today's highway systems for passenger automobiles. Glen Wood managed to defeat Petty by half a lap in the actual race.[2]

A magnificent combination of driver skill and the lighter non-American vehicles would do a lot to overcome raw horsepower at Bowman Gray Stadium. The modern NASCAR Cup Series is more influenced by futuristic technology typically found in Formula One vehicles; making driver skill secondary to impromptu luck-based strategies made during the race. The foreign makes that participated in this race were the MG (as a part of Great Britain's now-defunct MG Cars) and the Triumph (as a part of Great Britain's now-defunct Triumph Motor Company).[2] Smokey Cook would end up as the last-place finisher in a 1952 MG T-type.[2]

Lowe's appeared as an official NASCAR sponsor for the first time in its history.[2] Ten thousand and five hundred people appeared in person to watch this live untelevised race.[2] This would be the 22nd race out of the 44 raced that year; making this race the official halfway point of the 1960 Grand National Series season.[2]

Individual race winnings ranged from the winner's share of $1,125 ($11,129 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $140 ($1,385 when adjusted for inflation). NASCAR allowed the organizers of this event to give out a grand total of $4,755 for all the qualifying drivers ($47,037 when adjusted for inflation).[4]

Qualifying
Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 42Lee Petty'60 PlymouthPetty Enterprises
2 43Richard Petty'60 PlymouthPetty Enterprises
3 16Glen Wood'58 FordWood Brothers
4 21Bob Welborn'59 FordWood Brothers
5 4Rex White'59 ChevroletRex White
6 11Ned Jarrett'60 FordNed Jarrett
7 13Joe Weatherly'60 ValiantFred Wheat
8 74Buck Baker'58 ChevroletL.D. Austin
9 36Tommy Irwin'59 T-BirdTommy Irwin
10 9Roy Tyner'60 FordRoy Tyner
11 17Fred Harb'58 FordFred Harb
12 1Paul Lewis'58 ChevroletJess Potter
13 54Jimmy Pardue'59 DodgeEbart Clifton
14 78Jimmie Lewallen'57 Fordunknown
15 79Jack Hart'57 Triumphunknown
16 17XBilly Whitley'54 Corvetteunknown
17 3Smokey Cook'52 MGunknown
18 25Bill Massey'59 MGunknown

Finishing order

Section reference:[2]

  1. Glen Wood† (No. 16)
  2. Lee Petty† (No. 42)
  3. Rex White (No. 4)
  4. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  5. Ned Jarrett (No. 11)
  6. Joe Weatherly† (No. 12)
  7. Tommy Irwin (No. 36)
  8. Buck Baker† (No. 74)
  9. Fred Harb† (No. 17)
  10. Jimmy Pardue† (No. 54)
  11. Roy Tyner† (No. 9)
  12. Paul Lewis (No. 1)
  13. Bob Welborn† (No. 21)
  14. Jack Hart (No. 79)
  15. Bill Massey* (No. 25)
  16. Bill Whitley* (No. 17X)
  17. Jimmie Lewallen*† (No. 78)
  18. Smokey Cook* (No. 3)

* Driver failed to finish race
† Driver is deceased

Timeline

Section reference:[2]

  • Start of race: Glen Wood started the race with the pole position; Smokey Cook's steering problem caused him to become the last-place finisher.
  • Lap 2: Jimmie Lewallen's engine became problematic; causing him to withdraw from the race.
  • Lap 6: Bill Whitley's vehicle overheated; ending his day on the track.
  • Lap 71: The axle on Bill Massey's vehicle became problematic; forcing him to end the race.
  • End of the race: Glen Wood won the race.

References
  1. "1960 International 200 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. "1960 International 200 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  3. Zona, Chris; Trevin Goodwin (2007). 2007 Rams Football (PDF). Winston-Salem State Athletics. p. 30.
  4. "1960 International 200 prize purse information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
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