1963 Turkey Day 200
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 55 in the 1963 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
| Date | November 22, 1962 | ||
| Official name | Turkey Day 200 | ||
| Location | Tar Heel Speedway, Randleman, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.250 mi (0.500 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 50 mi (80 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly with temperatures approaching 62.1 °F (16.7 °C); wind speeds up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 47.5444 miles per hour (76.5153 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Wood Brothers Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Glen Wood | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Laps | 173 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 41 | Jim Paschal | Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1963 Turkey Day 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on November 22, 1962, at Tar Heel Speedway in Randleman, North Carolina.
The transition to purposely-built racers 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; most of the cars were trailered to events or hauled in by trucks.
Summary
This race, while being in the 1963 season happened after November 1, 1962. This put the racing event in the 1963 points season. Since 2001, NASCAR has never organized a race this late in the year for its NASCAR Cup Series because NASCAR now mandates a 12-week silly season.
Being a ¼-mile track, the entire race only spanned 50 miles (80 km).[2] Three thousand and five hundred people attended this live racing event which ended in one hour and three minutes.[2] Twenty-three American drivers and one Canadian driver (Jim Bray) participated in this race.[2] Notable speeds were: 47.544 miles per hour (76.515 km/h) for the average speed and 51.933 miles per hour (83.578 km/h) for the pole position speeds.[2] These slow speeds would not look out of place on a modern-day American Interstate highway.
The winner (Jim Paschal who raced for Petty Enterprises) would receive $575 in winnings ($4,451.87 when considering inflation) while the last place driver (Ned Jarrett) would walk away with $100 in prize winnings ($774.24 when considering inflation).[3] Glen Wood would lead the most laps (173) before finishing the race in 15th place due to an engine problem.[2]
Finishing order
- Jim Paschal† (No. 41)
- Joe Weatherly† (No. 8)
- Tommy Irwin (No. 44)
- David Pearson (No. 6)
- Maurice Petty (No. 42)
- Curtis Crider (No. 62)
- Sherman Utsman (No. 61)
- Jimmy Pardue† (No. 49)
- George Green (No. 1)
- Wendell Scott† (No. 34)
- Richard Petty* (No. 43)
- Jack Deniston (No. 33)
- Ray Hughes (No. 60)
- Billy Foster (No. 2)
- Glen Wood* (No. 21)
- Jim Bray (No. 5)
- Sam Fogle (No. 31)
- G.C. Spencer*† (No. 48)
- Lyle Stetler* (No. 58)
- Fred Harb* (No. 17)
- Herman Beam† (No. 19)
- John Hoffman* (No. 32)
- Larry Thomas*† (No. 36)
- Ned Jarrett* (No. 11)
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race
Timeline
- Start of race: Glen Wood started the race with the pole position
- Lap 6: Ned Jarrett had problems with his transmission, forcing him to withdraw from the event
- Lap 27: Larry Thomas developed transmission problems in his vehicle, ending his day on the track
- Lap 51: John Hoffman's vehicle became too dangerous to handle properly, causing him to leave the event early
- Lap 117: Fred Harb's driveshaft issues made the vehicle unable to continue the race, securing an early exit for him
- Lap 122: One of Lyle Stetler's tires went flat, forcing him to withdraw from the event
- Lap 156: Oil pressure issues forced G.C. Spencer to exit the race prematurely
- Lap 173: Glen Wood had problems with his vehicle's engine, forcing him out of the race
- Lap 174: Jim Paschal took over the lead from Glen Wood
- Lap 188: Richard Petty's vehicle was humbled by transmission problems, forcing him to accept an eleventh-place finish
- Finish: Jim Paschal was officially declared the winner of the event
References
- ↑ "1963 Turkey Day 200 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1963 Turkey Day 200 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
- ↑ "1963 Turkey Day 200 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
| Preceded by 1963 untitled race at Golden Gate Speedway |
NASCAR Grand National Season 1963 |
Succeeded by 1963 Riverside 500 |