1964 The Glen 151.8

1964 The Glen 151.8

Race details[1][2]
Race 40 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Watkins Glen; modified version to represent the circuit from 1956-1970
Date	July 19, 1964 (1964-July-19)
Official name	The Glen 151.8
Location	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.300 mi (3.701 km)
Distance	66 laps, 151.8 mi (244.2 km)
Weather	Hot with temperatures approaching 88 °F (31 °C); wind speeds up to 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)
Average speed	97.998 miles per hour (157.712 km/h)
Attendance	10,000
Pole position
Driver	Billy Wade	Bud Moore
Most laps led
Driver	Billy Wade	Bud Moore
Laps	41
Winner
No. 1	Billy Wade	Bud Moore
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1964 The Glen 151.8 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on July 19, 1964, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.

Background

Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The sports car racing facility is owned by the International Speedway Corporation. It was long known around the world as the home of the United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for 20 consecutive years (1961–1980) but since 1948, it has been home to road racing of nearly every class, such as Formula One, the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the Verizon IndyCar Series. Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956, a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968, the race was extended to six hours, earning the nickname "6 Hours of Watkins Glen". The circuit's current layout has more/less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after a fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event. The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers.

Summary

Five lead changes were made (consisting of Ned Jarrett, Darel Dieringer, Billy Wade, and Ned Jarrett).^[2] After one hour and thirty-two minutes of racing, Billy Wade managed to defeat LeeRoy Yarbrough by six seconds in front of 10,000 live spectators (approximately 24% of the racetrack's modern capacity).^[2] The total prize purse handed out for this racing event was $6,395 ($48,875.09 when inflation is taken into effect); Billy Wade received $1,400 of it ($10,699.79 when inflation is taken into effect) while Lee Petty received a meager $150 ($1,146.41 when inflation is taken into effect).^[3]

Pete Boland would receive the last-place finish due to a brake problem on lap 2 of 66. The actual race spanned for 151.8 miles (244.3 km); with the pole position speed at 102.222 miles per hour (164.510 km/h) and the average race speed at 97.988 miles per hour (157.696 km/h).^[2] All 26 of the drivers on the grid where American-born males.^[2] Lee Petty would retire from NASCAR after this race.^[4] From the next race onward, his son Richard would race alone. Bob Welborn would make his second-to-last NASCAR appearance at this racing event. Walt Hansgen would become the first road course ringer by being at this track three times. He would drive a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle during this race after driving a Ford vehicle at a previous race.

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.

Finishing order

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

• Start of race: Billy Wade started the race with the pole position, but was quickly overtaken by Ned Jarrett
• Lap 2: Pete Boland's faulty brakes made his the last-place finisher of the event; Frank Tanner could no longer handle his racing vehicle in a safe manner
• Lap 3: Marvin Panch had troubles handling his vehicle, causing him to exit the race early
• Lap 5: The rear end fell off of Al White's vehicle, ending his race day too soon
• Lap 7: Darel Dieringer took over the lead from Ned Jarrett
• Lap 9: Lee Petty's vehicle couldn't handle properly, causing his untimely exit
• Lap 10: Richard Petty had a terminal crash, forcing him to leave the race prematurely
• Lap 13: Oil pressure issues got the best of Paul Goldsmith
• Lap 15: Billy Wade took over the lead from Darel Dieringer
• Lap 25: Problems with the vehicle's shift lever forced Bernard Alvarez out of contention
• Lap 26: Overheating issues forced Bob Derrington off the track
• Lap 28: Ned Jarrett took over the lead from Billy Wade
• Lap 33: The rear window of Neil Castles' vehicle fell off, forcing him to exit the race
• Lap 35: Earl Brooks' steering problem forced him to leave the race
• Lap 36: Billy Wade took over the lead from Ned Jarrett
• Lap 49: Darel Dieringer notice his engine wasn't working properly anymore, forcing him to withdraw from the race
• Lap 58: Ned Jarrett managed to blow his engine while racing
• Lap 59: Jimmy Pardue blew his engine
• Finish: Billy Wade was officially declared the winner of the event

References