1962 Southeastern 500
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| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 36 of 53 in the 1962 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Layout of Bristol Motor Speedway
|
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| Date | July 29, 1962 | ||
| Official name | Southeastern 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol International Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.800 km) |
||
| Distance | 500 laps, 250.0 mi (400.0 km) | ||
| Weather | Warm with temperatures approaching 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 75.276 miles per hour (121.145 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 15,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Jim Stephens | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson | Owens Racing | |
| Laps | 166 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 42 | Jim Paschal | Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1962 Southeastern 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on July 29, 1962 at Bristol International Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.
Summary
An amazing lineup of 44 American-born drivers made the starting grid for this 500-lap event. Fireball Roberts earned the lofty pole position for this event by virtue of driving up to 80.321 miles per hour (129.264 km/h) during his solo qualifying runs. Approximately 4% of this racing event was done under a caution flag. The model years for every vehicle ranged from 1960 to 1962; with most drivers using a Pontiac or a Chevrolet vehicle. Although official NASCAR records state that Joe Weatherly started in 13th place, he often preferred to call the position as "12A.[2]"
While Fireball Roberts and Junior Johnson dominated the first 100 laps, Fred Lorenzen and Jim Paschal would rule the final 100 laps of this racing event. Fifteen thousand fans would see an event that lasted three hours and nineteen minutes. Worth McMillion was the lowest finishing driver to complete the event; he was 68 laps behind the lead lap vehicles.[2]
Paschal would go on to defeat Lorenzen by half a lap and by driving speeds up to 75.276 miles per hour (121.145 km/h) for the entire duration of the race; the winner happened to be the driver of a 1962 Plymouth Belvedere. Although he was not a member of the Petty family, his victory was a great asset for Petty Enterprises and would eventually pave the way for non-family members to belong in the organization. Allan Harley was given the credit for the last-place finish due to car handling issues on lap 5.[2] Individual earnings for each driver varied from a then-incredible figure of $3,930 ($30,743.93 when adjusted for inflation) to the meager sum of $100 ($782.29 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse approved for this event was $17,925 ($140,225.17 when adjusted for inflation).[3]
Top ten finishers
| Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 42 | Jim Paschal | Plymouth | 500 | $3,930 |
| 2 | 4 | 28 | Fred Lorenzen | Ford | 500 | $2,370 |
| 3 | 16 | 43 | Richard Petty | Plymouth | 500 | $1,540 |
| 4 | 14 | 46 | Johnny Allen | Pontiac | 498 | $1,270 |
| 5 | 8 | 29 | Nelson Stacy | Ford | 498 | $875 |
| 6 | 13 | 8 | Joe Weatherly | Pontiac | 498 | $900 |
| 7 | 11 | 4 | Rex White | Chevrolet | 494 | $650 |
| 8 | 21 | 41 | Bunkie Blackburn | Plymouth | 491 | $550 |
| 9 | 19 | 11 | Ned Jarrett | Chevrolet | 491 | $675 |
| 10 | 6 | 54 | Jimmy Pardue | Pontiac | 491 | $450 |
Timeline
- Start of race: Fireball Roberts had the lead position when the green flag was waved
- Lap 30: Junior Johnson took over the lead from Fireball Roberts
- Lap 156: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Junior Johnson
- Lap 169: Richard Petty took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen
- Lap 172: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Richard Petty
- Lap 177: Johnny Allen took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen
- Lap 237: Richard Petty took over the lead from Johnny Allen
- Lap 244: Junior Johnson took over the lead from Richard Petty
- Lap 284: Richard Petty took over the lead from Junior Johnson
- Lap 321: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Richard Petty
- Lap 412: Jim Paschal took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen
- Lap 463: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Jim Paschal
- Lap 475: Jim Paschal took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen
- Finish: Jim Paschal was officially declared the winner of the event
References
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<references />, or <references group="..." />| Preceded by
1962 untitled race at Rambi Raceway
|
NASCAR Grand National Season 1962 |
Succeeded by 1962 Confederate 200 |
- ↑ Weather information for the 1962 Southeastern 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 1962 Southeastern 500 racing information at Racing Reference
- ↑ 1962 Southeastern 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
