1960 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 44 in the 1960 NASCAR Grand National Series | |||
Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway.
|
|||
| Date | February 14, 1960 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) |
||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly with temperatures reaching as high as 61 °F (16 °C); wind speeds approaching 27 miles per hour (43 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 124.74 miles per hour (200.75 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Cotton Owens | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson | John Masoni | |
| Laps | 67 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 27 | Junior Johnson | John Masoni | |
The 1960 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) stock car race that was held on February 14, 1960, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race featured 200 laps on the 2.5 mile (4 km) asphalt tri-oval, and was won by Junior Johnson.
Gasoline from the Pure Oil brand was offered to each qualifying driver free of charge prior to the race. Even during these times, the fuel sponsor was stressing the importance of safety around flammable liquids by not allowing drivers to smoke while their vehicles were being refueled. Elmo Langley's vehicle was notable seen around the race track at all times; with its mechanical work fine-tuned by owner/mechanic Ratus Walters.
The race was won by Junior Johnson driving a 1959 Chevrolet owned by John Masoni. Johnson drove the number 27 to victory in just over four hours after starting in the 9th position.
Bud Burdick, Pappy Crane, Dick Foley, Dick Freeman, Tommy Herbert, Dave Hirschfield, Bob Kosiski, Shep Langdon and Bill Lutz would retire after NASCAR after this event.
In late January 1960 the CBS network sent anchorman Bud Palmer and other employees to Daytona to cover the events in the first ever televised coverage of a NASCAR event.
Johnson took the lead with nine laps remaining when Bobby Johns spun, and Johnson went on to win the race. The win was Johnson's first victory of the season.
It was also known as being the slowest Daytona 500 race in history.
Race winner Junior Johnson went on to achieve multiple accolades in the following years; including being inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 and being selected as one of NASCAR's 50 Top drivers in 1998. On February 4, 2010 NASCAR announced that Johnson would be Grand Marshal for the 50th anniversary of his 1960 victory.
Part of Johnson's duties as Grand Marshal would be to utter the immortal words "Gentleman, start your engines" at the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 on February 14, 2010.
The race lasted 4:00:30, with an average speed of 124.74 mph.
...
Wikipedia