1961 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 52 in the 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway.
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| Date | February 26, 1961 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
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| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) |
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| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching as high as 69.1 °F (20.6 °C); wind speeds approaching 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 149.601 miles per hour (240.759 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Smokey Yunick | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Fireball Roberts | Smokey Yunick | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Joe Weatherly | Bud Moore | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Fireball Roberts | Smokey Yunick | |
| Laps | 170 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 Pontiac | Marvin Panch | Smokey Yunick | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | none | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1961 Daytona 500, was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on February 26, 1961, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Marvin Panch won the race in year old 1960 Pontiac built and owned by Smokey Yunick after taking the lead on lap 187. Panch was not originally scheduled to drive, and was only added to Yunick's team after Fireball Roberts suggested adding him. Panch drove the number 20 to victory in three hours and 20 minutes. The race was run in its entirety without a single caution flag. Panch took the lead with 13 laps remaining when race leader Fireball Roberts' car suffered a blown engine. The win was Panch's first, and only, victory of the season.
Tragedy struck during the preliminaries of Daytona Speedweeks when a driver from Phoenix Arizona crashed in turn 3 of the 2.5-mile track. Harold Haberling was killed when his 1955 modified Chevy flipped in the 31 degree banking. This was the first fatality at the facility since 1959.
One week prior to the Daytona 500 drivers competed in a first-ever 150 mile "compact car" race. Lee Petty won the race contested on the 3.1 mile infield track in a 1960 Valiant with an average speed of 83.546 miles per hour. Joe Weatherly would flip his 1960 Falcon upside down during the race, but no other cars were involved in the accident, and Weatherly was not injured. Weatherly then went on to win a 10-lap, 25 mile event dubbed a "Race of Champions" on the 2.5 mile banked tri-oval. Drivers competed in the same cars that they would run in the Daytona 500. The race proved to be a tough loss for Fireball Roberts, who had started at the rear of the field, but managed to charge to the lead in only 4 laps. On the last lap Weatherly overtook Roberts at the finish line, winning by only 2 feet.
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