1962 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 53 in the 1962 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway.
|
|||
| Date | February 18, 1962 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) |
||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures approaching 78.1 °F (25.6 °C); wind speeds up to 13.8 miles per hour (22.2 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 152.529 miles per hour (245.472 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 58,070 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Jim Stephens | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Fireball Roberts | Jim Stephens | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Joe Weatherly | Bud Moore Engineering | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Fireball Roberts | Jim Stephens | |
| Laps | 144 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 Pontiac | Fireball Roberts | Jim Stephens | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC's WWOS | ||
| Announcers | Jim McKay and Stirling Moss | ||
The 1962 Daytona 500, was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on February 18, 1962, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
It was won by Fireball Roberts driving a 1962 Pontiac. Roberts drove his famous number 22 to victory in three hours and 10 minutes. The race was run in its entirety without a single caution flag. Roberts dominated the event by leading 144 of the 200 laps. The win was Roberts' second victory of the season.
This year's Speedweeks followed a familiar pattern, Fireball was the class of the field. he won the pole for his qualifying race in his Smokey Yunick prepared 1962 Pontiac and again led from flag to flag, averaging 156.999 mph over the 40 laps to set the all-time Grand National race speed record.
For the top Indianapolis drivers, including the three previous winners of the Indianapolis 500--A.J. Foyt, Rodger Ward and Jim Rathmann—this was irresistible. They clamored to get the United States Auto Club (which had replaced the AAA as the nation's leading auto racing sanctioned body) to lift its ban on racing at Daytona, USAC, which sanctioned the Indy 500, would not budge. It wanted the drivers to focus on its own stock car racing series. The Indy drivers would have to wait another year.
A furious battle erupted right from the green flag. Five different drivers traded the lead during the first 50 laps, including Joe Weatherly, who had won his qualifying race. Few, if anyone, paid attention when the no. 52 Ford dropped out of the race on lap four with electrical problems. Behind the wheel was 22-year-old Cale Yarborough of Timmonsville, South Carolina, destined to finish last in the 48-car field.
...
Wikipedia