1960 World 600

1960 World 600

Race details[1][2]
Race 21 of 44 in the 1960 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date	June 19, 1960
Official name	World 600
Location	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance	400 laps, 600 mi (965 km)
Weather	Hot with temperatures approaching 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speeds up to 13.8 miles per hour (22.2 km/h)
Average speed	107.735 miles per hour (173.383 km/h)
Attendance	35,462
Pole position
Driver	Fireball Roberts	John Hines
Most laps led
Driver	Jack Smith	Jack Smith
Laps	198
Winner
No. 89	Joe Lee Johnson	Paul McDuffie
Television in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Bill Fleming & Chris Economaki

The 1960 World 600 was the inaugural running of the World 600, a NASCAR Grand National Series event. It was run on June 19, 1960 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It was NASCAR's first 600-mile race and it was the longest NASCAR race distance in terms of miles. Joe Lee Johnson was the winner of the inaugural race.

The race was postponed for three weeks because of construction delays. During the race, Don O'Dell's Pontiac smashed the driver's door of Lenny Page's Chevy. Lenny Page, who was lucky to even survive the crash due to the safety systems at that time, was near death afterwards, but reporter Chris Economaki rushed to the scene and aided Page with CPR until safety crews arrived. He was later credited with saving Lenny's life.

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.

Background

Charlotte Motor Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, thirteen miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The track is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the World 600 and the National 400. The speedway broke ground in 1958 with Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner as the architects. Charlotte Motor Speedway is now operated by Speedway Motorsports.

Race results

Pos[1]	Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps
1	20	89	Joe Lee Johnson	Chevrolet	400
2	38	73	Johnny Beauchamp	Chevrolet	396
3	6	46	Bobby Johns	Plymouth	394
4	44	92	Gerald Duke	T-Bird	388
5	14	87	Buck Baker	Chevrolet	386
6	7	4	Rex White	Chevrolet	378
7	31	94	Banjo Matthews	Ford	377
8	40	63	Tiny Lund	Pontiac	375
9	39	81	Shorty Rollins	Ford	374
10	19	67	David Pearson	Chevrolet	367
11	58	78	Charley Griffith	Chevrolet	365
12	2	47	Jack Smith	Pontiac	352
13	49	55	Ernie Gahan	Chevrolet	350
14	59	19	Herman Beam	Ford	344
15	51	38	Jim Cook	Ford	343
16	55	35	Jimmy Pardue	Plymouth	343
17	32	77	Marvin Panch	Ford	341
18	42	21	Jimmy Massey	Chevrolet	333
19	48	28	Buddy Baker	Ford	332
20	28	91	Larry Frank	Ford	320
21	37	48	G.C. Spencer	Chevrolet	316
22	24	45	Joe Caspolich	Oldsmobile	313
23	26	64	Bunkie Blackburn	Ford	311
24	23	61	Jimmy Thompson	T-Bird	310
25	10	90	Speedy Thompson	Ford	287
26	50	33	Reb Wickersham	Oldsmobile	260
27	41	24	Arnold Gardner	Ford	257
28	13	7	Jim Reed	Chevrolet	246
29	54	17	Shorty York	Ford	243
30	5	11	Ned Jarrett	Ford	233
31	9	59	Tom Pistone	Chevrolet	221
32	22	70	Elmo Henderson	Pontiac	212
33	16	85	Emanuel Zervakis	Chevrolet	209
34	33	15	Johnny Sudderth	Ford	202
35	1	22	Fireball Roberts	Pontiac	191
36	21	23	Doug Yates	Plymouth	176
37	46	51	Roy Tyner	Oldsmobile	176
38	47	50	George Tet	Ford	171
39	3	26	Curtis Turner	Ford	154
40	27	39	Herb Tillman	Chevrolet	138
41	18	28	Fred Lorenzen	Ford	118
42	52	32	Richard Riley	Chevrolet	115
43	15	12	Joe Weatherly	Ford	85
44	36	99	Wilbur Rakestraw	Ford	57
45	30	82	Joe Eubanks	Chevrolet	46
46	35	2	Possum Jones	Chevrolet	39
47	53	74	L.D. Austin	Chevrolet	33
48	43	86	Ed Markstellar	Ford	27
49	25	71	Gene Marmor	Pontiac	24
50	57	9	Jim Austin	Ford	24
51	4	6	Cotton Owens	Pontiac	6
52	17	69	Johnny Allen	Chevrolet	6
53	45	95	Bob Duell	Ford	6
54	56	88	Johnny Wolford	Ford	5
55	11	43	Richard Petty	Plymouth	0
56	8	42	Lee Petty	Plymouth	0
57	12	49	Bob Welborn	Ford	0
58	34	1	Paul Lewis	Chevrolet	0
59	29	27	Junior Johnson	Chevrolet	0
60	60	83	Lennie Page	T-Bird	0

Race Statistics

• Time of race: 5:34:06
• Average Speed: 107.735 miles per hour (173.383 km/h)
• Pole Speed: 133.904 miles per hour (215.498 km/h)
• Cautions: 8 for 45 laps
• Margin of Victory: 4 laps +
• Lead changes: 11

Timeline

• Start of race: Fireball Roberts officially started with race with the pole position
• Lap 66: Tom Pistone took over the lead from Fireball Roberts
• Lap 74: Junior Johnson took over the lead from Tom Pistone
• Lap 79: Curtis Turner took over the lead from Junior Johnson
• Lap 95: Jack Smith took over the lead from Curtis Turner
• Lap 97: Fireball Roberts took over the lead from Jack Smith
• Lap 141: Jack Smith took over the lead from Fireball Roberts
• Lap 144: Fireball Roberts took over the lead from Jack Smith
• Lap 149: Curtis Turner took over the lead from Fireball Roberts
• Lap 154: Tom Pistone took over the lead from Curtis Turner
• Lap 160: Jack Smith took over the lead from Tom Pistone
• Lap 333: Transmission problems would sideline Jimmy Massey on this lap
• Lap 341: Problems with his vehicle's frame would take Marvin Panch out of the race
• Lap 352: Jack Smith would experience problems with his vehicle's fuel tank
• Lap 353: Joe Lee Johnson took over the lead from Jack Smith
• Lap 365: Charley Griffith blew his vehicle's engine while driving at high speeds
• Finish: Joe Lee Johnson was officially declared the winner of the event

References

1. Racing information at Racing Reference
2. "1960 World 600 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2015-11-28.