The 1960 National 400 was a Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 16, 1960, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
The transition to purpose-built racecars 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.
Background Around 29,166 spectators traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway to watch the race. Located in Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway is a banked quad-oval that opened a few months earlier for the inaugural World 600.Charlotte Observer timeline on Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race report Bob Barron and Friday Hassler would make their NASCAR Grand National debut appearances here. Unfortunately, this would be Bob Barron's only start of the 1960 NASCAR Grand National Series season. Charlie Glotzbach would also make his NASCAR big league debut at this race but to a much smaller fanfare.
The race was held on a dry circuit; with no precipitation recorded around the speedway.
It took three hours and thirty-two minutes to complete 267 laps on a paved oval track spanning . Seven cautions were waved by NASCAR officials for 34 laps. Speedy Thompson defeated Richard Petty by one lap and twelve seconds in front of nearly 30,000 spectators while going ; helping the Wood Brothers' racing team earn their one of their first NASCAR wins as owners. Thompson would get his penultimate win of his NASCAR Cup career in this race; winning for the last time at the 1960 Capital City 400.
Fireball Roberts was the qualifier for the pole position with a speed of . Eight notable crew chiefs participated in the event; including Cotton Owens, Leonard Wood and Bud Moore. He would eventually blow a tire on lap 232; causing him to crash and lose the lead. There were fifty drivers who would ultimately participate in this event; all of them were American-born males.
Fred Lorenzen would earn the event's last-place finish for a vibration problem that he developed on lap 4; earning only $200 for that day ($ when adjusted for inflation). Lowe's was one of the corporate sponsors of this racing event.
Qualifying Grid Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 22 Fireball Roberts '60 Pontiac John Hines 2 47 Jack Smith '60 Pontiac Jack Smith 3 21 Speedy Thompson '60 Ford Wood Brothers 4 4 Rex White '60 Chevrolet Rex White 5 12 Joe Weatherly '60 Ford Holman-Moody Racing 6 5 Bobby Johns '60 Pontiac Cotton Owens 7 44 Jim Paschal '60 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 8 26 Curtis Turner '60 Ford Holman-Moody Racing 9 85 Emuanel Zervakis '60 Chevrolet Monroe Shook 10 87 Buck Baker '60 Chevrolet Buck Baker 11 11 Ned Jarrett '60 Ford Ned Jarrett 12 73 Johnny Beauchamp '60 Chevrolet Dale Swanson 13 7 Jim Reed '60 Chevrolet Jim Reed 14 27 Junior Johnson '60 Pontiac John Masoni 15 89 Joe Lee Johnson '60 Chevrolet Joe Lee Johnson 16 2 Possum Jones '60 Chevrolet Tom Daniels 17 94 Banjo Matthews '60 Ford Banjo Matthews 18 69 Johnny Allen '60 Chevrolet Hanley Dawson 19 42 Lee Petty '60 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 20 35 Don O'Dell '60 Pontiac J.D. Braswell 21 43 Richard Petty '60 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 22 78 Friday Hassler '60 Chevrolet E.C. Wilson 23 49 Bob Welborn '60 Ford Bob Welborn 24 81 Larry Frank '60 Ford Shorty Rollins 25 10 T.C. Hunt '60 Plymouth Fred Wheat
Failed to qualify: Buddy Baker (#20), Leroy Thomas, Wilbur Rakestraw (#99), Bob Duell (#95), Gerald Duke (#92), Speedy Thompson (#90), Charles Griffin (#78), Elmo Henderson (#70), Tiny Lund (#63), Jim Whitman (#60), Jim Cook (#38), Tommy Irwin (#36), Jimmy Massey (#21), LeeRoy Yarbrough
Top 10 finishers Pos Grid Driver Manufacturer Winnings Time/Status 1 3 21 Speedy Thompson Ford 267 $12,710 44 3:32:50 2 21 43 Richard Petty Plymouth 266 $5,550 0 +1 lap 3 11 11 Ned Jarrett Ford 266 $3,275 13 +1 lap 4 6 5 Bobby Johns Pontiac 265 $2,880 0 +2 laps 5 14 27 Junior Johnson Pontiac 265 $1,855 0 +2 laps 6 4 4 Rex White Chevrolet 265 $2,050 0 +2 laps 7 9 85 Emanuel Zervakis Chevrolet 263 $1,100 0 +4 laps 8 7 44 Jim Paschal Pontiac 261 $920 0 +6 laps 9 30 59 Tom Pistone Pontiac 260 $700 0 +7 laps 10 17 94 Banjo Matthews Ford 259 $725 0 +8 laps
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