The 1960 Gwyn Staley 160 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Nation ...

event that was held on March 27, 1960, at

North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short oval racetrack located on U.S. Route 421, about east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, or 80 miles north of Charlotte. It measures and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill fr ...

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Charlotte. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's Home Improveme ...

. Paul Lewis, who would eventually be known as the ''Gentleman Teacher'', would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in this event. Burrhead Nantz would retire from NASCAR Cup Series action after the end of this event.

Background

Through the 1960s and 1970s the NASCAR

began focusing on bigger, faster, and longer tracks. Like other short tracks in NASCAR at the time, crowd capacity and purses were small compared to the larger tracks. Over time, Enoch Staley and Jack Combs attempted to keep the facility modern and on pace with the growth of the sport. The West Grandstand was rebuilt with chair-type seats rather than the old bare concrete slabs. New larger restroom facilities were built, and the South Grandstand was expanded. A garage facility was also built within the track, which at the time was rare for short-track venues. But the main focus was on keeping ticket prices affordable. Food and beverage prices were kept low, and event parking and camping were always free. As long as profits covered maintenance costs, Staley was satisfied with the income of the track.

Race report

Glen Wood Glenn Alexandria Wood (July 18, 1925 – January 18, 2019) was an American NASCAR driver from Stuart, Virginia. Early life He and brother Leonard Wood co-founded the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953, and won four races over an elev ...

Junior Johnson Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was an American NASCAR driver of the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966. In the 1970s and 1980s, he became ...

and

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup ch ...

would dominate the entire 120-minute racing event where more than 9,000 people would see

Rex White Rex White (born August 17, 1929) is a retired auto racer and NASCAR champion. White was one of the drivers who competed for the original Chevrolet racing team. He began racing in 1956, grabbing fourteen top-ten finishes. After a part-time run in ...

defeated by the elder Petty by less than a lap.''1960 Gwyn Staley 160''
racing information at Racing Reference Lee Petty would earn his incredible 49th career win, the most in NASCAR Cup Series history until his son Richard breaks the record. There were 22

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born drivers who qualified for this 160-lap extravaganza.

Joe Lee Johnson Joe Lee Johnson (September 11, 1929 – May 26, 2005) was an American professional NASCAR Grand National Series driver who won the inaugural World 600 in 1960. He was also the 1959 NASCAR Convertible Division champion.oil pressure {{unreferenced, date=May 2016 Oil pressure is an important factor in the longevity of most internal combustion engines. With a forced lubrication system (invented by Frederick Lanchester), oil is picked up by a positive displacement oil pump and ...

. Even

's start in the pole position was barely enough to give him a "top five" finisher. Johnson's top speed of during solo qualifying runs would allow him to stand up to Wood, Johnson, and both of the Petty family members while participating in this racing event. Lee Petty's son,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, would finish a lowly 18th after qualifying in an incredible fourth place due to his youth and general lack of experience behind the wheel.

E.J. Trivette E. J. Trivette (born June 6, 1936, in Deep Gap, North Carolina, US) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver. Career In his thirteen-year career, Trivette has raced 177 races and has accomplished twenty-nine finishes in the top ten. He ha ...

would be the lowest-finishing driver to actually finish the event; although he was more than 20 laps behind the lead lap cars by the time the race had ended. Individual event winnings ranged from the winner's share of $900 ($ when considering inflation) to the last-place finishers' share of $50 ($ when considering inflation). The total prize purse for the 1960 running of the Gwyn Staley 160 was a then-incredible $3,985 ($ when considering inflation). Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in this race were Shep Langdon,

Ray Fox Raymond Lee Fox, Sr. (May 28, 1916 – June 15, 2014) was an American engine builder, NASCAR car owner and NASCAR engine inspector. His cars won fourteen NASCAR Grand National Series events and sixteen pole positions. His son and grandson, ...

Bud Allman In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be spec ...

, and Louis Clements.1960 Gwyn Staley 160 crew chiefs
at Racing Reference 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.

Qualifying

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Glen Wood started the race in the pole position. * Lap 2: Junior Johnson takes over the lead from Glen Wood. * Lap 9: Joe Lee Johnson's oil pressure became faulty, causing him to become the last-place finisher. * Lap 14: Neil Castles had a problem with his engine, forcing him out of the race. * Lap 17: Burrhead Nantz' vehicle overheated, ending his day on the track. * Lap 18: David Pearson had a terminal crash, causing him to withdraw from the event. * Lap 125: Richard Petty had a problematic engine, forcing him to leave the race. * Lap 127: Banjo Matthews had a terminal crash, forcing him to withdraw from the event. * Lap 137: The rear end of Cotton Owens' vehicle fell off, ending his day on the track. * Lap 144: Buck Baker had major engine issues, causing him to exit the race. * Lap 147: Lee Petty takes over the lead from Junior Johnson. * Finish: Lee Petty was officially declared the winner of the event.

Finishing order

Section reference: # Lee Petty† (No. 42) # Rex White (No. 4) #

† (No. 21) #

Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett (born October 12, 1932) is an American retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR Grand National Series champion. Because of his calm demeanor, he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett". He is the father of former drivers Glenn Jar ...

(No. 11) #

(No. 27) #

Doug Yates Robert Douglas Yates (born September 18, 1967 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is a race car engine builder, former NASCAR team owner, and mechanic. He is the son of championship team owner and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Robert Yates and formerly ...

(No. 23) #

Roy Tyner William Leroy "Roy" Tyner (January 3, 1934 – February 23, 1989) was a Native American ''NASCAR Grand National'' driver from Red Springs, North Carolina, United States. NASCAR career Driver Tyner participated in the 1968 Fireball 300 in addi ...

† (No. 78) #

Jimmy Pardue James Pardue (October 26, 1930 – September 22, 1964) was a NASCAR race car driver who lived in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA. Summary He made his debut in 1955 at Martinsville, where he finished 28th after suffering hub problems in hi ...

† (No. 54) #

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 198 ...

† (No. 1) #

Joe Weatherly Joseph Herbert Weatherly (May 29, 1922 – January 19, 1964) was an American stock car racing driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National Series championships in ...

† (No. 31) # L.D. Austin (No. 74) # Paul Lewis (No. 42) #

Bunkie Blackburn James Ronald "Bunkie" Blackburn (April 22, 1936 – February 28, 2006) was a NASCAR racecar driver. Career Blackburn's father owned and operated the Fayetteville, North Carolina racetrack. He later competed at the historic Nashville Speedway USA ...

† (No. 64) #

Buck Baker Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. (March 4, 1919 – April 14, 2002), better known as Buck Baker, was an American stock car racer. Born in Richburg, South Carolina, Baker began his NASCAR career in 1949 and won his first race three years later at Columbia ...

*† (No. 87) #

(No. 35) #

Cotton Owens Everett "Cotton" Owens (May 21, 1924 – June 7, 2012) was a NASCAR driver. For five straight years (1957–61), Owens captured at least one Grand National Series win. Owens was known as the "King of the Modifieds" for his successes in modified ...

*† (No. 50) #

Banjo Matthews Edwin Keith "Banjo" Matthews (February 14, 1932 – October 2, 1996) was an American NASCAR driver, car owner, and builder. As a driver, he had 13 top ten finishes in 51 starts. He was the car builder for the 1976 to 1978 NASCAR Cup Series ch ...

*† (No. 94) #

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

* (No. 43) # David Pearson*† (No. 67) # Burrhead Nantz* (No. 51) #

Neil Castles Henry Neil Castles (October 1, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver. He raced from 1957 to 1976, and won the NASCAR Grand National East Series in 1972. Early life Castles was born in Ma ...

* (No. 80) #