The 1963 Old Dominion 500 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 ...

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 September 22, 1963, at

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, althou ...

Background

is one of five short tracks to hold

races. The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one ...

that is long. The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.

Race report

The race was scheduled for 500 laps; taking three hours and forty-two minutes to complete.Race information about the 1963 Old Dominion 500
at Racing Reference

Fred Lorenzen Frederick Lorenzen Jr. (born December 30, 1934), nicknamed The Golden Boy, Fast Freddie, The Elmhurst Express and Fearless Freddy, is a former NASCAR driver from Elmhurst, Illinois. Active from 1958 to 1972, he won 26 races including 1965 Daytona ...

defeated

Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (May 28, 1926December 31, 2015) was an American stock car racing driver. Winner of the 1961 Daytona 500 and 1966 World 600, he won seventeen NASCAR Grand National Series events during a 17-year career. Early career Born in Menom ...

by a single lap and two seconds. Twenty thousand people came to witness three lead changes and five cautions for eighteen laps.

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 ...

won the pole position for this race; driving speeds up to in qualifying. Speeds during the actual race managed to reach up to . Jimmy Massey became the last-place finisher after having to drop out prior to the race due to a terminal crash with

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 ...

. Jack Anderson pulled out of the race on lap 13 after dealing with a faulty head gasket in his vehicle. An oil leak would take Bobby Keck out of the action on lap 26. A faulty vehicle bearing forced Perk Brown out of the race on lap 43. Problems with the vehicles' brakes would force Major Melton and

Fred Harb Fareed "Fred" Joseph Harb Jr. (June 14, 1930December 18, 2016) was an American stock car racing driver. The High Point, North Carolina resident made 144 NASCAR Grand National Series starts from 1955 to 1965, earning 13 top fives and 42 top tens. ...

to retire from the race. Perk Brown and Major Melton would end their NASCAR Grand National Series careers after the conclusion of this race. Most of the car owners that were involved in the race were independents and had no affiliation with a multi-car team. This race still holds the record for the fewest leaders in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville along with the 1961 Old Dominion 500, the 1965 Old Dominion 500 and the 1976 Old Dominion 500. Individual winnings for this race were as low as $100 ($ when adjusted for inflation) and as high as $3,800 ($ when adjusted for inflation). At least nine notable crew chiefs attended this race; including

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 ...

Herman Beam Herman Beam (December 11, 1929 – August 27, 1980) was a NASCAR Grand National Series driver and team owner from Johnson City, Tennessee who was active as a driver from 1957 until 1963. He is famous for holding the longest streak of races wit ...

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 ...

and Herb Nab.1963 Old Dominion 500 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.

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Junior Johnson had the pole position to begin the event, two drivers would crash into each other before the first official lap. * Lap 13: The head gasket on Jack Anderson's vehicle came off. * Lap 26: An oil leak from Bobby Keck's vehicle forced him to leave to track as not to endanger his fellow drivers. * Lap 41: A bearing came off Perk Brown's vehicle, forcing him to accept a 32nd-place finish. * Lap 52: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Junior Johnson. * Lap 53: Junior Johnson took over the lead from Fred Lorenzen. * Lap 81: Fred Lorenzen took over the lead from Junior Johnson. * Lap 82: The hub on J.D. McDuffie's vehicle broke off, denying him yet another NASCAR Cup Series victory. * Lap 101: The ball joint on Bill Widenhouse's vehicle became non-functional. * Lap 130: The valve on Roy Tyner's vehicle somehow became problematic. * Lap 183: Rex White had a terminal crash, causing him not to finish the race. * Lap 211: Al White managed to overheat his vehicle from high speed stock car racing. * Lap 296: Junior Johnson had a terminal crash, ending his race a bit too soon. * Lap 300: Larry Frank's vehicle managed to overheat while racing. * Lap 362: Ned Jarrett's engine became problematic, ending his race weekend early. * Lap 430: Reb Wickersham had a terminal crash, forcing him to leave the race prematurely. * Finish: Fred Lorenzen was officially declared the winner of the event.

Qualifying

Failed to qualify: Bobby Keck (#57),

Possum Jones Possum Jones (January 16, 1934 – December 27, 1997) was a NASCAR Grand National driver. Career From 1952 to 1965, Jones managed to lead 28 out of the 8234 laps that he committed in his career. The 29th lap of the 1957 Rebel 300 would become i ...

(#05)

Top 20 finishers

References

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Old Dominion 500 The Xfinity 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The race is traditionally held in the fall and has been run in every NASCAR Cup Series season, starting with the sixth e ...

NASCAR races at Martinsville Speedway