The 1964 Volunteer 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on July 26, 1964, at Bristol International Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.

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 ...

won the Saturday qualifying race to earn 25th starting position, but was replaced by Jimmy Helms in the 500 lap feature.

Race report

There was a racing grid of 36 drivers who were all born in the United States of America. Fred Lorenzen defeated

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 ...

by slightly more than a lap in front of 25,500 people in order to win the top prize of $4,185 USD ($ when adjusted for inflation). Petty was considered to be on pace to win the race until his rear end failed on the last lap; forcing him to accept a second-place finish. However, Petty's car developed the problem sometime before starting the final lap. As a result, Petty had a big enough lead to where Lorenzen did not catch him until the car failed entirely. Five lead changes were made and the caution flag was waved only once for 14 laps. Darrell Bryant received the last place finish and a measly $275 paycheck ($ when adjusted for inflation) for a fuel pressure issue on lap 1 that forced him out of the race. Petty would receive the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

for his qualifying speed of while the average speed of the race would be . Bristol was a flatter track during the 1960s and the banking was more shallow. Darrell Bryant and Doug Wilson would make their NASCAR debuts here. Johnny Nave would exit the NASCAR Cup Series after this race. Fourteen notable crew chiefs participated in the event; including Herman Beam,

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 ...

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 ...

Herb Nab In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

and

Jimmy Helms James D. Helms (born September 27, 1941) is an American soul singer, known as a member of Londonbeat but who also had solo hits such as " Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse". Early years James D. Helms was born in Florida, United States. ...

. 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

Top 10 finishers

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Paul Goldsmith started the race with the pole position. * Lap 1: Fuel pressure issues forced Darrell Bryant off the track. * Lap 2: Johnny Nave managed to overheat his vehicle, Jimmy Helms's vehicle had fuel pressure issues. * Lap 4: Curtis Crider's vehicle had clutch issues, Roy Tyner's vehicle had a faulty valve. * Lap 9: Doug Cooper had problems handling his vehicle, transmission issues ended E.J. Trivette's day on the track. * Lap 10: Earl Brooks had problems dealing with his vehicle's transmission. * Lap 13: Richard Petty takes over the lead from Paul Goldsmith. * Lap 15: Oil pressure issues forced Jack Anderson out of the race. * Lap 41: Wendell Scott's day at the track would end due to oil pressure issues. * Lap 42: Darel Dieringer had engine problems, ending his racing weekend too soon. * Lap 62: Ned Jarrett managed to overheat his vehicle while racing. * Lap 70: Problems with the engine made Bunkie Blackburn end his racing weekend a bit too early. * Lap 74: Bobby Isaac managed to ruin his vehicle's transmission while he was racing. * Lap 77: Engine issues forced Billy Wade out of the race. * Lap 145: Caution due to oil on track, green flag racing resumed on lap 158. * Lap 148: Paul Goldsmith's transmission problems ended his day on the track. * Lap 284: Doug Wilson managed to lose the rear end of the vehicle, was sidelined due to safety reasons. * Lap 306: Junior Johnson takes over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 309: Buck Baker managed to overheat his vehicle, which ended his shot at winning the race. * Lap 351: Richard Petty takes over the lead from Junior Johnson. * Lap 352: Junior Johnson's day on the track would be finished due to a blown engine. * Lap 363: David Pearson managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle, was called off the track due to safety reasons. * Lap 420: Earl Balmer wasn't able to finish because the rear end of his vehicle gave out. * Lap 455: Buddy Arrington lost the rear end of his racing vehicle. * Lap 463: Marvin Panch lost the rear end of his vehicle while he was racing. * Lap 499: Richard Petty managed to destroy the rear end of his vehicle, forcing him to accept a respectable second-place finish. * Lap 500: Fred Lorenzen takes over the lead from Richard Petty. * Finish: Fred Lorenzen was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

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Volunteer 500 The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. It is one of two NASCAR Cup Series races held at Bristol, the other being the Food City Dirt Race, but it is by far the mor ...

NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway