The 1965 Daytona 500, the 7th running of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

, was held on February 14, 1965 at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

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 ...

, driving a 1965 Ford, won the race from fourth position in a two-hour-and-23-minute time span by

Darel Dieringer Darel Dieringer (June 1, 1926 – October 28, 1989) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He ran 181 NASCAR Grand National Series races during his career, notably racing for Bud Moore Engineering and Junior Johnson & Associates. ...

by a full lap. There were 3 cautions flags which slowed the race for 43 laps. The race ended on lap 133 due to persistent rain. This was Lorenzen's first victory of the season.

Safety innovations

NASCAR instituted new rules in October 1964 to enhance safety and decrease speeds for 1965 after the previous year's deaths of

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 ...

and

Fireball Roberts Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (January 20, 1929July 2, 1964) was an American stock car racer. Background Roberts was born in Tavares, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida, where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. He was ...

. The

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

Hemi engine was dominated that year by 1964 NASCAR Champion

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 ...

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

wanted a new engine with high-rise cylinder heads to compete with the Hemi and threatened to pull out if Bill France Sr. didn't allow it. NASCAR's new rules, however, banned both Hemi engines and high-rise cylinder heads.

Speedweeks

won the pole with a speed of in Bud Moore's 1964

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, then held off

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 ...

's move in the final turn to win the first qualifying race. the second race became a duel between Fred Lorenzen and

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 ...

. Lorenzen took the lead on lap 39. But when he roared under the white flag, he mistook it for the checkered flag. Lorenzen let off and Johnson passed him on the last lap to win. The second qualifying race featured a wild first lap crash as Ron Eulenfeld triggered a wild crash that also took out 12 other cars in the race. Eulenfeld walked away from that crash.

Race Day

On Race day, Junior Johnson grabbed the lead on the first lap from his second starting spot and led the first 27 laps. at that car 14 cars were out all because of mechanical problems. Johnson was racing in his usual go-for-broke style when a tire blew. Johnson's car hurled into the outside wall and spread debris over a wide area. Johnson suffered only a cut over his eye. After Johnson's abrupt departure, 1961 winner

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 Menomon ...

led through lap 68 in the Wood Brothers

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, with Lorenzen and

Bobby Johns Robert James Johns (May 22, 1932 – March 7, 2016) was an American race car driver. Johns raced in the NASCAR series in the 1956–1969 seasons, with 141 career starts. He had two wins among his 36 top ten finishes and finished the 1960 season ...

on his tail. Lorenzen led laps 69 through 78 before giving way to Panch. At halfway, Panch was still in control, but

clouds In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may com ...

were darkening over the track. On lap 119, Lorenzen edged past Panch and took the lead for only the second time.

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

was falling by Lap 129. As the yellow light came on, Panch made a run on Lorenzen coming off turn two. Panch went to the outside, Lorenzen moved up, the cars touched and Panch spun down the backstretch, ending his chances for a second 500 victory. Lorenzen remained in the lead, but the fender that had hit Panch's car was bent in on his tire. "Stay out" ordered crew chief

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 ...

, who was counting on the weather to shorten the race. Soon, it was pouring. the race was stopped after 133 laps and declared official. the Golden Boy had won NASCAR's biggest race.

References

{{NASCAR on ESPN

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway