1964 Nashville 400

1964 Nashville 400
Race details[1][2]
Race 43 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date August 2, 1964 (1964-August-02)
Official name Nashville 400
Location Music City Motorplex, Nashville, Tennessee
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance 400 laps, 200.0 mi (321.8 km)
Weather Extremely hot with temperatures of 93.0 °F (33.9 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 73.208 miles per hour (117.817 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 400
Winner
No. 87 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1964 Nashville 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 2, 1964, at Nashville Speedway (now Fairgrounds Speedway) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Background

Nashville Speedway was converted to a half-mile paved oval in 1957, when it began to be a NASCAR series track.[citation needed]

Race report

Four hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) for a grand total of 200.0 miles (321.9 km).[2] It took two hours, forty-three minutes, and fifty-five seconds for the race to reach its conclusion; Richard Petty was the winner of the race.[2][3]

Notable crew chiefs for the race were Jimmy Helms, Dale Inman, Wendell Scott, and Herman Beam.[4]

Three cautions were drawn for twenty-six laps in front of 13,128 people.[2] Notable speeds were: 73.208 miles per hour (117.817 km/h) for the average speed and 80.826 miles per hour (130.077 km/h) for the pole position speed.[2] This would be Bud Moore's first official NASCAR Cup Series race. Total winnings for this race were $9,380 in American dollars ($92,149 when adjusted for inflation). Richard Petty would end up receiving the majority of the winnings with a grand total of $2,150 ($21,122 when adjusted for inflation).[2][3]

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

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 43 Richard Petty '64 Plymouth
2 1 Billy Wade '64 Mercury
3 41 Jim Paschal '64 Plymouth
4 11 Ned Jarrett '64 Ford
5 6 David Pearson '64 Dodge
6 5 Earl Balmer '64 Dodge
7 16 Darel Dieringer '64 Mercury
8 54 Jimmy Pardue '64 Plymouth
9 19 Larry Thomas '64 Ford
10 82 Bunkie Blackburn '63 Pontiac
11 42 Bill McMahan '64 Pontiac
12 34 Wendell Scott '63 Ford
13 78 Buddy Arrington '63 Dodge
14 49 Doug Moore '64 Chevrolet
15 88 Neil Castles '62 Chrysler
16 9 Roy Tyner '64 Chevrolet
17 20 Jack Anderson '64 Ford
18 60 Doug Cooper '63 Ford
19 52 E.J. Trivette '62 Chevrolet
20 02 Curtis Crider '63 Mercury
21 32 Mark Hurley '63 Ford
22 01 Chuck Huckabee '63 Mercury
23 17 Junior Spencer '64 Ford
24 92 Rodney Bottinger '64 Ford
25 86 Steve Young '62 Chrysler
26 66 Bud Moore '63 Ford
27 81 Henley Gray '64 Ford

Finishing order

Section reference:[2]

  1. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  2. Jim Paschal† (No. 31)
  3. David Pearson† (No. 6)
  4. Earl Balmer (No. 5)
  5. Ned Jarrett (No. 11)
  6. Darel Dieringer† (No. 16)
  7. Larry Thomas† (No. 19)
  8. Jimmy Pardue† (No. 54)
  9. Doug Moore (No. 49)
  10. Neil Castles (No. 88)
  11. Bill McMahan (No. 42)
  12. Curtis Crider† (No. 02)
  13. Jack Anderson (No. 20)
  14. E.J. Trivette (No. 52)
  15. Junior Spencer* (No. 81)
  16. Wendell Scott*† (No. 34)
  17. Roy Tyner*† (No. 9)
  18. Bunkie Blackburn*† (No. 82)
  19. Billy Wade*† (No. 1)
  20. Henley Gray* (No. 81)
  21. Doug Cooper* (No. 60)
  22. Mark Hurley* (No. 32)
  23. Buddy Arrington* (No. 78)
  24. Rodney Bottinger* (No. 92)
  25. Chuck Huckabee* (No. 01)
  26. Steve Young* (No. 86)
  27. Bud Moore* (No. 66)

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

References

  1. ^ "1964 Nashville 400 racing weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "1964 Nashville 400 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  3. ^ a b "Richard Petty information (1964 Nashville 400)". Everything Stock Car. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  4. ^ "1964 Nashville 400 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Races
1964
Succeeded by
1964 untitled race at Rambi Raceway