September 29, 1963
“Wilkes 400”
Top 5 finishers.....
If you bet on Lorenzen to win the race—you lost. If you bet on Petty to break the record and win four straight—you lost. If you bet on the driver who didn’t start the ’63 season until half-way thru because he nearly lost his life in a crash while testing a Maserati at Daytona in February of the same year, Marvin Panch, you cashed in. Panch started third and led 131 laps in the race. Panch and the Wood Brothers bested the 2nd thru 4th place finishers who drove for Holman-Moody. Panch was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. He was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1987. You can find him from time to time watching local races at New Smyrna Speedway, just down the road from Daytona. I was fortunate enough to meet him there just recently.
Fininshing second for the second straight race at NWS was Fred Lorenzen. Lorenzen took his third straight pole at the track, breaking his own record with a lap of 23.30seconds/96.566mph. He led 58 laps in the race and finished on the lead lap 6 seconds behind Panch. The original superspeedways of the south (1 mile or greater) were Darlington, Daytona, Charlotte, Atlanta and Rockingham. Lorenzen was the first to win at each of the five tracks. Lorenzen was named by "The King" himself as one of the five greatest stock car drivers who ever lived, and as one of the ten toughest. Petty called him, "the mentally toughest driver I ever competed against, he was always concentrating on racing, before, during, and after the race." He was the first driver in NASCAR to routinely call the weather service prior to a race to plan pit strategy, and while his rivals were simply trying to go faster, he was plotting gas mileage increases through improved carburetor performance, and studying tire efficiency to determine exactly how far he could stretch the rubber.
Nelson Stacy was the driver who finished in third. Stacy started 4th and led 56 laps this day. He finished two laps off the pace. Before venturing into a brief NASCAR career, Stacy enjoyed success in what is now the ARCA series. He was champion in ’58,’59,’60. He won the first ARCA race at Daytona in 1964. It was Stacy’s last of 3 Grand National attempts at NWS.
Finishing 4th was a name very familiar to the fans of NWS. In the ’63 spring race, the day was declared “Fireball Roberts Day.” His performance this day was much better than the one in the spring. Roberts started the race from the outside pole and led the most laps—155. He finished three laps behind the leader. Little did anyone know, this would be the last time Roberts competed in a Grand National race at NWS. Edward Glenn Roberts lost his life several weeks after a fiery crash the next year. In his 10 appearances at NWS, Roberts scored one victory and five top five finishes, along with three poles.
Fifth place went to the driver who lived about an hour south of the track, Ned Jarrett. Jarrett also finished 3 laps behind the leader. The driver from Hickory, NC was on his way to his best season at the time as far as statistics go, recording career bests in wins—8, top fives—32, and top tens—39, in 53 attempts. However, it would only be good enough for fourth in the season championship standings.
In his efforts to become the first driver to win four consecutive races at North Wilkesboro, Richard Petty experienced engine problems and lasted only 45 laps. He finished 26th in the 28 car field. The race was slowed for 17 laps during 2 caution periods. The time of the race was 2 hours, 47 minutes, 44 seconds.
The 1963 Grand National Champion, Joe Weatherly, also ran his final race at NWS. Little Joe was killed in a crash at the Riverside road course in January of 1964. Weatherly finished the race in the 6th position. Rex White ran his last Grand National race at the speedway. White finished 7th. Bob Welborn, the 3-time Convertible Champion, ran his last NWS race—12th place. Another name that would disappear from Grand National racing at NWS was Jack Smith. Mechanical problems took Smith out of the race early. Smith finished 24th.
REALITY CHECK HERE—after just 15 seasons of Grand National racing, the names no longer driving in races at the track include the Flock brothers, the Thomas brothers, Lee Petty, Rex White, Jack Smith, Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly, Jack Smith, Speedy Thompson, Dick Rathmann, Bob Welborn, and Cotton Owens. I do not mean to be disrespectful toward anybody whose name is not included in this list. I know there are many others that were and still are a part of the history of North Wilkesboro Speedway.