1963 Golden State 400
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| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 55 of 55 in the 1963 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Layout of Riverside International Raceway
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| Date | November 3, 1963 | ||
| Official name | Golden State 400 | ||
| Location | Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.620 mi (4.216 km) |
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| Distance | 153 laps, 400.9 mi (645.1 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly with temperatures approaching 66.9 °F (19.4 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 91.645 miles per hour (147.488 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 20,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Wood Brothers Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dave MacDonald | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Laps | 92 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 16 | Darel Dieringer | Bill Stroppe | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1963 Golden State 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on November 3, 1963 at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.
Summary
This event took four hours and twenty-one seconds to resolve itself; Darel Dieringer defeated Dave MacDonald by at least one lap.[2] More than 32000 people would watch a 148-lap race on a road course spanning 2.700 miles (4.345 km) and speeds averaging 91.465 miles per hour (147.199 km/h).[2][3] Dan Gurney won the pole position driving at speeds of up to 101.050 miles per hour (162.624 km/h) but Marvin Panch substituted for him on the day of the race.[2] Only one caution was given out for the entire racing event.[2][3] Forty-one American-born races would qualify for this race and Bruce Worwell would finish in last place due to an engine problem on the first lap of the race.[2][3]
The race purse would add up to $33,780 ($261,097.37 when adjusted for inflation); with the winner receiving $7,875 ($60,868.61 when adjusted for inflation) and the last place finisher receiving only $200 ($1,545.87 when adjusted for inflation).[4]
Richard Petty attempted to drive five laps using automatic transmission but his transmission failed after only five laps into the race; proving that NASCAR may always be for vehicles with manual transmission. He would go on to become a replacement driver for Junior Johnson; although Johnson get credit for the fifth-place finish.
Top ten finishers
- Darel Dieringer – #16
- Dave MacDonald – #21
- Marvin Panch – #121
- Fireball Roberts – #22
- Junior Johnson – #26
- Jack Smith – #47
- Joe Weatherly – #8
- Bill Amick – #62
- Bob Ross – #18
- Ron Hornaday, Sr. – #97
Timeline
- Start of race: Fred Lorenzen leaves the start/finish line as the lead driver
- Lap 1: Rex White had a terminal crash, forcing him to retire from the race
- Lap 22: Dave MacDonald takes over the lead from Fred Lorenzen
- Lap 42: Paul Goldsmith had a terminal crash, forcing him out of the race
- Lap 44: Bob Bondurant had a terminal crash, forcing him out of the race
- Lap 67: Scotty Cain managed to blow his vehicle's engine
- Lap 74: Chuck Shove managed to blow his vehicle's engine
- Lap 77: Darel Dieringer takes over the lead from Dave MacDonald
- Lap 80: Dave MacDonald takes over the lead from Darel Dieringer
- Lap 116: Darel Dieringer takes over the lead from Dave MacDonald
- Lap 117: Jimmy Pardue's vehicle had a major case of transmission issues
- Lap 118: Dave MacDonald takes over the lead from Darel Dieringer
- Lap 119: Darel Dieringer takes over the lead from Dave MacDonald
- Lap 133: Jim Cook had a terminal crash, forcing himself to exit the race prematurely
- Lap 134: Pete Brock managed to run out of fuel while racing
- Finish: Darel Dieringer was officially declared the winner of the event
References
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| Preceded by
1963 untitled race at Orange Speedway
|
NASCAR Grand National Races 1963-64 |
Succeeded by 1964 Textile 250 |
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