Auto race held at Daytona International Speedway in 1964
1964 Daytona
500 Race details
1964 Daytona 500 program cover
Date
February 23, 1964 (1964-02-23 ) Location
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida , U.S. Course
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02 km) Distance
200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) Weather
Cold with temperatures of 55 °F (13 °C); wind speeds of 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)[ 1] Average speed
154.334 mph (248.376 km/h) Driver
Ray Nichels Time
174.91 miles per hour (281.49 km/h) Driver
Richard Petty
Petty Enterprises Laps
184 No. 43
Richard Petty
Petty Enterprises
Motor car race
The 1964 Daytona 500 , was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on February 23, 1964, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida .
Race report
The race was won by Richard Petty driving a 1964 Plymouth . Petty drove his number 43 to victory in 3 hours and 14 minutes. There were three caution flags that slowed the race for 19 laps. The Chrysler teams debuted their brand-new 426 ci Chrysler Hemi engine in this race; NASCAR ordered the teams who had it to sandbag it during practice and qualifying due to their superiority.[ 2] During the race itself, Richard Petty, who at the time was known best for his skill on short tracks, led 184 of the 200 laps (a Daytona 500 record that stands to this day) and Chrysler teams took four of the top five spots.[ 2]
First Daytona 500 starts for Bobby Isaac, Doug Cooper, Johnny Rutherford, Jack Anderson, Jim Bray, and Neil Castles.[ 2] Only Daytona 500 starts for Dave MacDonald, Jo Schlesser, Smokey Boutwell, Jim McElreath, Ronnie Chumley, Bobby Marshman, Joe Clark, Bill McMahan, and Jim Cook.[ 2] Last Daytona 500 starts for Jimmy Pardue, Billy Wade, Dan Gurney, Larry Thomas, Ralph Earnhardt, Curtis Crider, Sal Tovella, Parnelli Jones, Fireball Roberts, and Elmo Henderson.[ 2]
This was the first NASCAR race that had a purse of over $100,000.[ 2]
Race results
Pos[ 2]
Grid
Driver
Entrant
Manufacturer
Winnings
Time/Status
1
2
43
Richard Petty
Petty Enterprises
1964 Plymouth
200
$33,300
184
3:14:23
2
6
54
Jimmy Pardue
Charles Robinson
1964 Plymouth
199
$11,600
0
+1 Lap
3
1
25
Paul Goldsmith
Ray Nichels
1964 Plymouth
198
$8,600
11
+2 Laps
4
9
21
Marvin Panch
Wood Brothers Racing
1964 Ford
198
$4,350
0
+2 Laps
5
10
15
Jim Paschal
Cotton Owens
1964 Dodge
197
$3,700
0
+3 Laps
6
21
1
Billy Wade
Bud Moore Engineering
1964 Mercury
197
$2,500
0
+3 Laps
7
11
16
Darel Dieringer
Bill Stroppe
1964 Mercury
197
$2,000
0
+3 Laps
8
14
29
Larry Frank
Holman-Moody
1964 Ford
197
$1,750
0
+3 Laps
9
3
3
Junior Johnson
Ray Fox
1964 Dodge
197
$1,500
0
+3 Laps
10
19
17
Dave MacDonald
Bill Stroppe
1964 Mercury
196
$1,200
0
+4 Laps
11
13
32
Tiny Lund
Graham Shaw
1964 Ford
195
$1,200
0
+5 Laps
12
5
41
Buck Baker
Petty Enterprises
1964 Plymouth
194
$1,200
0
+6 Laps
13
18
77
Jo Schlesser
Bondy Long
1964 Ford
192
$1,200
0
+8 Laps
14
20
12
Dan Gurney
Wood Brothers Racing
1964 Ford
192
$1,200
0
+8 Laps
15
4
26
Bobby Isaac
Ray Nichels
1964 Dodge
189
$1,500
3
Fuel
16
25
27
Larry Thomas
Ray Nichels
1963 Plymouth
188
$1,000
0
+12 Laps
17
22
19
Cale Yarborough
Herman Beam
1964 Ford
187
$1,000
0
+13 Laps
18
31
60
Doug Cooper
Bob Cooper
1963 Ford
186
$1,000
0
+14 Laps
19
28
31
Ralph Earnhardt
Tom Spell
1963 Ford
180
$1,000
0
+20 Laps
20
29
84
Smokey Boutwell
Rocky Hinton
1963 Ford
180
$1,000
0
+20 Laps
21
30
62
Curtis Crider
Curtis Crider
1963 Ford
177
$725
0
+23 Laps
22
39
95
Reb Wickersham
Ken Spikes
1964 Dodge
131
$725
0
Sway bar
23
24
09
Sal Tovella
Herb Onash
1964 Ford
129
$725
0
Engine
24
8
00
A. J. Foyt
Banjo Matthews
1964 Ford
127
$825
2
Engine
25
26
14
Jim McElreath
Bill Stroppe
1964 Mercury
126
$725
0
Crash
26
35
01
Johnny Rutherford
Bud Moore Engineering
1964 Mercury
107
$725
0
Crash
27
17
11
Ned Jarrett
Bondy Long
1964 Ford
106
$725
0
Crash
28
12
15
Parnelli Jones
Bill Stroppe
1964 Mercury
77
$725
0
Engine
29
42
89
Buddy Baker
David Walker
1964 Plymouth
64
$725
0
Engine
30
7
6
David Pearson
Cotton Owens
1964 Dodge
52
$725
0
Crash
31
34
28
Fred Lorenzen
Holman-Moody
1964 Ford
49
$725
0
Engine
32
36
92
Jack Anderson
Ray Osborne
1963 Ford
41
$725
0
Rear end
33
32
2
G. C. Spencer
G. C. Spencer
1963 Pontiac
31
$725
0
Engine
34
27
04
Ronnie Chumley
H. B. Bailey
1963 Pontiac
21
$725
0
Engine
35
16
06
Bobby Marshman
Holman-Moody
1964 Ford
17
$725
0
Overheating
36
23
7
Bobby Johns
Shorty Johns
1964 Pontiac
15
$725
0
Engine
37
15
22
Fireball Roberts
Holman-Moody
1964 Ford
13
$725
0
Transmission
38
40
34
Wendell Scott
Wendell Scott
1962 Chevrolet
7
$725
0
Overheating
39
37
70
Elmo Henderson
Paul Clayton
1963 Pontiac
4
$725
0
Engine
40
43
97
Joe Clark
Al McCline
1964 Ford
4
$725
0
Head gasket
41
44
82
Bill McMahan
Casper Hensley
1963 Pontiac
3
$725
0
Handling
42
45
56
Jim Bray
Nick Rampling
1962 Chevrolet
2
$725
0
Handling
43
33
71
Bunkie Blackburn
Roscoe Sanders
1963 Plymouth
1
$725
0
Crankshaft
44
41
61
Bob Cooper
Bob Cooper
1962 Pontiac
1
$725
0
Oil pressure
45
46
20
Jim Cook
Jack Anderson
1963 Ford
1
$725
0
Handling
46
38
86
Neil Castles
Buck Baker
1962 Chrysler
1
$725
0
Transmission
Timeline
Section reference:[ 2]
Start of race: Paul Goldsmith started the event with the first-place position.
Lap 2: Richard Petty took over the lead from Paul Goldsmith.
Lap 3: Bill McMahan could not handle his racing vehicle properly.
Lap 7: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Richard Petty.
Lap 10: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Isaac.
Lap 13: Fireball Roberts' transmission stopped working in a safe manner.
Lap 15: Bobby Johns managed to blow his engine while he was driving.
Lap 17: Bobby Marshman managed to overheat his vehicle.
Lap 21: Ronnie Chumley managed to overheat his engine.
Lap 31: G.C. Spencer had to leave the race due to a faulty engine.
Lap 40: A.J. Foyt took over the lead from Richard Petty.
Lap 42: Paul Goldsmith took over the lead from A.J. Foyt.
Lap 49: Fred Lorenzen managed to blow his engine.
Lap 52: Richard Petty took over the lead from Paul Goldsmith.
Lap 54: David Pearson's accident forced the yellow flag to appear, caution ended on lap 60.
Lap 64: Buddy Baker managed to blow his engine.
Lap 77: Parnelli Jones managed to blow his engine.
Lap 107: Johnny Rutherford had a terminal crash.
Lap 112: Johnny Rutherford and Ned Jarrett's accident on turn two caused a caution, which ended on lap 118.
Lap 126: Jim McElreath had a terminal crash.
Lap 130: Jim McElreath's accident created a caution which ended on lap 134.
Lap 189: Bobby Isaac ran out of fuel while racing.
Finish: Richard Petty was officially declared the winner of the event.
References
Track and race information
Track Statistics History Related events Related areas
Daytona 500 race reports
1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959