History of NASCAR in the 1960's

Many correlate the 1960's and NASCAR with the rise of superspeedways, and the ultra-fast muscle cars. The sport was finding itself throughout the 1950's, and it continued to expand in interest. The 1959 Daytona 500 at the newly-constructed Daytona International Speedway absorbed quite a bit of interest, as did the controversial finish. The superspeedway era was in full force in the 1960's with the addition of tracks in the Charlotte, North Carolina region; Atlanta, Georgia region; and Hanford, California region.

As the decade progressed, additional speedway tracks surfaced, such as the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, and the Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama, now referred to Talladega Superspeedway.

In 1960, CBS Sports televised three short introductory races throughout the Daytona 500 Speedweeks. They televised the pole position and compact car races. However, they did not televise the 500-mile event, likely because they did not have a window set for the 4 and a half hours event.

The 1960's featured numerous star drivers, but the two that many indentify with is Richard Petty, son of Lee Petty, and David Pearson, as they would engage in historic on-track showdowns.

Other star drivers, included Ned Jarrett, Fred Lorenzen, Junior Johnson, Joe Weatherly, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Rex White, Cotton Owens just to name a few. Open wheel luminaries such as A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti brought their talent to stock car racing.

Wendell Scott broke the racial barriers in December of 1963 when he won the 100-mile event at Jacksonville Raceway Park. Scott became the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR Grand National event. NASCAR listed Scott's win under the 1964 season.

NASCAR was no stranger to tragedy in the 1960's. Crew chief Paul McDuffie was one of the three people killed in an accident that occurred on pit road at Darlington in 1960. Nearly four years later in 1964, Fireball Roberts suffered fatal burns in a crash at Charlotte in May. He passed away on July 2 of that same year. Billy Wade died after crashing in a tire test at Daytona in January of 1965.

The 1960's produced some controversial moments. NASCAR banned Curtis Turner for life in 1961, as he attempted to form a union for the drivers and refused to give up the endeavor, which was called the Teamsters Union. The goal was to enforce increased purses, pension plans, sufficient insurance coverage, scholarship capital for the children of members who passed away, and upgraded track facilities for the drivers. France was aggressively against the Teamsters. NASCAR reinstated Turner four years later in 1965.

Up to 32 drivers boycotted the debut race at the 2.66-mile Alabama International Motorspeedway. Drivers feared that their safety was at risk with the high speeds, bumpy surface, and the potential for high-tire wear. The Professional Drivers Association was formed with Richard Petty as the President. Despite the boycott, the show went on without several of its main attractions. Richard Brickhouse captured the victory.

Petty emerged as an on-track favorite as well as a fan favorite in the 1960's. He shattered several records, most notably in 1967. He won 10 consecutive races, and 27 total races that season in 48 stars. His winning percentage easily exceeded 50 percent, 56.2 to be precise.

NASCAR Grand National champions of the 1960's include Rex White (1960), Ned Jarrett (1961, 1965), Joe Weatherly (1962, 1963), Richard Petty (1964, 1967), David Pearson (1966, 1968, 1969).

Reference: NASCAR Chronicle