World 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960 in NASCAR, 1960, was a ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...

Concord, North Carolina Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 105,240 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Concord is the second-most populous city in the Cha ...

Joe Lee Johnson Joe Lee Johnson (September 11, 1929 – May 26, 2005) was an American professional NASCAR Grand National Series driver who won the inaugural World 600 in 1960. He was also the 1959 NASCAR Convertible Division champion. Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in

Concord, North Carolina Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 105,240 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Concord is the second-most populous city in the Cha ...

, thirteen miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The track is a asphalt quad-oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the

World 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960 in NASCAR, 1960, was a ...

and the National 400. The speedway broke ground in 1958 with

Bruton Smith Ollen Bruton Smith (March 3, 1927 – June 22, 2022) was an American motorsports executive and businessman. He was best known as the owner of two public companies, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) and Sonic Automotive. Smith held the positions ...

and

Curtis Turner Curtis Morton Turner (April 12, 1924 – October 4, 1970) was an American stock car racer who won 17 NASCAR Grand National Division races and 38 NASCAR Convertible Division races. Throughout his life, he developed a reputation for drinking and ...

as the architects. Charlotte Motor Speedway is now operated by

Speedway Motorsports Speedway Motorsports, LLC is an American company that owns and manages auto racing facilities that host races sanctioned by NASCAR, NHRA, World of Outlaws and other racing series. The company was founded by Bruton Smith and has its headquarters ...

.

Race report

The race was postponed for three weeks because of construction delays. During the race, Don O'Dell's Pontiac crashed into the driver's door of Lenny Page's Chevy. Lenny Page, who was lucky to survive the crash due to the safety systems at that time, was near death afterward, but reporter

Chris Economaki Christopher Constantine Economaki (October 15, 1920 – September 28, 2012) was a pioneering American motorsports journalist, publisher, reporter, and commentator known as "The Dean of American Motorsports Journalism." Working for, and later ...

rushed to the scene and aided Page with CPR until safety crews arrived. He was later credited with saving Lenny's life. Cars were allowed to run dirt track style screens to protect the radiators from debris, as officials were aware of the problem before the race started. This is the only time a father and son have been disqualified in the same race. This was the last time the #89 has won in the Cup Series. Ed Markstellar and Japanese-American driver George Tet would make their stock car debuts in this race while Jim Austin, Arnold Gardner and Gene Marmor would make their finale.Notable race information
at Race Database Johnny Wolford would run his only NASCAR Cup Series race here. Rex White would take away the championship lead from Richard Petty with his sixth-place finish as opposed to Petty finishing in 55th place due to a disqualification. Petty and five other drivers (

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its f ...

, Bob Welborn, Paul Lewis,

Junior Johnson Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner as well as an entrepreneur. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career befor ...

, and Lenny Page) were all disqualified for making illegal entrances to pit road. Notable crew chiefs included Louis Clements, Bud Allman,

Ray Fox Raymond Lee Fox, Sr. (May 28, 1916 – June 15, 2014) was an American engine builder, NASCAR car owner and NASCAR engine inspector. His cars won fourteen NASCAR Grand National Series events and sixteen pole positions. He was the patriarch ...

,

Shorty Johns Shorty may refer to: People * Shorty (nickname) * Shorty G and Shorty Gable, ring names of Chad Gable (born 1986), American professional wrestler Music Artists * Ras Shorty I, Trinidadian artist and founder of soca music * Shorty (band), an A ...

, Bud Moore, Mario Rossi, Dale Swanson and Paul McDuffie.Crew chief information
at Racing Reference

Results

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Fireball Roberts officially started with race with the pole position. * Lap 5: Johnny Walford had a terminal crash. * Lap 6: Cotton Owens and Johnny Allen were involved in a terminal crash. * Lap 27: Ed Markstellar was involved in a terminal crash. * Lap 66: Tom Pistone took over the lead from Fireball Roberts. * Lap 74: Junior Johnson took over the lead from Tom Pistone. * Lap 79: Curtis Turner took over the lead from Junior Johnson. * Lap 85: Joe Weatherly had a terminal crash. * Lap 95: Jack Smith took over the lead from Curtis Turner. * Lap 97: Fireball Roberts took over the lead from Jack Smith. * Lap 138: Herb Tillman had a terminal crash. * Lap 141: Jack Smith took over the lead from Fireball Roberts. * Lap 144: Fireball Roberts took over the lead from Jack Smith. * Lap 149: Curtis Turner took over the lead from Fireball Roberts. * Lap 154: Tom Pistone took over the lead from Curtis Turner. * Lap 160: Jack Smith took over the lead from Tom Pistone. * Lap 176: Doug Yates and Roy Tyner were involved in a terminal crash. * Lap 233: Ned Jarrett had a terminal crash. * Lap 246: Jim Reed had a terminal crash. * Lap 333: Transmission problems would sideline Jimmy Massey on this lap. * Lap 341: Problems with his vehicle's frame would take Marvin Panch out of the race. * Lap 352: Jack Smith would experience problems with his vehicle's fuel tank. * Lap 353: Joe Lee Johnson took over the lead from Jack Smith. * Lap 365: Charley Griffith blew his vehicle's engine while driving at high speeds. * Finish: Joe Lee Johnson was officially declared the winner of the event.

Race Statistics

Section reference: * Time of race: 5:34:06 * Average Speed: * Pole Speed: * Cautions: 8 for 45 laps * Margin of Victory: 4 laps + * Lead changes: 11

References

{{Coca-Cola 600

World 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960 in NASCAR, 1960, was a ...

NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway

World 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960 in NASCAR, 1960, was a ...