1964 World 600

The 1964 World 600, the fifth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that took place on May 24, 1964, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
There was a 30-mile consolation race the day before this to determine the final 14 starters.
Bobby Keck finished 14th in that race but he was unable to start the 600 and his car was withdrawn, with Pete Stewart taking the last starting position as the first alternate starter. Major Melton finished 16th in that race driving a 1963 Dodge and was the second alternate.

Background

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race, as well as the Bank of America 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. with Marcus G. Smith as track president.

Race report

The race covered four hundred laps of the paved oval track spanning. It took four hours, forty-six minutes, and fourteen seconds. Seven cautions slowed the race for 48 laps. The race averaged and was the pole position speed. The attendance was 66,311. Notable crew chiefs for this race included Bud Moore, Herman Beam, Ralph Gray, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews and Dale Inman.
Miss Linda Vaughn was selected to be Pontiac's representative at this event; she was an adolescent during that time.
Jim Paschal defeated Richard Petty by more than four laps. Other notable drivers included: Ralph Earnhardt, Roy Tyner, Fireball Roberts, Elmo Langley, and Buddy Baker. The top two finishers were teammates at Petty Enterprises. Jim Paschal would receive $24,785 in prize money after becoming the only driver to finish all 400 laps of the race. Pete Stewart was rewarded with $600 for finishing only one lap; resulting in a last place finish. Jimmy Pardue started in pole position while the winner started in 12th place.

Qualifying

Death of Fireball Roberts

Fireball Roberts was involved in a crash while trying to avoid Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett's crash on lap 7. Roberts was sent to Charlotte hospital. While he was not seriously injured by the crash itself, Roberts was trapped and engulfed in a blazing inferno as his fuel tank exploded, while his ankle became pinned under the dashboard and caught by either the clutch or brake pedal. The death would have occurred at the speedway if Jarrett hadn't pulled Roberts out of the fire. He died on July 2 of that year; leaving behind a wife and a young daughter. Jarrett would go up to Roberts, and Roberts, who was uninjured and conscious, told Jarrett "Oh my God, Ned, help me! I'm on fire!" after being immersed in flames, as a result of the crash.
Before the fatal accident, Roberts was going to announce his retirement from the NASCAR Cup Series after the race to work as a spokesperson for a beer company. Fireball, as he was known to his racing fans and to his fellow drivers, was the first superstar of the superspeedway era.
Doctors ultimately blamed his death on pneumonia and he spent the last 39 days of his life at Charlotte Memorial Hospital in extremely critical condition. The entire week from May 24 through May 30, 1964, ultimately became one of the darkest weeks in motorsports history as Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald were both killed in that year's Indianapolis 500. Actual home video footage of the accident was being recorded as the race occurred. The race would be televised tape delayed as a 30 minute broadcast on NBC. Roberts' body was eventually delivered to his burial crypt in Daytona Beach, Florida. One of the quotes that came in an earlier race sometime prior to his death was "I fear fire the most!"
Numerous safety innovations came about as a result of Roberts' death including the fire suit, as some drivers still raced wearing jeans and t-shirts, as well as a specialized fuel cell for racing. These inventions would first see usage at the 1964 Firecracker 400; just two days after Roberts' death.

Finishing order

Section reference:

POS	ST	#	DRIVER	SPONSOR / OWNER	CAR	LAPS	MONEY	STATUS	LED
1	12	41	Jim Paschal	Petty Enterprises	'64 Plymouth	400	24785	running	126
2	5	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	'64 Plymouth	396	10455	running	0
3	13	4	Rex White	Bud Moore	'64 Mercury	393	8095	running	0
4	2	28	Fred Lorenzen	LaFayette	'64 Ford	393	6425	running	65
5	14	1	Billy Wade	Bud Moore	'64 Mercury	390	4050	running	0
6	33	49	G.C. Spencer	G.C. Spencer	'64 Chevrolet	376	2950	running	0
7	31	76	Larry Frank	Larry Frank	'63 Ford	364	2650	running	0
8	10	6	David Pearson	Cotton Owens	'64 Dodge	363	2085	running	1
9	40	34	Wendell Scott	Wendell Scott	'63 Ford	359	1775	running	0
10	24	20	Jack Anderson	Jack Anderson	'63 Ford	358	1500	running	0
11	26	02	Curtis Crider	Curtis Crider	'63 Mercury	358	1450	running	0
12	21	46	J.T. Putney	Walt Hunter	'62 Chevrolet	358	1325	running	0
13	7	16	Darel Dieringer	Bill Stroppe	'64 Mercury	344	1250	engine	0
14	37	83	Worth McMillion	Worth McMillion	'62 Pontiac	340	1200	running	0
15	32	60	Doug Cooper	Bob Cooper	'63 Ford	338	1350	running	0
16	41	9	Roy Tyner	Roy Tyner	'64 Chevrolet	329	925	running	0
17	42	68	Bob Derrington	Bob Derrington	'63 Ford	305	825	running	0
18	25	42	Bunkie Blackburn	Casper Hensley	'62 Pontiac	255	850	rear end	0
19	4	25	Paul Goldsmith	Ray Nichels	'64 Plymouth	253	1915	engine	123
20	17	3	Buck Baker	Ray Fox	'64 Dodge	238	990	engine	24
21	30	82	Bill McMahan	Casper Hensley	'64 Pontiac	231	625	clutch	0
22	20	95	Ken Spikes	Ken Spikes	'64 Plymouth	217	625	flagged	0
23	16	5	Larry Thomas	Cotton Owens	'64 Dodge	199	600	axle	0
24	1	54	Jimmy Pardue	Burton-Robinson	'64 Plymouth	195	1280	engine	43
25	3	26	Bobby Isaac	Ray Nichels	'64 Dodge	169	775	engine mount	10
26	15	03	LeeRoy Yarbrough	Ray Fox	'64 Dodge	151	620	pinion b	8
27	23	18	Stick Elliott	Toy Bolton	'63 Pontiac	137	600	engine	0
28	18	19	Cale Yarborough	Herman Beam	'64 Ford	117	650	crash	0
29	6	21	Marvin Panch	Wood Brothers	'64 Ford	52	625	crash	0
30	28	09	Roy Mayne	Bob Adams	'62 Chevrolet	50	625	oil leak	0
31	19	2	Ken Rush	Cliff Stewart	'63 Pontiac	28	625	ignition	0
32	27	39	Mark Hurley	Mark Hurley	'63 Ford	11	625	transmission	0
33	8	11	Ned Jarrett	Courtesy Ford	'64 Ford	7	700	crash	0
34	9	27	Junior Johnson	Banjo Matthews	'64 Ford	7	700	crash	0
35	11	22	Fireball Roberts	Young Ford	'64 Ford	7	650	crash	0
36	22	87	Buddy Baker	J.C. Parker	'63 Dodge	6	625	overheating	0
37	35	70	Ralph Earnhardt	Paul Clayton	'62 Pontiac	5	675	engine	0
38	36	88	Neil Castles	Buck Baker	'62 Chrysler	4	650	radiator	0
39	43	86	Jimmy Helms	Buck Baker	'62 Chrysler	4	625	oil line	0
40	34	01	Bob Cooper	Curtis Crider	'63 Mercury	4	700	radiator	0
41	39	40	Bud Harless	Fred Harless	'62 Pontiac	3	650	engine	0
42	29	64	Elmo Langley	John Berejoski	'63 Ford	1	625	engine	0
43	38	52	E.J. Trivette	Jess Potter	'62 Chevrolet	1	650	engine	0
44	44	84	Pete Stewart	Pete Stewart	'63 Pontiac	1	600	con rod	0