The 1962 World 600, the 3rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series race held on May 27, 1962 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 23rd race of the 1962 NASCAR Grand National Series season.

1962 World 600
Race details
Race 23 of 53 in the 1962 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1962 World 600 program cover
1962 World 600 program cover
Date May 27, 1962 (1962-05-27)
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Weather Extremely hot with temperatures of 91.9 °F (33.3 °C); wind speeds of 9.2 miles per hour (14.8 km/h)[1]
Average speed 125.552 mph (202.056 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson
Laps 208
Winner
No. 29 Nelson Stacy

Background

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Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States, 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious World 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the National 400. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith 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. (SMI).

Race report

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Nelson Stacy won the race over the second-place Joe Weatherly by a time of 32.35 seconds; making his third race victory of out a total of four. The race lasted four hours, forty-six minutes, and forty-four seconds. Average speed during the race was 125.552 miles per hour (202.056 km/h) while the pole position qualifier had a speed of 140.15 miles per hour (225.55 km/h). Two cautions slowed the race for 14 laps. Eighteen lead changes were recorded during the race.[2]

David Pearson was leading with seven laps to go. It was an extremely hot day and Pearson said it was hard to see because he had to wipe the sweat from his head on the straightaway. While leading with seven laps to go, his car just quit on him.[2] He said it was one of the most disappointing losses of his career.

Red Foote would make his NASCAR debut in this race while Gerald Duke and Herb Tillman would retire from professional stock car racing after this event. Joe Weatherly's respectable second-place finish managed to boost him ahead of Jack Smith in the championship standings.[3]

Notable crew chiefs for this race; included Bud Moore, Herman Beam, Glen Wood, Herb Nab and Ratus Walters.[4]

Final results

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Source:[5]
Fin St # Driver Sponsor Make Laps Led Status
1 18 29 Nelson Stacy Ron's Ford Sales '62 Ford 400 13 running
2 4 8 Joe Weatherly Bud Moore '62 Pontiac 400 0 running
3 15 0 Fred Lorenzen LaFayette '62 Ford 399 0 running
4 21 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises '62 Plymouth 397 5 running
5 12 66 Larry Frank Cafe Burgundy '62 Ford 395 0 running
6 14 11 Ned Jarrett City Chevrolet Co. '62 Chevrolet 394 0 running
7 2 3 David Pearson Gerry Earl Pontiac '62 Pontiac 393 208 engine
8 11 21 Marvin Panch Wood Brothers '62 Ford 393 0 running
9 1 22 Fireball Roberts Stephens Pontiac '62 Pontiac 393 27 running
10 24 41 Bunkie Blackburn Petty Enterprises '62 Plymouth 393 0 running
11 10 4 Rex White Louis Clements '62 Chevrolet 392 0 running
12 31 39 LeeRoy Yarbrough Ray Nichels '61 Pontiac 386 0 running
13 19 44 Bob Welborn Julian Petty '62 Pontiac 385 0 running
14 8 20 Emanuel Zervakis '62 Mercury 383 0 running
15 6 46 Johnny Allen Holly Farms '62 Pontiac 380 4 running
16 22 36 Larry Thomas Wade Younts '62 Dodge 378 0 running
17 26 84 Red Foote Rocky Hinton '61 Ford 369 0 running
18 46 61 Bill Morton '62 Ford 368 0 running
19 37 30 Tiny Lund Fred Clark '62 Chevrolet 365 0 running
20 28 9 Jimmy Thompson Wildcat Williams '62 Ford 364 0 running
21 27 79 G.C. Spencer Ralph Smith '62 Chevrolet 363 0 running
22 38 1 George Green Jess Potter '61 Chevrolet 360 0 running
23 34 90 Darel Dieringer Bob Osiecki '62 Dodge 358 0 coil wire
24 25 47 Jack Smith '62 Pontiac 355 0 brakes
25 39 19 Herman Beam '62 Ford 348 0 running
26 47 5 Stick Elliott Leroy Faucett '61 Pontiac 341 0 running
27 42 62 Curtis Crider '62 Mercury 284 0 wheel
28 5 72 Bobby Johns Shorty Johns '62 Pontiac 284 24 push rod
29 17 77 Jim Reed Ratus Walters '62 Ford 284 0 engine
30 41 34 Wendell Scott '61 Chevrolet 277 0 engine
31 20 87 Buck Baker '62 Chrysler 259 0 oil pressure
32 32 2 Jim Paschal Cliff Stewart '62 Pontiac 227 0 fuel pump
33 33 91 Herb Tillman Bob Osiecki '62 Dodge 194 0 clutch
34 7 54 Jimmy Pardue '62 Pontiac 190 119 crash
35 16 86 Buddy Baker Buck Baker '62 Chrysler 176 0 oil pressure
36 29 68 Ed Livingston Livingston's Auto Parts '61 Ford 118 0 engine
37 23 92 Gerald Duke Don Harrison '62 Ford 96 0 engine
38 9 6 Junior Johnson Cotton Owens '62 Pontiac 72 0 clutch
39 40 93 Lee Reitzel '62 Ford 69 0 transmission
40 35 38 John Dodd, Jr. Matt DeMatthews '61 Ford 68 0 engine
41 36 58 Paul Lewis '61 Chevrolet 57 0 engine
42 44 60 Tom Cox Ray Herlocker '60 Plymouth 45 0 crankshaft
43 3 94 Banjo Matthews '62 Pontiac 13 0 crash
44 13 81 Roscoe Thompson '62 Mercury 12 0 engine
45 30 16 Ralph Earnhardt Happy Steigel '61 Pontiac 11 0 crash
46 48 80 Tubby Gonzales '61 Ford 6 0 vibration
47 43 96 Johnny Sudderth '61 Chevrolet 5 0 engine
48 45 50 Bobby Waddell '60 Dodge 2 0 freeze pl

References

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  1. ^ Weather information at the Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b Race information at Racing Reference
  3. ^ 1962 World 600 results at Race Database
  4. ^ Crew chief information at Racing Reference
  5. ^ "1962 World 600 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.