# 1964 Daytona 500

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. 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.
First Daytona 500 starts for Bobby Isaac, Doug Cooper, Johnny Rutherford, Jack Anderson, Jim Bray, and Neil Castles. Only Daytona 500 starts for Dave MacDonald, Jo Schlesser, Smokey Boutwell, Jim McElreath, Ronnie Chumley, Bobby Marshman, Joe Clark, Bill McMahan, and Jim Cook. 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.
This was the first NASCAR race that had a purse of over $100,000.

## Race results

| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Entrant | Manufacturer | Laps | Winnings | Laps led | 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:
* 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.