1964 The Glen 151.8


The 1964 The Glen 151.8 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on July 19, 1964, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.

Background

, nicknamed "The Glen", is a race track located in Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The sports car racing facility is owned by the International Speedway Corporation. It was long known around the world as the home of the United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for 20 consecutive years but since 1948, it has been home to road racing of nearly every class, such as Formula One, the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, the NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series. Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956, a permanent circuit for the race was built. The circuit's current layout has more/less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after a fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event. The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers.

Race report

Five lead changes were made. After one hour and thirty-two minutes of racing, Billy Wade managed to defeat LeeRoy Yarbrough by six seconds in front of 10,000 live spectators. The total prize purse handed out for this racing event was $6,395 ; Billy Wade received $1,400 of it while Lee Petty received a meager $150.
Pete Boland would receive the last-place finish due to a brake problem on lap 2 of 66. The actual race spanned for ; with the pole position speed at and the average race speed at. All 26 of the drivers on the grid where American-born males. Lee Petty would retire from NASCAR after this race. From the next race onward, his son Richard would race alone. Bob Welborn would make his second-to-last NASCAR appearance at this racing event. Walt Hansgen would become the first road course ringer by being at this track three times. He would drive a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle during this race after driving a Ford vehicle at a previous race.
Some of the more notable crew chiefs were Bud Moore, Mario Rossi, Louis Clements, Dale Inman, Vic Ballard and Jimmy Helms.
The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s.

Qualifying

Finishing order

  1. Billy Wade†
  2. LeeRoy Yarbrough†
  3. Walt Hansgen†
  4. Buck Baker†
  5. Bob Welborn†
  6. David Pearson†
  7. Jimmy Pardue*†
  8. Ned Jarrett*
  9. Curtis Crider
  10. Doug Cooper
  11. Louis Weathersbee
  12. Wendell Scott†
  13. Doug Moore
  14. Darel Dieringer*†
  15. Roy Tyner†
  16. Earl Brooks*†
  17. Neil Castles*
  18. Bob Derrington*
  19. Bernard Alvarez*
  20. Paul Goldsmith*
  21. Richard Petty*
  22. Lee Petty*†
  23. Al White*
  24. Marvin Panch*
  25. Frank Tanner*
  26. Pete Boland*
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

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