Racing History Minute - 1964 Motor Trend 500 from Riverside, California

I'm sure most reading this post are familiar with the magazine "Motor Trend", if, for no other reason, it has always presented the "Car of the Year" award to the make and model the editors of the magazine determined to be the best of the year. In the early years of this award I sincerely believe there was a criteria for determining the winner for the award. I'm not so sure what determines the winning car these days. Nevertheless, in January, 1964, the19th of the month to be exact. the magazine was the title sponsor of the 500 mile race on the twisting 2.7 mile road course in California.

Fred Lorenzen, driving the number 28 Lafayette Ford, which had been driven to victory the year before by Dan Gurney, won the pole with a speed of 102.433 mph. Richard Petty in a Plymouth, who had tried an automatic transmission in the event a year earlier, returned with the 1963 Plymouth, this time equipped with the usual four speed manual transmission, would start second. Yet again, however, on lap 101, the transmission in Petty's car gave out and he watched the last 84 laps from the pits. David Pearson in a Cotton Owens Dodge qualified third, Dan Gurney, this time in a Wood Brothers Ford, was starting fourth and Dave McDonald in a Bill Stroppe Mercury grabbed fifth starting position.

A crowd of 58,265 fans watched Lorenzen lead the first seven laps before Richard Petty moved his Plymouth out front on lap 8 where he would stay until lap18 before Dan Gurney pushed his way to the front. Gurney led until lap 28 before Parnelli Jones put his Bill Stropped prepared Mercury in front. On lap 54, Gurney went back out front where he would stay until lap 185 and the checkered flag some 5 hours, 28 minutes, and 47 seconds AFTER the waving of the green. Gurney had a little more than a one lap lead on second place finisher Marvin Panch in another Wood Brothers Ford.

There were only two caution flags in the event, slowing the pace to an average speed of 91.245 mph. It was the caution flag on lap 86 which resulted in the loss of one of the most colorful pioneers of the sport when Lil Joe Weatherly lost his life in a bad crash in the "esses". Joe didn't wear a shoulder belt and when the Bud Moore Mercury slammed into the concrete retaining wall, driver's side first, Joe's head smashed into the wall and he was killed instantly. It took track workers more than 5 minutes to remove Weatherly from the crushed Mercury.

Another caution flew on the 15th lap when a west coast drive of some renown, took his Ford into a series of end-over-end flips which appeared to on-lookers as certain to cause severe injuries only to have the driver, Clem Proctor, come out of the mangled Ford dazed, but unhurt.

A.J. Foyt was running third in Banjo Matthews Ford when he went into a dirt bank which ended his day and relegated him to a distant finish.

Finishing Order:

1. Dan Gurney, Wood Brothers Ford, winning $12,870.00

2. Marvin Panch, Wood Brothers Ford, winning $6,650.00 ( l lap down)

3. Fireball Roberts, Holman-Moody Ford, winning $3,900.00 (2 laps down)

4. Bill Amick, Bill Stroppe Mercury, winning $2,470.00 (4 laps down)

5. Ned Jarrett, Bondy Long Ford, winning $1,750.00 (5 laps down)

6. David Pearson

7. Marvin Porter

8. Skip Hudson

9. Darel Dieringer

10. Troy Ruttman

11. Don White

12. Eddie Gray

13. Billy Wade

14. Jim Cook

15. Tiny Lund

16. Bruce Worrell

17. Fred Lorenzen

18. Jim Bray

19. Lloyd Dane

20, Dick Mitchell

21. A. J. Foyt

22. Bill Clifton

23. Jack Anderson

24. Dave McDonald

25. Don Walker

26. Richard Petty

27. Jim Blomgren

28. Oren Prosser

29. Joe Weatherly

30. Paul Goldsmith

31. Dave James

32. Parnelli Jones

33. Chuck Daigh

34. Joe Ruttman

35. Walt Price

36. Curtis Crider

37. Joe Clark

38. Roger Ward

39. Clem Proctor

40. Don Noel

41. Danny Weinberg

42. Frank Deiny

43. Al Self

44. Al Brand

PERSONAL NOTE: I had watched my driver, Richard Petty, battle Joe Weatherly for the title in 1963, finishing second to Joe for the second consecutive season. I still remember the extreme guilt I felt because of Joe Weatherly's early departure from the Riverside race. It was the next day before we learned that Lil Joe was dead. Suddenly, to me, the championship didn't seem all that important. A man I had actually talked with many, many times and always enjoyed it, would not be returning in that familiar red and black Bud Moore Mercury to defend his title.

Joe's death at Riverside on January 19. 1964, began a trend of a terrible year for race drivers both in stock cars and Indy cars. Even as I sit here and write this "Minute" for today, I shed a tear that I actually felt pangs of joy when Joe crashed out and my guy was still running in the race. I was already anticipating a championship for the 1964 season. Even thought 1964 would end with my guy the champion. Just a little over a month after Joe was killed, I was standing on a pile of dirt on the shores of Lake Lloyd in the Daytona infield watching Richard Petty win the first of his seven Daytona 500s. I was hanging on the fence outside victory lane absolutely floating on air that Richard had now won on a super speedway, something he had not done before that day. It was not until we were rolling through Jacksonville on the way home that it hit me like a hammer that Joe Weatherly was missing from that race. Again I felt guilty for not realizing that as I had watched Richard Petty literally dominate the 500.

The sport was built by men like Joe Weatherly and all fans owe him a great deal of respect and graditude for what was accomplished by men like him. It bothers me when fans of today have never heard of Joe Weatherly or the many others that contributed so much to the sport. I doubt it would bother Lil Joe, however, as he lived to race and to enjoy life to the fullest. Seems to me that he accomplished that pretty well.

Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.

As with the 1963 MT 500, the Henry Ford Arte House has over 100 photos from this race on-line. Amazing collection shot by Dave Friedman. All can be viewed here:

http://thehenryford.artehouse.com/perl/collection.pl?collectionID=2826&productTypeID=62&ckon=leftNav

Here are a few choice shots:

Gurney

Dave MacDonald

Fireball

Little Joe before his fatal crash

The future King with a white or light-blue hood on the 43

Darel Dieringer

Fred Lorenzen

Marvin Panch

Clem Proctor

Better look at the 43's hood

Weatherly's death was the front page, above-the-fold headline in the Daytona Beach Morning Journal .

Race report from DBMJ .

Clem Proctor's pristine looking Ford BEFORE the race didn't look that way AFTER it.

Having worked with Joe Weatherly's last car owner, Bud Moore, as well as his first and business partner, Paul Sawyer, I heard many tales about Joe.

Bill Stroppe, the Mercury guru on the west coast had helped prep Joe's Riverside car.

In 1984, Tom Madigan released his Bill Stroppe biography, BOSS The Bill Stroppe Story .

The book contains this sad passage:

The Joe Weatherly Museum at Darlington used to have a pair of Joe's saddle oxfords on display. Don't know if it still does or not.

Joe's tombstone in Norfolk, Virginia's Forest Lawn Cemetery is shaped like the layout of the Riverside track:

Find a grave

From a May 1965 story about the Joe Weatherly Museum at Darlington in the Charleston, SC paper:

Our RR member, crabber1967, a Hampton, Virginia resident, once wrote these interesting remarks about the Joe Weatherly tombstone:

Not too long after the death of Joe Weatherly, I was riding with my father when he told me he wanted to stop at a place where I might see something interesting.

We pulled to a stop at a monument company! Displayed in front of the building were examples of the companys main product: headstones.

When we got inside, Dad asked the man to show me a proposal drawing for a headstone.

The proposed headstone was for Joe Weatherly. While the actual finished design of the marker differs from my memory of the drawing, the designs distinctive features are intact.

The marker is in the shape of Riverside International Raceway, as it was used for the NASCAR races.

(The cars followed the track going through the esses, then taking the right-hand Turn Seven then going straight to the right-hand Turn Twelve, for a 2.62-mile, nine-turn lap.)

The point where Weatherlys car impacted the wall (Turn Five) being marked on the headstone by crossed checkered flags.

Perhaps such an unusual headstone is appropriate for a man who was called The Clown Prince of Racing.

Race program from Laverne Zachary collection .

The starting lineup for the race on the pace lap. From Seavees.com .

Nice 7 minute video with several driver cameos, some practice action and race highlights.

And... of course, you noted the inclusion of Augie PABST in the video?!

Most certainly!

Before Dirty Dancing, Roadhouse and Ghost, look who was dancing for "Blues!"

From Motor Trend magazine after Joe Weatherly's death.

thanks tim although its been many years ago it is still hard to think back on joe losing his life and all the others that have gone on over the years the no 28 ford driven by fred lorenzen was sponsored by lafeyette ford in fayetteville nc

Lafayette Ford is still going strong in Fayetteviile, NC - since 1949!

Chase, as I recall the situation with this hood, the Petty team painted the car like that for the 1963 Firecracker 400 believing the white hood would reduce heat under the hood and the cooler engine would be faster. I know I read that somewhere. It is possible, I suppose, they had that hood left over after the Firecracker and used it on the last run for the 1963.

By Jove, I think he's got it! Good recall Tim.

Here is the 43 at the 1963 Daytona 500 - Petty blue top to bottom.

And here it is before the 1963 Firecracker 400.

Look again at the car raced at the 64 Riverside race. I think they re-used more than just the hood. I think its the same car. White lines extend down the window edge of the doors. Same cubic inch notation on the hood. And sheet metal work around the grill looks the same. Only difference is the painted Plymouth script on the rear quarter. Pettys probably didn't roll out their 1964 Plymouth gear until the next month's Speed Weeks.

And... in 1968 Richard had several white variations on his Plymouth Roadrunner... white hood AND roof at Daytona for 1968 Firecracker 400 and white roof only at Nashville in 1968:

All photos above posted by PMOSSBERG on Richard Petty fans section of ProBoards.com

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