Racing History Minute - 1964 Motor Trend 500 from Riverside, California
Stock Car Racing History
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.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM