Glenn "Fireball" Roberts basks in the glory of winning the Southern 500.
Darlington, S.C. (September 2, 1963) – Glenn "Fireball" Roberts rode to victory in the safest, fastest, Southern 500 here Monday with a blistering average of 129.784 miles per hour as more than 70,000 watched.
“The safest Labor Day I ever spent,” said Roberts, after bringing his lavender Ford in 17 seconds ahead of hard-charging Marvin Panch.
Fireball became the third two-time winner in the 14-year history of the 500-mile event. Thee caution flag never came out. Roberts was 11 miler per hour better than the winning time of ’62 winner Larry Frank.
Roberts was running the last few laps with his fingers crossed as he was running low on gasoline. Had he pitted, Panch would have been the winner.
Not until the 330th lap – only 34 to go – did Fireball take the lead for good. His running mate in a Ford, Fred Lorenzen, made a pit stop and his engine smoking badly.
Fireball made his fourth and final pit stop with 76 laps left. The Daytona Beach veteran cut his speed from a high of 134 to about 128 in the final laps to conserve fuel. He finished with less than a gallon of gas in the tank.
Lorenzen finished third and it was just enough to put him over the $100,000 mark – the first time in history a stock car driver won that much in a season. His check was for $6,850.
The victory was worth $22,325 to Roberts, who teams with Lorenzen for the Holman – Moody firm.
Panch was plagued by the same hard luck story that has cost him other victories this season. He was leading with 76 laps to go when he ran out of gas and had to coast into the pits.
His stop was 32 seconds. At this point, Roberts came in for a 32.7 second stop and he went out to turn better than 134 miles per hour. Panch’s second place netted him $11,350.
Junior Johnson of Rhonda, N.C., in a Chevrolet, led for 122 laps. He and Panch traded the lead several times before Johnson left the race on lap 262 with overheating issues. At one point, he had a one-lap lead on the entire field.
There were 17 of the 41 starters running at the finish.
Nelson Stacy of Daytona Beach, the 1961 Southern 500 winner, finished fourth. Darel Dieringer of Charlotte, N.C., in a Mercury, finished fifth.
Joe Weatherly of Norfolk, Va., the defending NASCAR Grand National champion, and current point leader, hiked his total to 27,180 with his seventh-place finish. Richard Petty of Randleman, N.C., who finished 12th in his Plymouth, is second with 26,658.
David Pearson, the Spartanburg, S.C., favorite, driving a Dodge, was running one of his best races and moving up until he had to drop out with a broken axle. Pearson lost about 20 laps in the pits but came back to finish 14th.
Temperatures, reading at 90 degrees, according to the weather bureau, were cooler than usual for the Southern 500.
Results –
1. Glenn Roberts, Daytona Beach, Fla.
2. Marvin Panch, Charlotte, N.C.
3. Fred Lorenzen, Charlotte, N.C.
4. Nelson Stacy, Daytona Beach, Fla.
5. Darel Dieringer, Charlotte, N.C.
6. Rex White, Spartanburg, S.C.
7. Joe Weatherly, Norfolk, Va.
8. Tiny Lund, Cross, S.C.
9. Bobby Johns, Miami, Fla.
10.Buck Baker, Charlotte, N.C.
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