1961 Firecracker 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1961)

Junior Johnson ahead of Ralph Earnhardt and David Pearson.

Status: Lost

The 1961 Firecracker 250 was the 32nd race of the 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series. Occurring on 4th July at the Daytona International Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by 1961 Pontiac driver David Pearson, whose 154.294mph speed was a stock car world record at the time. The race also has television significance, as it was the first ABC broadcast of a NASCAR event.

Background

The 1961 Firecracker 250 was the third running of the event, with its name a reference to the fact it was held on the United States' Independence Day. It was also the fourth 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series event to be held at Daytona International Speedway, after the Twin 125s and the Daytona 500, which in 1961 occurred on 26th February and was won by Marvin Panch. The Firecracker 250 also has ties to the modern Coke Zero Sugar 400 race, having dropped the Firecracker name in 2019.

Prior to the race, four qualifying events occurred, similar to the Daytona 500's Twin 125s. Fireball Roberts driving a 1961 Pontiac won the first race after leading all 10 laps. His pole time of 157.15mph was enough to win the pole position for the main event. Pearson and Panch, the latter driving a 1960 Pontiac, battled for the lead in the second race, with Pearson achieving an overtake on lap 4 to win the race and qualifying second in the race with a pole time of 156.222mph. Joe Weatherly dominated the third race with his 1961 Pontiac, with his 155.4mph speed being enough for third in the main event. Finally, Banjo Matthews in a 1961 Ford overtook Jim Bennett's counterpart to win the fourth race, qualifying fourth in the Firecracker 250 after setting a 155.065mph speed.

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1961 Firecracker 250 occurred on 4th July. The early stages saw Roberts and Weatherly fighting for the lead, with four lead changes by lap 17. However, following lap 80, both drivers began to fall down the pack, eventually finishing 5th and 6th respectively. Instead, a duel for the first position primarily centred upon Pearson and Fred Lorenzen in a 1961 Ford, with Lorenzen assuming the lead from Roberts on lap 81. Eventually, Pearson achieved an overtake on his opponent on lap 99, though faced intense pressure throughout the final lap. Ultimately, Pearson held on by an auto's length to claim victory and $8,050 in prize money. His 154.294mph speed set a stock car world record for the time. Meanwhile, Jack Smith in a 1961 Pontiac finished third, a lap down from the leaders, in a race that featured no cautions.

ABC Coverage

Aside from Pearson's stock car speed record, the 1961 Firecracker 250 also proved historic from a television standpoint, as on 8th July 1961, ABC broadcast a one hour highlights package of the race on its Wide World of Sports. Initially, ABC faced difficulties convincing NASCAR officials, including founder Bill France Sr.. In 1960, CBS televised a few races at Daytona prior to the Daytona 500. Despite the broadcast being the first instance of televised NASCAR, it was deemed a disaster, with long-time race commentator Chris Economaki noting the many terrible reviews, and how France Sr. was outraged over the announcers' lack of knowledge about the sport.

Because of the CBS broadcast, NASCAR officials were not willing to let ABC broadcast a race. However, a higher monetary offer and the promise to provide better, more intelligent coverage, helped convince NASCAR officials. For this broadcast, France Sr. recommended that Economaki call the race, which proved to be the latter's major break into sports commentary. Indeed, he contributed greatly towards the broadcast's success and later airings on Wide World of Sports, which often were quick highlights edited to provide a quicker pace for the race. Thus, Economaki would commentate on races, including the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, for four decades, while ABC continued to broaden its coverage of NASCAR over the next few decades. Whereas the 1961 Firecracker 500 was the only 1961 race to be broadcast, ABC broadcast the 1962 race, as well as that Series' Daytona 500 and Southern 500.

Availability

While confirmation that an ABC broadcast of the 1961 Firecracker 250 has been achieved, no footage of the race is known to be publicly available. Back in the 1960s, tapes of recorded television events were usually wiped and reused due to the immense cost of storing them. It is believed that the CBS coverage of the 1960 Daytona races was wiped, and it is likely the ABC's coverage of the 1961 Firecracker 250 also suffered the same fate. Nevertheless, there remains the slim possibility that a kinetoscope of the broadcast may still exist, similar to the CBS race.

Gallery

Images

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  Ticket for the race.

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  The race's Schedule of Events.

See Also

• 1960 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1960)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• 1962 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1962 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1963 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1963)
• 1963 Richmond 250 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session and race; 1963)
• 1964 Atlanta 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 National 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 Richmond 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session; 1964)
• 1965 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1965 Rebel 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1966 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1966 Southern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1967 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1970 Alabama 500 (found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 Wilkes 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Myers Brothers 250 (lost footage and official documents of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)
• 1972 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Bowman-Gray 100 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand American Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Firecracker 400 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Rebel 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1973 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1974 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
• 1975 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Dixie 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1975)
• 1975 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1976 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Dixie 500 (lost CBS footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Rebel 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Riverside 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Talladega 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Winston 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1978 NAPA National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1978)
• 1979 Daytona ARCA 200 (lost footage of ARCA Racing Series race; 1979)
• 1979 Dixie 500 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1979)
• 1979 Southeastern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
• 1981 Coca-Cola 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1981 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1982 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Eastern 150 (lost footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Twin 125s race 1 (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1982 Winston Western 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Southern 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1983)
• 1984 Delaware 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Goody's Sportsman 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1984)‎
• 1985 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1985)
• 1986 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1986)
• 1989 Busch Clash (lost footage of pre-season NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1989)
• 1992 Atlanta 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1992)
• 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 (partially found televised footage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; 1996)
• Jeff Gordon's 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 crash (lost on-board footage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race crash; 2008)
• NASCAR (partially found uncut footage of stock car races; 1960-present)