1962 Firecracker 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
Fireball Roberts (22) facing off against David Pearson (6).
Status: Lost
The 1962 Firecracker 250 was the 29th race of the 1962 NASCAR Grand National Series. Occurring on 4th July at the Daytona International Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by 1962 Pontiac driver Fireball Roberts. Roberts became the first driver to win the Daytona 500 and Firecracker 250 in the same year.
Background
The 1962 Firecracker 250 was the fourth running of the event, with its name a reference to the fact it was held on the United States' Independence Day.[1] It was also the fourth 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series event to be held at Daytona International Speedway,[2] after the Twin 125s and the Daytona 500, which in 1962 occurred on 26th February and was won by Roberts.[3] The Firecracker 250 also has ties to the modern Coke Zero Sugar 400 race, having dropped the Firecracker name in 2019.[1]
Prior to the race, qualifying occurred, with Banjo Matthews winning the pole position after breaking the two-lap time trial record in his 1962 Pontiac.[4][5] Bobby Johns and Johnny Allen, also in 1962 Pontiacs, qualified second and third respectively, ahead of Roberts in fourth. Richard Petty, driving a 1962 Plymouth, qualified 11th.[5] Heading into the event, his goal was to win the race for his two-year-old son, Kyle.[6]
The Race
With the starting order decided, the 1962 Firecracker 250 occurred on 4th July. Roberts made a great start, taking the lead on the first lap. However, he would be quickly passed by Matthews, and for the first 73 laps, Matthews and Johns would primarily duel for the lead, contributing to eight of the 14 lead changes. On lap 6, Petty crashed out, bringing out the first caution. On lap 34, the other caution occurred when a multicar crash involving the Pontiacs of Joe Weatherly and LeeRoy Yarbrough, and the Fords of Fred Lorenzen and Nelson Stacy, forcing all out of the race. Matthews was still leading by lap 73, but after holding out 32 consecutive laps, he retired after experiencing an engine failure. From that point, Johns and Roberts duelled, only for the latter to retire on lap 82 following transmission issues.[5]
With Johns also out, Roberts' only challenger appeared to be fellow 1962 Pontiac driver Junior Johnson. Ultimately, Roberts held out for the remaining laps to claim victory and $9,850 in prize money.[7][5] Johnson was the only other driver on the lead lap, with Marvin Panch in a 1962 Ford finishing third two laps down from the leaders.[5] For Roberts, this would be his second Firecracker victory, later winning the expanded Firecracker 400 in 1963. He was also the first driver to win both the Daytona 500 and Firecracker 250 in the same year.[8]
Availability
It has been confirmed that ABC broadcast 45 minutes of highlights for the race on 15th July 1962, as part of a double-header with the British Open Golf Championship.[9] But while confirmation has been achieved, no footage of the race is known to be publicly available.[10] Back in the 1960s, tapes of recorded television events were usually wiped and reused due to the immense cost of storing them.[11] Nevertheless, there is a slim chance that older NASCAR broadcasts might still be available in kinetoscope form.[12]
Gallery
Images
Marvin Panch during a pitstop.
Joe Weatherly walking away from his car following a crash.
Fireball Roberts celebrating his win.
Official program for the race.
Newsclip promoting the race.
See Also
- 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
- 1961 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National race; 1961)
- 1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)
- 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
- 1975 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1975)
- 1976 Dixie 500 (lost CBS footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1979 Southeastern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
- 1982 Twin 125s race 1 (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
- 1984 Delaware 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup 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)
- 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 (partially found televised footage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; 1996)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Forbes detailing the origin of the Firecracker 250, and its reporting on its 2019 name change. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the 1962 NASCAR Grand National Series calendar. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ Racing-Reference detailing results for the 1962 Daytona 500. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ The New York Times reporting on Matthews winning the pole position. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Racing-Reference detailing the start order and results of the race. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ RacersReunion containing a news clip where Petty aimed to win the race for his son. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ The New York Times reporting on Roberts winning the race. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ Bleacher Report noting Roberts' success at the Firecracker events, and how he became the first driver to win the Daytona 500 and Firecracker 250 in the same year. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ NASCAR on TV detailing ABC's broadcast of the race. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ Austin LaPlante's YouTube playlist of NASCAR events from 1949-1971, noting no footage of the race is currently accessible. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ Old Time Review detailing the practice of wiping. Retrieved 4 Jan '22
- ↑ Racing-Reference detailing how a kinetoscope of the CBS 1960 Daytona races may still exist, which might be true of the ABC broadcast of the 1962 Firecracker 250. Retrieved 4 Jan '22