1964 Savannah 200

1964 Savannah 200

Race details[1]
Race 20 of 62 in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date	May 1, 1964
Official name	Savannah 200
Location	Savannah Speedway, Savannah, Georgia
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance	200 laps, 100 mi (160 km)
Weather	Mild with temperatures approaching 72.3 °F (22.4 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
Average speed	70.326 miles per hour (113.179 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Jimmy Pardue	Charles Robinson
Most laps led
Driver	Jimmy Pardue	Charles Robinson
Laps	137
Winner
No. 45	LeeRoy Yarbrough	Louis Weathersbee
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1964 Savannah 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on May 1, 1964 at Savannah Speedway in Savannah, Georgia.

Andy Buffington's top-10 finish would eventually become his swan song. Over half the field eventually got into the NASCAR Hall of Fame; making this a glorified All-Star Race. Short fields were common in those days because the money was tight for race car drivers, owners and manufacturers alike.

Summary

There were 12 American-born drivers on the grid; Ned Jarrett was credited with the last-place finish due to an engine problem on lap 127 of 200.^[2] Jimmy Pardue traded the lead with LeeRoy Yarbrough before he defeated Marvin Panch by one lap.^[2] Lug bolts forced Cale Yarborough to end the race on lap 185; though he finished in fifth place.^[2] It took nearly 90 minutes for the drivers to complete all 200 laps at speeds averaging up to 70.326 miles per hour (113.179 km/h).^[2] Pardue qualified for the pole position by achieving a top speed of 73.111 miles per hour (117.661 km/h) during the solo qualifying sessions.^[2] Monetary prizes after this race ranged from $1,000 ($7,629.83 when adjusted for inflation) to $150 ($1,144.47 when adjusted for inflation).^[2] The combined purse of the entire race was $3,790 ($28,917.05 when adjusted for inflation).^[3]

Andy Buffington made his only start in the racing event, while Yarbrough acquired his first NASCAR Cup Series win.^[4] More than half of the racing grid has been nominated to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. An untitled 1964 NASCAR Cup Series racing event at Rambi Speedway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina ultimately became the final race to host less than 15 drivers on the starting grid.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.

Finishing order

1. 45-LeeRoy Yarbrough†
2. 21-Marvin Panch
3. 43-Richard Petty
4. 87-Buddy Baker†
5. 19-Cale Yarborough*
6. 01-Curtis Crider
7. 6-David Pearson*
8. 71-Andy Buffington
9. 9-Roy Tyner†
10. 88-Jimmy Helms
11. 54-Jimmy Pardue*†
12. 11-Ned Jarrett*

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* signifies that the driver failed to finish the race

Timeline

• Start of race: Jimmy Pardue started the race with the pole position
• Lap 127: Ned Jarrett's vehicle had an engine problem, forcing him out of the race
• Lap 137: Jimmy Pardue developed problems with his vehicle's rear end, causing him to leave the race early
• Lap 138: LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the lead from Jimmy Pardue
• Lap 176: David Pearson excused himself from the event because of a problem with his vehicle's rear end
• Lap 185: The lug bolts on Cale Yarborough's vehicle became loose, forcing him to withdraw from the race
• Finish: LeeRoy Yarbrough was officially declared the winner of the event

References

1. Weather information for the 1964 Savannah 200 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1964 Savannah 200 racing information at Racing-Reference
3. 1964 Savannah 200 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
4. 1964 Savannah 200 racing information at Race-Database