1963 Firecracker 400 - NASCAR Race

Name of Race:	1963 Firecracker 400
Name of Track:	Daytona International Speedway
Date:	N/A

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is a 2.5 mile (4 km) tri-oval race track facility with a seating capacity of 168,000 spectators.

It hosts races of motor vehicles of various kinds, including go-karts, dirt bikes, motorcycles, sports cars, modified pickup trucks, and stock cars. The facility also includes a 3.56 mile (5.7 km) road course and a 180-acre infield, including the 29 acre Lake Lloyd.

NASCAR Begins At Daytona

NASCAR was founded by William France Sr. at Daytona Beach, Florida in 1947. The original premiere event in the series was held at the Daytona Beach Road Course. France began planning a new track for the premiere event in his fledgling series in 1953. On August 16, 1954 he signed a contract with city officials to create this new track that would become famous as the Daytona International Speedway. Ground was broken on November 25, 1957 The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track, and the large hole in the infield was filled with water and is now known as Lake Lloyd. The speedway opened on February 22, 1959 to a crowd of 41,000 people.

Daytona 500

The NASCAR Championship's most important race, the Daytona 500, is held annually at Daytona International Speedway. It is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) stock car race. The list of Daytona 500 winners is very long dating back to the inaugural race in 1959, and includes "The King" Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt.

More Daytona Races

NASCAR, the premier stock car organization in the United States, holds some of its most important races on this track. These include competitions in its Craftsman Truck Series (where pickup trucks are raced), Busch Series (the stock car junior league), and Nextel Cup series. The Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona is also held at Daytona.

The racing season begins at Daytona starting with the testing sessions. The year's racing begins with the 24 Hours of Daytona race in the Grand American Sports Car series. Then the racing begins for the Nextel Cup with the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel. The Craftsman Truck Series begins with the GM Flex Fuel 250. The Busch Series begins with the Hershey's Kissables 300, and then it is back to the Nextel Cup in "The Great American Race," the Daytona 500. The Nextel Cup also features the Pepsi 400 in July at Daytona.

Daytona International Speedway Under The Lights

Lights were installed in 1998 so that the Pepsi 400 could be held at night. However, the race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires that summer. The Pepsi 400 has been held under lights ever since.

It also contains an attraction called Daytona USA The winning car from the Daytona 500 is placed in front of the attraction building each year.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

1963 Firecracker 400 NASCAR Race Results

Below are the race results for 1963 Firecracker 400, in order of finishing place.

Fin	Driver	Num	Start	Money	Laps	Status	Sponsor
1	Fireball Roberts	22	3	$12,100	160	running	Holman-Moody
2	Fred Lorenzen	28	4	$8,015	160	running	LaFayette
3	Marvin Panch	21	8	$5,310	160	running	Wood Brothers
4	Darel Dieringer	16	5	$3,175	158	running	Bill Stroppe
5	Ned Jarrett	11	26	$1,900	156	running	Burton-Robinson
6	David Pearson	6	13	$1,550	156	running	Cotton Owens
7	Jimmy Pardue	54	17	$1,350	154	running	Pete Stewart
8	Richard Petty	43	18	$1,250	154	running	Petty Enterprises
10	Tiny Lund	0	10	$1,100	145	crash	Holman-Moody
11	A.J. Foyt	13	31	$750	145	engine	Smokey Yunick
13	Herman Beam	19	21	$650	142	running	Herman Beam
14	Wendell Scott	34	27	$550	135	running	Wendell Scott
15	Buck Baker	87	15	$550	124	engine	Buck Baker
16	Bobby Isaac	99	30	$450	112	engine	Bondy Long
17	Junior Johnson	3	1	$1,500	111	piston	Holly Farms
18	Joe Weatherly	8	12	$850	102	engine	Bud Moore
19	Billy Wade	5	23	$450	95	clutch	Cotton Owens
21	Rex White	4	7	$500	79	engine	Louis Clements
22	Ed Livingston	56	25	$350	79	timing	Mamie Reynolds
23	Jim Paschal	3	2	$900	61	piston	Holly Farms
27	Paul Goldsmith	1	6	$600	40	windshield	Ray Nichels
28	Bobby Johns	7	14	$350	25	radiator	Shorty Johns
29	Bob Welborn	39	32	$325	23	clutch	E.A. McQuaig
30	Neil Castles	86	19	$350	21	vibration	Buck Baker
31	Stick Elliott	48	33	$300	16	heating	Jack Smith
32	Jack Smith	47	34	$275	14	heating	Jack Smith
33	Nelson Stacy	29	28	$300	11	engine	Holman-Moody
34	Cale Yarborough	97	35	$250	9	engine	Lewis Osborne
35	Curtis Crider	62	22	$300	4	engine	Curtis Crider