The 1961 Wilkes 200 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Grand National Series race that took place on October 1, 1961 at North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro Speedway was a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996...

 in the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 community of North Wilkesboro

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina

North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was approximately 4,116 at the 2000 census and is now 4,245 as of the 2010 census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's Home Improvement, which continues to have a major presence in...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

.

Summary

The race took two hours and twenty-two minutes in order to resolve 320 laps in front of 9000 live audience members; with a track spanning 0.625 miles (1 km) for 200 miles (321.9 km) of racing action. Four cautions were given out for 24 laps. The average speed of the race was 84.675 miles per hour (136.3 km/h) while the pole position

Pole position

The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...

 speed was established by Junior Johnson who qualified with a speed of 94.54 miles per hour (152.1 km/h). Rex White

Rex White

Rex White is a retired American auto racer and NASCAR champion. White was one of the drivers who competed for the original Chevrolet racing team. He began racing in 1956, grabbing fourteen top-ten finishes. After a part-time run in 1957, White won twice in 1958...

 managed to defeat Fireball Roberts

Fireball Roberts

Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr. , nicknamed "Fireball", was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR.-Background:...

 by at least one lap. Joe Jones was the last-place finisher of the race. The other finishers in the top ten were: Richard Petty

Richard Petty

Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

, Junior Johnson

Junior Johnson

Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...

, Ned Jarrett

Ned Jarrett

Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...

, Emanuel Zervakis

Emanuel Zervakis

Emanuel Zervakis was a NASCAR driver and team owner. He won two NASCAR Grand National races in his career, both in 1961...

, Jimmy Pardue

Jimmy Pardue

Jimmy Pardue is a former race car driver who lived in North Wilkesboro, North America, USA.-Summary:He made his debut in 1955 at Martinsville, where he finished 28th after suffering hub problems in his Chevrolet Bel Air vehicle. He made his first full-time attempt in 1960 where he had eleven top-tens...

, Joe Weatherly

Joe Weatherly

Joseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...

, Bill Morton

Bill Morton

Bill Morton was Chief Executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority. He succeeded Ron Tuck, who resigned due to the SQA exams controversy in 2000....

, and Doug Yates.

Most of the drivers on this 30-car grid were driving cars belonging to the Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 and Pontiac

Pontiac

Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...

 manufacturers (with Ford

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 and Dodge

Dodge

Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

 fielding a relatively good minority of the racing grid). All the drivers who qualified for the race were American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-born males; there were no foreigners or women of any kind in this racing event. Banjo Matthews

Banjo Matthews

Edwin Keith "Banjo" Matthews was a NASCAR driver, car owner and builder.-Driver:...

would never race at Wilkes Motor Speedway again after this race.