Random Recap: The 1962 Virginia 500
Welcome to Random Recaps, our new weekly feature at From The Marbles. In this space, we’ll recap a race from the past at the track the where Sprint Cup Series is racing next.
This week’s race is the 1962 Virginia 500. Need to know how Random Recap works? Click here.
After Fireball Roberts had mechanical issues, Richard Petty cruised to victory in the Virginia 500.
Petty led the final 121 laps of the race, beating Joe Weatherly by a half lap for the win. While Weatherly was Petty’s closest competitor, by the end he was his only real competitor either. He was the only driver to finish on the lead lap.
Petty led for 145 of the race’s 500 laps and led for 24 laps from laps 112-135. He was passed by Roberts for the lead and he went on to lead the next 244 laps before Petty took the lead for good.
Roberts ended up having to retire because of a rear end problem. He completed 415 laps and finished in 18th place.
Rex White, Fred Lorenzen and Lee Petty rounded out the top five and they were all one lap down. From there, well, it was a long way back to sixth. Marvin Panch, who finished a spot behind Lee Petty, was eight laps down.
Darel Dieringer, the 10th-place finisher, finished 31 laps behind Richard Petty.
Only 14 of the race’s 32 entrants were running at the end of the race, which featured two cautions. The most common parts failure was a rear end issue. In addition to Roberts, it plagued five other drivers.
Epilogue: In the last two races at Martinsville, the drivers who finished in 18th have ended the race on the lead lap. And if you think two cautions at Martinsville is crazy, it is for modern NASCAR. Every race since the 1989 spring race has had more than five caution flags. The 1971 spring race, also won by Richard Petty, featured just one caution for three laps. We’re going to bet that won’t happen on Sunday.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
