1961 – Allen, Smith pilot Pontiac to Victory

 

Jack Smith (left) and Johnny Allen hold their trophies after combining efforts to win the Volunteer 500 at Bristol International Raceway.

Bristol, Tenn. (July 30, 1961) – A powerful Pontiac, more durable that it’s driver, zigged, zagged, and zipped to the first championship of the thrill-packed Volunteer 500, a grueling 250-mile test for any man or machine.

Jack Smith, a 14-year man in the auto racing business, gave up his big lead to reliefer Johnny Allen with 208 laps to go and the youngster cruised on to the checkered flag before a record-breaking crowd of 25,000 at the new Bristol International Raceway.

Finishing second, one mile behind, Fireball Roberts, in a 1961 Pontiac. Ned Jarrett, the NASCAR point leader, urged his 1961 Chevrolet to a third-place finish, a half-lap ahead of Dick Petty in a 1961 Plymouth.

The winning time was 3 hours, 39 minutes and 29 seconds and the average speed was 68.67 miles per hour despite a flock of yellow flags. Smith and Allen collected $3,240 for their prize.

Smith, the first official entry in the Volunteer 500, rushed to the front at the 75-mile mark but eventually fell back to third. Rex White, the defending Grand National champion, was two laps on top in his ’61 Chevy when his motor blew up and sent him spinning through a pool of oil into the infield.

Smith cashed in quickly during the break, made a key pit stop while the caution flag was out, took charge on lap 268 and, with Allen’s help, stayed out front the rest of the way.

“I just missed White’s car when he crashed,” said a smiling Smith after a kiss collection in victory lane. “After that, I thought we were in…I told Johnny to take it easy the last 100 laps. We were three miles in front at that point and a mistake was more dangerous than traffic.”

Fireball, a big favorite, who started far back and spent too much time limping around with blowouts, had the overflow crowd waving at him during the closing laps. Roberts roared past Jarrett on lap 407, withstood a threat from Petty and was chopping into Allen’s lead at the finish.

It was almost as crowded on the half-mile track as it was in the spacious stands. But with 42 cars in the starting lineup, there were no serious wrecks. Ken Rush, spinning weirdly down the front straightaway, slammed into the stadium wall, and crashed into the infield guardrail in the most dramatic accident of the day. Rush was not injured but his ’59 Ford took a serious beating

Junior Johnson, a 225-pounder with a heavy foot, cut in front of fast qualifier Fred Lorenzen on the getaway and led through 124 laps of nothing but trouble.

Going like a New York City taxi driver at 5 o’clock traffic, Johnson went weaving though traffic jams that seemed solid. He just missed a coasting Dodge seeking safety on lap 35, lost his left door when Joe Weatherly blew a tire and swerved, and was finally halted by two blowouts.

Allen, the 27-year-old from Atlanta, Ga., had never won a NASCAR race before and got this one because his Chevy caught fire on the sidelines. Smith, during a pit stop, saw Allen idle and waved him over.

“I started to take my car back on the track with 100 to go but just didn’t have the heart,” said Smith.


Results –


1. Jack Smith/Johnny Allen
2. Fireball Roberts
3. Ned Jarrett
4. Dick Petty
5. Buck Baker/Bud Baker
6. Joe Weatherly
7. Emanuel Zervakis
8. Jim Paschal
9. Sherman Utsman
10.Tiny Lund
11.Paul Lewis
12.L.D. Austin
13.Herman Beam
14.Larry Thomas
15.Curtis Crider
16.Herb Tilman
17.Bob Barron
18.Bob Welborn
19.Doug Yates
20.Reb Wickersham
21.Jimmy Pardue
22.Junior Johnson
23.Ken Rush
24.Wendell Scott
25.Rex White

Johnny Allen (left) and Jack Smith (right) are joined by Ms. Volunteer 500 - Mary Pendergast (left), Ms. Firebird - Janice Snyder (center) and runner-up Ms. Becky Barnett (right).