1961 Southern 500

Race 42 of 52

Darlington
364 laps
Time of race: 4:54:45
Average speed of winner: 117.787 mph
Margin of victory: 2.64 sec.
Lead changes: 19 among 6 drivers
Cautions: 6 for 21 laps
Lap leaders: Roberts 1-15, Lorenzen 16-63, Roberts 64-79, Petty 80-82, Pearson 83-86, Lorenzen 87-90, Weatherly 91-103, Roberts 104-112, Stacy 113-123, Roberts 124-131, Petty 132-169, Stacy 170-182, Roberts 183-225, Stacy 226-240, Roberts 241-258, Pearson 259-260, Roberts 261-276, Stacy 277-302, Roberts 303-357, Stacy 358-364

Race notes: First win for Nelson Stacy. Finale for Joe Caspolich and Red Hollingsworth.

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	3	Nelson Stacy	29		'61 Ford	Holt-Stacy			364	5	72	running	18430	0
2	1	Fireball Roberts	22		'61 Pontiac	Yunick	Yunick	128.680	364	8	180	running	10670	0
3	9	David Pearson	3	Daytona Kennel	'61 Pontiac	Masoni			363	2	6	running	5060	0
4	7	Jim Paschal	44	Neill	'61 Pontiac	Julian Petty			359	0	0	running	2625	0
5	20	Emanuel Zervakis	85		'61 Chevrolet	Shook			359	0	0	running	2450	0
6	33	Ned Jarrett	11		'61 Chevrolet	B.G. Holloway	Allman		354	0	0	running	1500	0
7	26	Johnny Allen	14		'61 Chevrolet	Joe Lee Johnson			348	0	0	running	1195	0
8	18	Roscoe Thompson	24		'60 Pontiac	James Turner			347	0	0	running	1195	0
9	6	Ralph Earnhardt	6		'61 Pontiac	Owens	Owens		346	0	0	engine	875	0
10	36	Rex White	47		'61 Pontiac	Jack Smith	Clements		345	0	0	running	925	0
11	12	Bobby Johns	72		'61 Ford	Shorty Johns			344	0	0	running	750	0
12	16	Bill Morgan	66	Cafe Burgundy	'61 Ford	Ratus Walters			342	0	0	running	700	0
13	32	Elmo Langley	30		'60 Chevrolet	Fred Clark			341	0	0	running	500	0
14	14	Junior Johnson	27	Holly Farms	'61 Pontiac	Lovette			337	0	0	running	450	0
15	24	Tiny Lund	59		'61 Pontiac	Lynn Holloway			323	0	0	accident	650	0
16	40	L.D. Austin	74		'61 Chevrolet	L.D. Austin			321	0	0	running	350	0
17	35	Jimmy Pardue	54		'60 Chevrolet	Pardue			316	0	0	running	300	0
18	39	Curtis Crider	62		'61 Mercury	Crider			312	0	0	running	750	0
19	23	Herman Beam	19		'60 Ford	Beam			312	0	0	running	250	0
20	17	Larry Frank	46		'61 Pontiac	Jack Smith			273	0	0	spindle	480	0
21	25	Dave Mader	90		'61 Chevrolet				262	0	0	timing	280	0
22	4	Joe Weatherly	8		'61 Pontiac	Moore	Moore		229	1	13	hub	370	0
23	31	Jim Reed	7		'61 Chevrolet	Jim Reed			228	0	0	brakes	200	0
24	15	Buddy Baker	86		'61 Chrysler	Buck Baker			221	0	0	bearings	700	0
25	34	T.C. Hunt	10		'60 Chevrolet				206	0	0	rear end	700	0
26	5	Richard Petty	43		'61 Plymouth	Petty	Inman		201	2	41	engine	1110	0
27	11	Buck Baker	87		'61 Chrysler	Buck Baker			190	0	0	connecting rod	220	0
28	21	Tommy Irwin	2		'61 Chevrolet	Tom Daniels			164	0	0	rocker arm	200	0
29	2	Fred Lorenzen	28		'61 Ford	Holman-Moody			158	2	52	throttle	950	0
30	19	Cale Yarborough	52		'61 Ford	Buesink			135	0	0	engine	200	0
31	8	Marvin Panch	42		'61 Plymouth	Petty			94	0	0	carburetor	200	0
32	28	Marvin Porter	82		'61 Ford				85	0	0	accident	200	0
33	29	Paul Lewis	1		'61 Chevrolet	Jess Potter			81	0	0	accident	200	0
34	30	Woodie Wilson	5		'61 Pontiac	Faucett			79	0	0	accident	200	0
35	38	Ed Livingston	68		'61 Ford	Crider			79	0	0	head gasket	200	0
36	10	Banjo Matthews	94		'61 Ford	Banjo Matthews			65	0	0	engine	430	0
37	22	Joe Caspolich	32		'61 Ford				50	0	0	rear end	200	0
38	27	Darel Dieringer	80		'61 Ford	Tubby Gonzales			45	0	0	rear end	300	0
39	13	Bunkie Blackburn	9		'61 Ford				34	0	0	head gasket	200	0
40	37	Friday Hassler	96		'60 Chevrolet	Cheatham			22	0	0	brakes	200	0
41	43	George Alsobrook	99		'61 Ford	B.J. Jones			2	0	0	handling	200	0
42	41	Red Hollingsworth	75		'60 Chevrolet	Braswell			2	0	0	handling	200	0
43	42	Lee Reitzel	93		'60 Ford	Reitzel			2	0	0	handling	200	0