There was a 30-mile consolation race the day before this to determine the final 14 starters.
The crash that hospitalized Fireball Roberts before he died of pneumonia 6 weeks later.
Bobby Keck finished 14th in that race (in a 1963 Ford) but he was unable to start the 600 and his car was withdrawn, with Pete Stewart taking the last starting position as the first alternate starter. Major Melton finished 16th in that race driving a 1963 Dodge and was the second alternate.
Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race, as well as the Bank of America 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.
Race report
The race covered four hundred laps of the paved oval track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km). It took four hours, forty-six minutes, and fourteen seconds.[2][3] Seven cautions slowed the race for 48 laps.[2] The race averaged 125.772 miles per hour (202.410 km/h) and 144.346 miles per hour (232.302 km/h) was the pole position speed.[2][3] The attendance was 66,311.[2][3] Notable crew chiefs for this race included Bud Moore, Herman Beam, Ralph Gray, Glen Wood, Banjo Matthews and Dale Inman.[4]
Miss Linda Vaughn was selected to be Pontiac's representative at this event; she was an adolescent during that time.[5]
Fireball Roberts was involved in a crash while trying to avoid Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett's crash on lap 7.[2][3][6] Roberts was sent to Charlotte hospital.[6] While he was not seriously injured by the crash itself, Roberts was trapped and engulfed in a blazing inferno as his fuel tank exploded, while his ankle became pinned under the dashboard and caught by either the clutch or brake pedal.[6] The death would have occurred at the speedway if Jarrett hadn't pulled Roberts out of the fire.[6] He died on July 2 of that year; leaving behind a wife (Doris Roberts) and a young daughter (Pamela Jane Roberts Trivette).[6] Jarrett would go up to Roberts, and Roberts, who was uninjured and conscious, told Jarrett "Oh my God, Ned, help me! I'm on fire!" after being immersed in flames, as a result of the crash.[7]
Before the fatal accident, Roberts was going to announce his retirement from the NASCAR Cup Series after the race to work as a spokesperson for a beer company.[7] Fireball, as he was known to his racing fans and to his fellow drivers, was the first superstar of the superspeedway era.[7]
Doctors ultimately blamed his death on pneumonia and he spent the last 39 days of his life at Charlotte Memorial Hospital (now Carolinas Medical Center) in extremely critical condition.[7] The entire week from May 24 through May 30, 1964, ultimately became one of the darkest weeks in motorsports history as Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald were both killed in that year's Indianapolis 500. Actual home video footage of the accident was being recorded as the race occurred. The race would be televised tape delayed as a 30 minute broadcast on NBC. Roberts' body was eventually delivered to his burial crypt in Daytona Beach, Florida.[7] One of the quotes that came in an earlier race sometime prior to his death was "I fear fire the most!"
Numerous safety innovations came about as a result of Roberts' death including the fire suit, as some drivers still raced wearing jeans and t-shirts, as well as a specialized fuel cell for racing.[8] These inventions would first see usage at the 1964 Firecracker 400; just two days after Roberts' death.
