09/18/2021 – With today’s Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, we can look back to the inaugural Bristol International Speedway race, the Volunteer 500 on July 30, 1961, and note that Pontiac was the first marque to take the checkered flag at the legendary racetrack.
Dirt and short track wizard Jack Smith started 12th and eventually took his 1961 Catalina to the lead on lap 151 and proceeded to put on a short track racing clinic. However, the extreme heat took its toll and Smith pitted on lap 291 indicating that he needed help. Johnny Allen, who retired from the race after 106 laps due to a fire in his 1961 Chevrolet, was spotted by Smith’s crew and agreed to finish the race in relief for Smith; with Smith having built up a 3 lap lead on the rest of the field, completing the driver change without losing the lead was no problem. Allen kept Smith’s red and black Pontiac at the front for the final 209 laps taking the win, but with Smith getting the credit (having started the race).
On the day Pontiacs finished 1/Smith-Allen, 2/Fireball Roberts, 6/Joe Weatherly, 8/Jim Paschal, and 10/Tiny Lund; Pontiacs also led 439 of 500 laps – 243/Smith-Allen, 170/Junior Johnson, and 26/Bob Welborn.
Additional Pontiac-related history notes for Bristol’s debut on the Cup circuit –
First competition lap(s) led – Junior Johnson, laps 1-124 (even though Fred Lorenzen took the pole in his 1961 Ford).
First car to take to the track – Tiny Lund.
Pontiac swept the 1961 races at Bristol with Joe Weatherly taking the win in Bud Moore’s Pontiac for the Southeastern 500 on October 22, 1961.
Pontiac Racing 