The 1961 Rebel 300 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) event that took place on May 6, 1961 at Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed the "Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition"...

 (Darlington

Darlington, South Carolina

Darlington is a city in and the county seat of Darlington County, in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is a center for tobacco farming. The population was 6,720 at the 2000 census and is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

). Two hundred and nineteen laps were done on an oval track spanning 1.375 miles (2.2 km).

Summary

Only one caution was given out and Fred Lorenzen

Fred Lorenzen

Fred Lorenzen , nicknamed The Golden Boy, Fast Freddie, The Elmhurst Express and Flyin Freddy, is a former NASCAR driver active between 1958 and 1972. He won the 1965 Daytona 500. Lorenzen was born in Elmurst, Illinois.-Early career:Lorenzen first caught the car bug young, and had built his first...

 defeated Curtis Turner

Curtis Turner

Curtis Turner was an early NASCAR driver. In addition to his success in racing, he made a fortune, lost it, and remade it buying and selling timberlands. Throughout his life he developed a reputation for drinking and partying...

 by six car lengths. Thirty-two thousand people attended this two-and-a-half hour long race. Speeds were considered to be 119.52 mi/h for the average speed and 128.965 mi/h for the pole position speed. The other top ten finishers were: Johnny Allen, Bob Burdick

Bob Burdick

Bob Burdick was a NASCAR driver from Omaha, Nebraska. He competed in fifteen Grand National Series events in his career. His win in Atlanta in 1961 made him the only Nebraska-born driver to win a race on the NASCAR circuit.Burdick made his debut in 1959, where he won the pole at Trenton Speedway...

, Fireball Roberts

Fireball Roberts

Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr. , nicknamed "Fireball", was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR.-Background:...

, Marvin Panch

Marvin Panch

Marvin Panch Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (born May 28, 1926, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver.-Early career:He started his racing career as a car owner in Oakland, California. One week, his driver did not show up, and he raced the car to a third place finish...

, Ralph Earnhardt, Banjo Matthews

Banjo Matthews

Edwin Keith "Banjo" Matthews was a NASCAR driver, car owner and builder.-Driver:...

, Bobby Johns

Bobby Johns

Bobby Johns is a retired American racecar driver.Johns raced in the NASCAR series in the 1956-1969 seasons, with 141 career starts. He had 2 wins among his 36 top ten finishes and finished the 1960 season 3rd in the points...

, and Ned Jarrett

Ned Jarrett

Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...

. The winner received the top prize of $8,420 ($ in today's money) while the last-place finisher (32nd) received $200 ($ in today's money). Ford

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 had the winning vehicle while Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

's fastest entry was third place.

There were two entries by a 1959 Thunderbird

Ford Thunderbird

The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...

 and Pontiac

Pontiac

Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...

 would have its fastest vehicle finish in fourth place. The Dodge

Dodge

Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

 driven by Bobby Waddell would finish in 29th and be the only entry for that manufacturer. Most of the DNFs were caused by crashes (the rest were caused by engine

Engine

An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...

s, handling

Handling

Handling stolen goods is the name of a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It takes place after a theft or other dishonest acquisition is completed and may be committed by a fence or other person who helps the thief to realise the value of the stolen goods...

, and oil pressure). Richard Petty

Richard Petty

Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

 would be noted for finishing in last place. This would be one out of the fifteen times in his 35-year long NASCAR Cup Series career that he would finish a race in last place. However, his final last place finish would be at the 1989 Holly Farms 400

1989 Holly Farms 400

The 1989 Holly Farms 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on October 15, 1989 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA.-Summary:...

 race that took place at North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro Speedway was a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996...

.

Everyone in the race who received winnings would gain a grand total of $30,625 ($ in today's money) collectively spread throughout the qualifying drivers.

Finishing order

1. Fred Lorenzen (sponsored by Courtesy Ford)
2. Curtis Turner (sponsored by LaFayette Motors)
3. Johnny Allen
4. Bob Burdick
5. Fireball Roberts
6. Marvin Panch
7. Ralph Earnhardt
8. Banjo Matthews
9. Bobby Johns
10. Ned Jarrett
11. Nelson Stacy
    Nelson Stacy
    Nelson Stacy was an American race car driver from Maysville, Kentucky. He won the 1958, 1959, and 1960 MARC Series Nelson Stacy (December 28, 1921 – May 14, 1986) was an American race car driver from Maysville, Kentucky. He won the 1958, 1959, and 1960 MARC Series Nelson Stacy (December 28, 1921 –...
    
    
12. Larry Frank
    Larry Frank
    Larry Frank was an American NASCAR Grand National driver. He is best known for winning the 1962 Southern 500.-Career:...
    
    
13. Emanuel Zervakis
    Emanuel Zervakis
    Emanuel Zervakis was a NASCAR driver and team owner. He won two NASCAR Grand National races in his career, both in 1961...
    
    
14. Jimmy Pardue
    Jimmy Pardue
    Jimmy Pardue is a former race car driver who lived in North Wilkesboro, North America, USA.-Summary:He made his debut in 1955 at Martinsville, where he finished 28th after suffering hub problems in his Chevrolet Bel Air vehicle. He made his first full-time attempt in 1960 where he had eleven top-tens...
    
    
15. Joe Weatherly
    Joe Weatherly
    Joseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...
    
    
16. Dave Mader
17. G.C. Spencer
    G.C. Spencer
    G. C. Spencer July 9, 1925 in Owensboro, Kentucky – September 20, 2007 in Johnson City, Tennessee was a NASCAR driver who competed in 415 Grand National/Winston Cup races from 1958 to 1977...
    
    
18. Tommy Irwin
    Tommy Irwin
    Thomas Andrew Irwin was a Major League Baseball player. An alumnus of the University of North Carolina, Irwin was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in and played three games for them in October...
    
    
19. Larry Flynn
    Larry Flynn
    Larry Flynn of Holly Hill, Florida, USA was a retired NASCAR Grand National race car driver that competed in eight races from 1955 to 1961. As a competitor in the 1955 Southern 500, he had the fastest finishing Ford in the race. His win gave creditability to the Ford racing teams...
    
    
20. Buck Baker
    Buck Baker
    Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. , better known as Buck Baker, was an American race car driver.-Racing career:...
    
    
21. Ed Livingston
22. Curtis Crider
    Curtis Crider
    Curtis Crider was a pioneer in NASCAR's early years.He was one of the hardest working and underfinanced racers to ever drive the stock car circuit. Landing in a lake eventually earned him the nickname "Crawfish." Like most early NASCAR racers, Crider was a bootlegger and delievered moonshine to...
    
    
23. Ed Markstellar (lowest finishing driver to finish the race)
24. Rex White
    Rex White
    Rex White is a retired American auto racer and NASCAR champion. White was one of the drivers who competed for the original Chevrolet racing team. He began racing in 1956, grabbing fourteen top-ten finishes. After a part-time run in 1957, White won twice in 1958...
    
    *
25. Buddy Baker
    Buddy Baker
    Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...
    
    *
26. Jimmy Thompson*
27. Tom Dill*
28. Paul Lewis*
29. Bobby Waddell*
30. Tim Flock
    Tim Flock
    Julius Timothy Flock was one of NASCAR's early pioneers, and a two time series champion. He was a brother to NASCAR's second female driver Ethel Mobley and NASCAR pioneers Bob Flock and Fonty Flock.- NASCAR career :...
    
    *
31. Elmo Langley
    Elmo Langley
    Elmo Langley was a NASCAR driver and owner. Langley primarily used the number "64" on his race cars during his NASCAR career.-Racing career:...
    
    *
32. Richard Petty
    Richard Petty
    Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
    
    *

Note: ^* denotes that the driver failed to finish the race.