The 1963 Pickens 200 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 Series racing event that took place on July 30, 1963 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway

Greenville-Pickens Speedway

Greenville-Pickens Speedway is a race track located in Pickens County, South Carolina, just west of Greenville, South Carolina, USA, and just east of Easley, South Carolina. The track hosts weekly NASCAR sanctioned races. Several touring series visit the track each year, including the Whelen...

 (Greenville

Greenville, South Carolina

-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...

, 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...

).

Summary

Three lead changes ended up circulating amongst three different race leaders.

Two cautions were initiated by NASCAR with the average speed of the competitors being 62.456 miles per hour (100.5 km/h). Pole position winner 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...

 would earn the post with a speed of 65.526 miles per hour (105.5 km/h) on his 1963 Ford Galaxie

Ford Galaxie

The Ford Galaxie was a full-size car built in the United States by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1959 through 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford’s full-size range from 1959 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race...

 before losing to 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...

 driving his 1963 Plymouth Belvedere

Plymouth Belvedere

The Plymouth Belvedere was an American automobile produced by Plymouth from 1951-1970.-1951–1953:Introduced on March 31, the 1951 Plymouth Belvedere arrived as a two-door pillarless hardtop. It was Plymouth's first vehicle of such design and was built in response to Chevrolet's Bel Air...

 in the actual race. J. D. McDuffie would crash into the wall on his first lap in his 1961 Ford Galaxie vehicle; causing him to become the last-place finisher of the race. Frank Warren

Frank Warren (NASCAR driver)

Frank Warren is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1963 to 1980.Out of 88863 laps finished in his career, Warren had led 72 of them. Warren's total career earnings were $625,886 and while his average finish was 20th place in his entire career. The total amount of miles...

 would make his NASCAR debut racing against Buck Baker

Buck Baker

Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. , better known as Buck Baker, was an American race car driver.-Racing career:...

, Neil Castles

Neil Castles

Neil "Soapy" Castles is a retired NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver that participate from 1957 to 1976.-History:...

, 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...

, Wendell Scott

Wendell Scott

Wendell Oliver Scott was an American stock car racing driver from Danville, Virginia. He is the only black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. According to a 2008 biography of Scott, he broke the color barrier in Southern stock car racing on May 23, 1952, at the Danville...

 (NASCAR's first African-American competitor), and Cale Yarborough

Cale Yarborough

William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...

.

This racing event took place on a dirt track

Dirt track racing

Dirt track racing is a type of auto racing performed on oval tracks. It began in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 30s. Two different types of racecars predominated—open wheel racers in the Northeast and West and stock cars in the South...

oval with 200 laps being the pre-determined number of laps according to the NASCAR officials who sanctioned the event.