The Devastating 1961 World 600 Crash

The Devastating 1961 World 600 Crash

The second running of the world 600 Was a Race everyone wanted to win the race had already established itself as prestigious by being one of the longest races on the schedule and the earnings for winning but the race was marred by one wreck involving Red’s kle a horrific

Wreck in which the driver lost his left leg little did anyone think at the time but a Monumental comeback was on the horizon for the driver one that would take almost 16 years right before the video starts make sure you guys leave a like if you enjoy and subscribe if you

Haven’t already as we are closing in on 75,000 subscribers anyway let’s get right into the video the first world 600 would take place in the middle of June 1960 Not only was it NASCAR’s longest race in terms of distance it was one of the fastest races in terms of speed on

The schedule it was behind the 2 and 1/2 Mile super speedway in Daytona and right with Atlanta which also hosted its first race in 1960 despite construction delays postponing the first world 600 at Charlotte over 35,000 fans flocked to the Raceway the endurance race was just

As advertised only 24 of the 60 cars that started the event made it to the 300 lap Mark the high speeds Testament of mechanical Innovation and The Fearless drivers made the first event one to remember Jolie Johnson took the checkered flag to win the first 600 by

Over four laps the event was quickly deemed one of the biggest of the year The Prestige of winning the longest race of the year was a true Testament of endurance Precision Focus equipment and preparation the second running of the race was much more hyped up as there

Were two qualifying races leading up to the event Richard Petty and Joe Weatherly won their qualifying races earning themselves front row starting positions for the Big Show unlike Daytona the qualifying races only set the front row everyone except Petty and Weatherly had to re-qualify for position

In the days leading up to the race interestingly there was another grand national race on the same day as these qualifying races all the way across the United States in Riverside California Lloyd Dayne took the checkered flag in a pretty lackluster field see all the stars were over in Charlotte for the

Qualifying races which allowed many underdog drivers rack up some good finishes and money the day before the 1961 World 600 there was another race at Ascot Park Eddie gray found Victory Lane in a similar scenario as Lloyd DNE but over in Charlotte during qualifying there was one particular driver who

Impressed everyone David Pearson Pearson was a second-year driver out of Spartanburg and had never even won a race before but by the end of qualifying the young kid was the best of the rest putting his Pontiac into third place for the start of the race Junior Johnson

Raced John Mason car for the second world 600 qualifying race and finished second but raced in his familiar Holly farms Pontiac for the 600 this left Jon without a driver and he picked up David Pearson Joe Weatherly led the opening lap of the race before Pearson passed

Him to lead the second lap Weatherly took the lead back for a few laps then nhart took over it was Ralph Pearson and occasionally Jack Smith exchanging the lead several times over the course of the first 100 laps Jolie Johnson the 1960 winner of the race went out on lap

46 after he wrecked Marvin panch and Curtis Turner went out of the race after panch blew a tire and collected Turner’s car I say Turner’s car because it was actually Larry Frank his relief driver who was at the will but the competitive race was marred by one major incident

Involving Red’s kle just passed halfway into the event in turn three the driver lost control of his car and hit the guard R headon the guard R impelled the car and ultimately took off Kel’s left leg below the knee he was rushed to cabara Memorial Hospital and conquered

Where his left leg had to be amputated above the knee the 29-year-old driver from Maryland also suffered many more Cuts bruises and a fractured right ankle despite this scary accident it was reported in the following days that he was in fair condition his wife and two

Of his kids were at the track it seemed like he wouldn’t just pull through but make a good enough recovery to live a life as normal as anyone could with just one leg but this was truly just an incident way too close for comfort if the guard ril impelled the car just one

Foot to the right it could have been much worse 20 ft of Steel punctured the car which traveled through the engine compartment firewall and exited through the door the caution was out for 25 laps because of the incident which is really not too long when you think about

Repairing 20 to 50 ft of guardrail NASCAR President Bill France was among the workers that red du post holes and strung still cables across the Gap so the race could go on it was reported that the initial guardrail was improperly stalled so I’m sure this one wasn’t much better it goes without

Saying but this was unfortunately Kel’s final ride in the grand national series in six years of competition he competed in just 25 races and finished with nine top 10 his best showing was a fourth place finish at Richmond just a couple of years prior but this isn’t where the

Story ends for the race or for kle as far as the race goes David Pearson went on to win his first Grand national race in one of the biggest stages in dramatic fashion he blew a tire with a couple of laps to go but continued on with just

Three tires reportedly going about 30 mph around the track fortunately he had a big enough lead to best Fireball Roberts he’d go on to dominate the series for years to come including three championships and 105 race wins over the next 20 years for Kel an incredible comeback would take place 16 years later

In 1977 the driver who was now in his mid-40s made a NASCAR comeback it would be in the NASCAR late model Sportsman series which is now the Xfinity series incredibly he was able to make a start even crazier in a second race at Beltsville Speedway his hometown track

He found Victory Lane but this wasn’t even a surprise he dominated this track four years earlier during a 1973 interview with the freelance star Reds described himself as a pretty successful race driver who happens to have only one leg first he talked about the accident he went on to say that the incident

Could have been a lot worse he could have lost his right leg the one he pumped the gas pedal with he was the unquestioned king of Beltsville Speedway a track known for its fast speeds and fat purses in this 1973 interview it was reported that over the past few seasons

He had a winning percentage of almost 60% so it’s safe to say that K was able to continue living out his dream the guy was winning so much that fans booed him as he walked out for driver intros he just won too much but his return did not come without

Controversy kle revealed that he sued NASCAR for negligence following his wreck and this went on for about 8 years so about to 1970 that entire time NASCAR suspended his license during this time he was doing some mechanic work and racing at some non- NASCAR sanctioned tracks but

After the case was settled out of court his license was reinstated and Kel began racing at Beltsville a NASCAR track from there he did nothing but win just what an incredible journey he ended his 1973 interview with this quote I’ve come through through this in relatively good

Shape at least I can walk and talk I’ve seen some guys pulled from rex that it just makes you sick that’s it for this video I hope you guys did enjoy if you did make sure you leave a like And subscribe if you haven’t already and I’ll see you guys in

The next video peace

The 2nd running of the World 600 was a NASCAR race everyone wanted to win. The race had already established itself as prestigious by being the longest race on the schedule and the earnings for winning. But the race was marred by one wreck involving Reds Kagle – a horrific wreck in which the driver lost his left leg. Little did anyone think at the time, but a monumental comeback was on the horizon for the driver, one that would take almost 16 years.

The Devastating 1961 World 600 Crash

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