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1961 : Lark at Charlotte World 600
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John, fair? The Lark's in front! (I know that doesn't mean what it looks like)
I would be interested in learning more about that era in NASCAR. Between the car size and the hp output, it appears that there were more than one class of vehicle racing the same track, or they had a more lax attitude to what they let race on the track at any one time. I like the hood securing bungee cord on the Lark. Really boys? You can fabricate any number of pieces to make that go faster, but can't fashion a more secure hood latch than a piece of clothesline or rubber cord??
Shifter4, cool pic, thank you.
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I don't believe there was any formula for power to weight in those days, there was just a maximum displacement.....but it had to be offered for public consumption I think. So the pontiac had 389 CI and the studie had 259.
The studey had no chance but could beat all the dnf cars.Diesel loving, autocrossing, Coupe express loving, Grandpa Architect.
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I bet you mean Smokey Yunick.....and well, maybe, yes. His rule reading was legendary.
I have his autobiography and although I love and admire him some of his claims seem, frankly, a little hard to believe. IE he claimed he did something to the flywheel on his pontiac stocker that acted as a blower and gave significant horsepower increases. I do believe most of it was true.....for example that chevelle that he qualified on the pole at Daytona was actually 7/8 scale. He narrowed it and even sectioned the grill so it all looked in proportion. His transam camaro was dipped and lightened and the subframe in front modified so he could set the engine lower....but then in those days even Penske was cheating in trans am, they had two cars, one legal the other 200# lighter and they switched the numbers and ran the same car through tech twice!
Those were the days. I am sure they cheat today too but in more subtle ways.Diesel loving, autocrossing, Coupe express loving, Grandpa Architect.
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1961 was getting toward the end of the era when anyone could enter and run. It was also getting toward the end of the era when half the field dropped out with engine and various other failures and thus a tortoise could place high if he finished. FWIW, the first high-banked superspeedway race was won by a Plymouth flathead 6-cyl who ran hard truck tires. He just stayed up against the guardrail and circulated at 75 MPH while all the faster OHV8s blew tires by the dozen.
jack vinesPackardV8
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Originally posted by ROADRACELARK View PostFrom the factory,the Pontiac's 389 cid with a single 4bbl made 333 hp. If it had the 3X2bbl option, (which I doubt it had) would have made 348 hp. That's only 138 hp more. Imagine how much more the full size Pontiac Catalina weighed than the Lark... (Details). Dan Miller Auburn, GA
We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.
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Here are the race results .:
Finish/start pos. / car No. / Driver / Make / Owner points / laps / Laps led / status / Money won .
There were 55 starters .48 53 31 Gene Stokes Studebaker Gene Stokes 0 95 0 Oil pressure 200
Also here is some info on the carbs etc . Having lived in Daytona for most of my years , we do/did
get a lot of stories thru the local paper , and through friends involved in racing . Back then , some of
the Nascar drivers lived in regular houses around town , as well as Smokey , and Ray Fox and others.
I remember this engine carb rule coming in .
"At the end of April 1957 NASCAR banned multi-carbs, fuel injection and superchargers. The new rule was a single 4-bbl. carb only. NASCAR did allow a camshaft change but it had to be a flat tappet cam. The reason NASCAR allowed non-stock cams was to make cars that were not available with hi-perf. engines to be competitive. For example in 1958 Fords had a new 352 FE engine that was not available with a hi-performance option. NASCAR allowed the '58 Ford teams to run a solid lifter cam in the 352/300. Another example would be Lee Petty's 1959 Olds that won the '59 Daytona 500. Car manufactures often put their own part #s on these "optional" cams. My '57 Olds J-2 had a solid lifter cam made by Isky which was available thru the Olds parts dept and it had an Olds part #." Last edited by shifter4; 01-06-2013, 05:31 PM.Bill H
Daytona Beach
SDC member since 1970
Owner of The Skeeter Hawk .
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I seem to remember that smokey bought up a bunch of second hand indy 500 tires and bought tall wheels so he could run them in nascar. I cannot remember the car though at that time. I do remember him being pretty tough to beat in the hudson hornets though.Diesel loving, autocrossing, Coupe express loving, Grandpa Architect.
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Originally posted by ROADRACELARK View PostShifter4,
Thanks for the great info. I thought NASCAR made some changes to "level the playing field", ok, track, not field. I just wasn't sure when they made those changes. Again, thanks for the info.
Dan Miller
Auburn, GA
Gene Stokes, himself, must have been an interesting character to "self-sponsor" a Lark and attempt to race it in the longest NASCAR event. I bet that is a "back-story" worth investigating.John Clary
Greer, SC
SDC member since 1975
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