The 1963 Firecracker 400, held on Thursday, July 4 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, was the 29th race of the NASCAR Grand National Series season. The event consisted of 160 laps on the 2.5-mile superspeedway for a total distance of 400 miles and was completed at an average speed of 150.927 mph, with 39 lead changes among several drivers and 3 cautions for 19 laps.
Fireball Roberts, driving the #22 Holman-Moody Ford, started third and captured the victory after leading 63 laps. Pole-sitter Junior Johnson in a Chevrolet dominated early portions of the race, leading a race-high 66 laps, but suffered a piston failure on lap 111 that dropped him to a 17th-place finish. Roberts took control in the later stages and held off strong challengers to complete all 160 laps, marking another impressive win for the powerful Ford machinery and Holman-Moody team on the high-banked Daytona oval.
The top five finishers were Fireball Roberts in first (Ford, 160 laps), Fred Lorenzen in second (Ford, 160 laps, 16 laps led), Marvin Panch in third (Ford, 160 laps, 5 laps led), Darel Dieringer in fourth (Mercury, 158 laps), and Ned Jarrett in fifth (Ford, 156 laps). Other notables included David Pearson in sixth and Richard Petty in eighth. The race was marked by significant mechanical attrition, including engine and piston failures that sidelined several contenders.
This Independence Day showdown at Daytona highlighted the intense competition and reliability battles typical of 1960s superspeedway racing, further solidifying Ford’s strong presence in the 1963 season while delivering a thrilling spectacle for fans.
Ticket Stub Front
Ticket Stub Back
