The 1963 Atlanta 500, the 11th race of the NASCAR Grand National Series season, was held on Sunday, March 17, at the 1.5-mile Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia. The event consisted of 334 laps on the paved superspeedway and was completed in 3 hours, 50 minutes, and 12 seconds at an average speed of 130.582 mph.
Fred Lorenzen, driving the #28 Holman-Moody Ford, secured the victory after starting from the second position. The race featured 12 lead changes among 8 drivers, with notable stretches led by Junior Johnson, A.J. Foyt, Joe Weatherly, Bobby Johns, and others. Lorenzen took the lead for the final time on lap 268 and held it to the checkered flag, completing all 334 laps while finishing a full lap plus six seconds ahead of the runner-up. This marked another strong performance for the powerful Ford machinery in the early 1963 season.
Junior Johnson started on pole, and the 46-car field included many of the era’s top USAC stars including A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Rodger Ward, Len Sutton, and Troy Ruttman. Fireball Roberts would finish second followed by Bobby Johns, Joe Weatherly and Tiny Lund. Lorenzen’s win highlighted Holman-Moody’s engineering edge and his own consistency on the longer superspeedway events.
This race continued the growing prestige of Atlanta as a major stop on the Grand National circuit, delivering high-speed action and strategic battles in front of 55,000 fans during the spring of 1963.
Front Cover
Back Cover
Pages 6-7
Pages 20-21
Pages 28-29
Pages 36-37