The 1964 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event held on September 27th, at the 0.526-mile Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. The race consisted of 500 laps and was completed at an average speed of 67.32 mph, with six cautions for 28 laps. It took three hours and 42 minutes.
A strong crowd of 18,214 spectators watched a competitive field of 40 cars take the green flag on the tight, paper-clip-shaped short track. Fred Lorenzen drove his #28 Holman-Moody 1964 Ford Galaxie to a dominant victory from the pole, leading an impressive 493 laps and defeating Richard Petty (who started 21st and led 5 laps) by just one-third of a second. Junior Johnson finished third after leading one lap, followed by Marvin Panch in fourth and Ned Jarrett in fifth.
The race showcased intense short-track action and the superior reliability of the era’s Ford machinery, while marking the first time the famous Martinsville Grandfather Clock trophy was awarded to the winner. It remains a classic mid-1960s NASCAR short-track battle from the sport’s early era.
