The 1962 Virginia 500 took place on April 22 at Martinsville Speedway. The event drew about 14,500 fans to watch a 32-car field tackle the demanding 0.5-mile short track.
Fred Lorenzen captured the pole with a qualifying speed of 71.287 mph. Fireball Roberts dominated much of the race, taking the lead on lap 136 and building a massive four-lap advantage before a rear-end failure on lap 415 ended his day.
Richard Petty, driving for Petty Enterprises in a 1962 Plymouth, started 7th and methodically worked his way to the front. He led 145 laps and won by a half lap over Joe Weatherly. Rex White finished 3rd, followed by Fred Lorenzen in 4th. Lee Petty took 5th in his first start since suffering serious injuries at Daytona in 1961 (with relief help from Jim Paschal).
The race had only 2 cautions, an average speed of 66.425 mph, and Richard Petty earned $3,400 for the victory. Afterward, Joe Weatherly left Martinsville with a 430-point lead over Jack Smith and a 462-point lead over Richard Petty in the standings.
