The 1965 Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 11, 1965, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.
The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s.
Background
Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.
The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.
Race report
There were 44 American-born male drivers on the grid. This race was the sixth Atlanta 500 to ever take place in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, the racing series would ultimately come to an end in 2011 to make room for a race at Kentucky Speedway. While the previous year's race was televised on CBS, this race was completely unbroadcast on television.
Jim Conway would be the race's last-place finisher due to a clutch issue on lap 1 out of 334 laps. Marvin Panch defeated Bobby Johns by two seconds in front of 50,700 people in his 1965 Ford Galaxie vehicle. However, it was relief driver and fellow Woods Brothers racer A.J. Foyt who took the checkered flag in the No. 21 Ford, Panch received credit for the win by virtue of NASCAR rules and regulations. There were eight lead changes in addition to five caution flags waved for 26 laps; making this race last almost four hours in length.
The average speed of the race was while Panch earned the pole position with a qualifying speed of . Other drivers in the top ten were: Ned Jarrett, Dick Hutcherson, Buddy Baker, Tiny Lund, Bobby Allison, Larry Hess, Paul Lewis, and Bub Strickler.
Vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company had the monopoly on this race. Jim Conway would make his introduction into the NASCAR Cup Series while Danny Byrd would leave the series after this race.
This race took place on the same day as the infamous 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado outbreak that occurred in the Ohio Valley.