The 200 lap race started with Cotton Owens on the pole and Jack Smith joining him on the front row. Junior Johnson won the four hour race driving a 59 Chevy owned by
John Masoni. A crowd of 38,775 watched as Johnson drove the number 27 to victory after starting in the 9th position. Bud Burdick, Pappy Crane, Dick Foley, Dick Freeman, Tommy Herbert, Dave Hirschfield, Bob Kosiski, Shep Langdon and Bill Lutz would retire from
NASCAR after this event.
Pre-race In late January 1960, the CBS network sent anchorman
Bud Palmer and 50 other employees to Daytona to cover the events in the first-ever televised coverage of a NASCAR event. Driver Speedy Thompson was quoted as saying It took cleaning crews and tow trucks only 39 minutes to clear the track for the restart. Marion "Bubba" Farr went on to win the record setting crash fest. He drove a 1956 Ford modified with a 1958 Lincoln engine and 6 carburetors, and finished with an average speed of . Roberts grabbed his victory on the paved oval completing the 40 laps in 45 minutes, with two cautions in a 1960
Pontiac. Roberts started second beside
Cotton Owens who won the pole with a speed of . Owens finished second, and
Fred Lorenzen rounded out the top 3 with 2 cautions for 5 laps. The first caution came on lap 1 when Gene White, Dave Hirschfield, and Tommy Irwin all got together coming out of turn two. Irwin and his
Ford Thunderbird took a trip into
lake Lloyd located in the infield, and Irwin had to swim to safety as the car was nearly submerged. By the time the yellow flag had been displayed, Roberts had already advanced to the front of the pack, and would never relinquish the lead. The win would give Roberts his 22nd NASCAR victory. Smith and his 1960 Pontiac captured the victory from the pole with a qualifying speed of , and completed the second race in just over 40 minutes with an average speed of . There were 2 cautions; and
Bobby Johns finished second with
Jim Reed grabbing the third spot. The first single lap caution came when
John Rostek spun on lap six, and the second caution, also a one lap slow down, came when Johnny Dodd Jr. crashed into the wall on lap 15. The dubious distinction of bringing out the first ever
black flag fell to
Herman "Turtle" Beam on lap 8 when officials noticed that Beam was running without his safety helmet, which he had forgotten on the starting grid. Smith set a record for the time by winning with the combination of his speed, and the minimal caution laps. The win was Smith's second of the year, and 12,500 people looked on as he and Roberts grabbed the two top spots in the qualifying races. Johns had grabbed the lead on lap 172, but the winds pulled his back window out, and he lost control. The 1960 race is remembered as being the slowest Daytona 500 race in history, as Johnson averaged just over the .
Legacy There were so many cars destroyed or damaged during the 500 that NASCAR officials felt compelled to cancel a couple races that were scheduled for the following weekend. Palmetto Speedway and Hollywood Speedway both lost their scheduled events due to the carnage at Daytona. == Official results==