Smith Sets Record in Firecracker 250 Victory
Charges Past Owens in Final Miles; Average Speed 146.842 MPH
DAYTONA BEACH, July 4 — Jack Smith, driving a 1960 Pontiac, produced one of the most dramatic finishes ever seen at Daytona International Speedway Monday afternoon, overtaking Cotton Owens in the final miles to win the second annual Firecracker 250 with a record average speed of 146.842 miles per hour.
Smith, who trailed Owens by more than a quarter mile with only 10 miles remaining, pushed his car to nearly 170 mph on the backstretch to close the gap. He swept past Owens on the 96th lap and held off a final challenge to cross the line roughly 30 feet ahead of his fellow Spartanburg driver.
A crowd of 22,000 rose to its feet for the closing laps, watching the two Pontiacs run nose‑to‑tail at speeds rarely seen in stock‑car racing. The race was completed without a single accident during the 100‑lap run on the sun‑baked 2½‑mile track.
Early Leaders Fall Away
Smith led the opening laps before Fireball Roberts moved ahead in another Pontiac. Roberts and Smith traded the lead while Owens and Bobby Johns stayed close behind. Roberts’ hopes ended on lap 18 when a blistered tire tore apart on the backstretch. He later retired when damage from the tire failure cracked his oil filter.
Johns dropped out on lap 54 with a broken axle and a blown tire. Red White, running strongly in a Chevrolet, lost time when a foreign object punctured his tire on lap 62. Johnny Allen, also in a Chevrolet, retired on lap 66 with valve trouble.
With the challengers gone, Smith and Owens settled into a two‑car duel.
Pit Strategy Sets Up Final Chase
Both drivers made two fuel stops — Smith on laps 39 and 78, Owens on laps 41 and 80. Owens gained 12 seconds over Smith in pit time and took the lead on lap 77, widening the margin to six seconds.
Smith responded with a relentless charge. “As flat out as I could go,” he said afterward. By lap 93 he had cut the deficit to three seconds. By lap 95 he was on Owens’ bumper. He made the pass on the backstretch of lap 96.
Owens stayed in Smith’s draft and attempted one last move on the final lap, pulling alongside briefly on the backstretch. Smith held the inside line through the East turn and powered ahead down the homestretch.
Record Speeds and Holiday Triumph
Smith’s average speed broke the previous Firecracker 250 mark of 140.581 mph set by Roberts last year. The victory capped a remarkable weekend for Smith, who also set a two‑lap qualifying record at 152.129 mph and won a 25‑mile sprint at 150.038 mph.
Smith collected $10,950 from the $38,500 purse. He lost 10 pounds during the race from the heat inside his closed car. His wife, Betty, who scored the race from the pits, said she feared Owens had him beaten until the final charge.
Smith’s Pontiac was prepared by Bud Moore and cost $9,000 to set up for competition. It was the same car Smith drove in the Daytona 500, where he led for 331 miles before mechanical trouble struck, and the same machine he drove in the World 600 at Charlotte, where he held a commanding lead until a punctured fuel tank forced him out.
Freddy Lorenzen finished third in a Ford, and Lee Petty placed fourth in a Plymouth, both more than a lap behind the leaders.
Junior Johnson, winner of the Daytona 500, finished 15th. Joe Lee Johnson, winner of the World 600, retired early with mechanical trouble.
For this Fourth of July, the victory belonged to Smith.
Smith Says He “Went Flat Out” to Capture Firecracker 250
Pontiac Driver Overcomes Pit‑Stop Deficit, Passes Owens in Final Laps
DAYTONA BEACH, July 4 — Jack Smith, the determined Spartanburg driver whose red Pontiac has become one of the fastest machines on the stock‑car circuit, said he simply “went flat out” in the closing miles Monday to win the Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Smith, who trailed Cotton Owens after the final round of pit stops, admitted he doubted he could make up the difference. Owens gained 14 seconds in the pits, taking on only 10 gallons of fuel while Smith was forced to take 20. With roughly 22 laps remaining, Smith began cutting into the margin, trimming seconds and fractions of seconds until he caught Owens on the 96th lap.
“I never even breathed the engine after the second pit stop,” Smith said. “I was going fastest down the backstretch — I reckon about 170.”
No Coaching Needed
Smith’s Pontiac carried a two‑way radio, but he said he paid no attention to it during the final charge. “They didn’t even talk to me for the last 15 laps,” he said. “I wasn’t listening anyway. I was just looking.” His mechanics, Bud Moore and Pop Eargle, said Smith knew exactly what had to be done.
Owens stayed close after losing the lead and attempted a final move in the last lap, pulling into Smith’s draft and edging alongside entering the third turn. “I couldn’t pull him enough when he made his move,” Smith said.
Roberts’ Early Speed Surprises Smith
One mystery remained for Smith: how Fireball Roberts managed to pass him twice early in the race. “I don’t know how Fireball did it,” Smith said. “I was running just as hard as I could go at the time.” Roberts’ Pontiac had qualified slower than Smith’s and ran slower in the 10‑lap trials, yet surged ahead briefly before retiring with tire and oil‑filter trouble.
A Rich Holiday Weekend
Smith earned $11,700 in prize money over three days, including bonuses and lap awards. Asked what he planned to do with the winnings, he replied, “I’m going to pay some of the people I owe. They got me down here.”
Smith owns the Pontiac he drove and said he invested $9,000 preparing it for February’s Daytona 500. As for the cost of getting it ready for the Firecracker 250, he laughed: “Lordy, I don’t know. I haven’t got the bills yet.”
Owens Says Smith “Knew Every Trick” in Firecracker 250 Duel
Second‑Place Driver Praises Rival After High‑Speed Battle at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, July 4 — Cotton Owens, weary and drenched from the heat of the Firecracker 250, leaned against his Pontiac in the Daytona pits Monday afternoon and summed up his long duel with Jack Smith in a single sentence: “I tried every trick in the book — and some that aren’t. The trouble was that he knew all of them.”
Owens finished only 30 feet behind Smith after 250 miles of racing at record pace. Smith’s winning average of 146.842 miles per hour set a new mark for the event, and the two drivers ran nose‑to‑tail for the final 22 laps in one of the fastest sustained battles ever seen on the Speedway.
Smith collected $10,950 for the victory. Owens earned $4,200 for second place.
Owens Makes Final Bid
Owens stayed in Smith’s slipstream during the closing laps, waiting for a chance to move past. Entering the east turn on the final lap, he made his attempt. “I thought I could hem him in,” Owens said. “But he didn’t fall for it. That was the difference.”
Owens said he could push harder coming out of the turns, but on the straightaways Smith’s Pontiac had “three or four miles an hour on top. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was enough.”
Smith and Owens were the only Pontiac drivers to finish the race.
Mechanical Troubles Thin the Field
Fireball Roberts, last year’s winner, retired early when a piece of tire rubber struck his oil filter and drained the engine. Bobby Johns, who had been running strongly, broke a rear axle coming out of the east turn and coasted to the grass.
Johnny Allen, in a Chevrolet, held third place until valve trouble forced him out on lap 54. Tom Pistone, also in a Chevrolet, lost power around the 100‑mile mark and retired with suspected rocker‑arm trouble.
Joe Weatherly’s Ford seized a piston, ending his day, and Tim Flock withdrew when fuel failed to reach his engine despite a full tank.
The failures prompted one driver to remark, “It doesn’t make any difference how fast you go. If you’re not there at the finish, you don’t collect.”
Smith Holds Off Every Challenge
Owens said he was puzzled by Roberts’ early speed. “I don’t know how Fireball did it,” he said. “I was running just as hard as I could go at the time.” Roberts’ Pontiac had qualified slower than Smith’s and Owens’, yet surged ahead twice before mechanical trouble struck.
Smith maintained his lead through the final lap, resisting Owens’ last attempt to pass. “He just kept coming,” Owens said. “I couldn’t pull him enough when I made my move.”
Courtesy of The Daytona Beach Morning Journal July 5, 1960 via Newspapers.com