FLASHBACK: Darlington Raceway September 1963

FLASHBACK: Darlington Raceway September 1963

On the eve of Clint turning 95, I thought I’d take us back, just as Clint was about to turn international film star. Here is a wonderful little piece on Clint attending the Darlington Raceway for the Labour Day Southern 500 on September 2nd 1963. 

Clint was there to actually form part of the judging team for the annual beauty contest. Naturally if there was a chance of a Photo opportunity, pictured behind the wheel of one of the track cars, you were certainly going to take it! Its not known if Clint actually took this car for a spin around the track or just jumped in the driver’s seat for the photo. However, if we know the then – 33-year-old Clint, and his love of cars, I’m betting he took it around a couple of times. 

The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is 501 miles (806 km) and consists of 367 laps. From 1950 to 2003, and again since 2015, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. The Southern 500 is largely considered one of the Crown Jewels of the NASCAR calendar, and has been nicknamed NASCAR's "oldest superspeedway race." For decades, the race has been considered by competitors and media as one of the more difficult and challenging races on the NASCAR schedule, owing much to the track's unusual, asymmetrical egg-shape, rough pavement, and overall unforgiving nature. Darlington Raceway itself has a long and storied reputation as the "Track Too Tough to Tame." 

Below: The original program for the 1963 Southern 500

Below: Here’s something rather special, a vintage documentary capturing everything of the 1963 event. If you look closely around the 8.00 min mark you will spot Clint at the beauty contest. Of course, the most significant thing about this event is the timeline. Although Clint was still filming TV’s Rawhide, it would be just 7 months before Clint was jetting off to Rome to make a little European western called The Magnificent Stranger – I wonder where it all went from there?

             

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