THE CLOCK

[Music] time runs out for Nelson Stacy a man who could have won the 1963 Atlanta 500 a slash Tire a vicious kid and Stacy sits pinned behind his wheel his ribs and pelvis broken a fierce man the stock car driver he faces life and death with one wisdom he understands drivers and cars like the keys in his pocket but the most important character in his life drama he doesn't understand at all two hands that never reach out to help him a life Rhythm more coldly precise than any heartbeat no compassion no warmth in this character with a round faceless face no physical connection with a stock car driver and yet it runs runs his very life [Music] time trials measure a man's racing worth in hundreds of a second the clock takes the form of stopwatches at the pit wall and a printing clock linked to an electric eye at the Finish Line the men go out to left foot four qualifying laps men like Buck Baker Paul gold smith Fred Lorenzen AJ FY go For Broke on the smooth mile and a half Atlanta aspa that clock face Smiles down on Junior Johnson whose new Chevrolet engine has been setting records four incredible zooms around the track bring whistles in the scoring Booth the top the stands [Music] NASCAR timer Joe epton confirms the clock's decision 141.020 milph a new track record chicken farmer Johnson gets the story from his crew with a what else is new nonchalant Johnson will have 45 other drivers against him men like Rex White Ned Jarrett Joe Weatherly Richard Petty Bobby John's Fireball Roberts tiny LUN [Music] Indianapolis Star Parnelli Jones Tangles with a home stretch wall and has to go through his qualifying run again how do you set a car up to last 500 mil at 140 m per hour between races shops do their hardest work preparing showroom stocks to take the punishment of the racetrack mechanics have their choice of replacement parts so long as they are stock they can tear down and rebuild cars s but NASCAR permits no hanky panky no modification except to keep the drivers alive Buck Baker helps to set up his son buddies Chrysler for the St Patrick's Day race in Atlanta Baker is one of scores of advanced garages throughout the country that look after their Stables of stock cars like Kentucky thorough breads the NASCAR circuit keeps drivers Crews and cars hopping from small dirt tracks to vast pave tracks first money keeps them going $75,000 of it in this big one Cars must be reworked to match the characteristics of each track so trailers full of men and cars pour into Atlanta raceways garage area for a week drivers make practice runs and Report what's needed mechanics go to work they swap tires piston rings entire engines to get that one right combination the pressure is on now the clock won't wait in the garage you hear about the men to beat Junior Johnson Fred Lorenzen Bobby Johns AJ F Buck Baker Paul Goldsmith that's the way the clock called it odds favor Fords and Pontiacs ahead of the faster Chevrolets in the first 16 rows Ford will have six cars Pontiac 12 Chevrolet 4 pneumonia puts budy Baker's mechanic in the hospital and his car is out of the running [Music] drivers can't forget Marvin Patch's fiery crash a few weeks ago and Flame proof their closed a wild mad super stock scratch off show WS The pre-race Spectators drers are foreign to the stock car racing fraternity they put on a noisy spectacle and the crowd eats it up get interested in ring youngsters shake their Elders with searing questions at the Youth Clinic The Day Before the Race they quiz driver Fred Lorenzen their favorite since he won two previous Atlanta races Ralph Moody who Partners the garage that tracks the fast Ford answers more pointed questions keynote of the session is safety these drivers mechanics and Factory men are parents they want children to understand that the sport is based on safety not while driving and by way of proving it the track stages a pit crew efficiency contest to see which six-man team can refuel and swap tires the fastest this car number 78 goes up in the air tick and it's race day in Atlanta Georgia NASCAR inspectors knows every engine every storage compartment and a final check by the rule book from this moment on no one may so much as put his foot on a bumper to tie a shoelace inspector ction seal cars move onto the track the clock ticks away the hours before the race out on the Super Highway a speed limit keeps a record 60,000 race fans from gunning their stock cars as they approach the ultr modern Atlanta International Speedway the garage fence draws crowds like flies to Honey fans read papers play cards eat lunch and uh uh uh in the 64 acre crowd is M Reynolds socialite owner of Ed Livingston's number 56 Ford the Atlanta 500 draws Enthusiast from all walks of life could there be any greater moment in a little boy's life than the time he got to put his arm around the real stock car driver threatening Skies failed to slow the Avalanche of humanity as a shrine uniform unit motorcycles before the main grand stand the standing room only sign goes up the track keeps the schedule ticking 46 drivers light into their cars and wait for the clock to Signal the start of the parade laps now there's a gentleman give the poor little girl a hand fellow a review of beautiful M draws attention away from from the drizzling Skies race time is 1:00 but no race not so long as that track is wet thousands grown suddenly an Express Train full of rain crashes into the Raceway can there be a race now officials in the tower say yes an hour later cheers burst from the arena as the sun announces one beautiful beautiful day Raceway president Nelson Weaver beams his pleasure the sun is out to stay and track records are ready to be broken the order is given for drivers to start engines and roll out onto the track into their earned positions Junior Johnson in his white Chevy and Fred Lorenzen in his white Ford lead the Roaring parade the word is out that the race will start on a green flag after a few laps and an biging Sun Dry the asphalt the caution flag keeps the charging Army down to 45 mph while the last traces of water are mopped up the cars are ready drivers are ready the track is ready goodness knows the crowd is ready officials will not hint which lap is to be the first of the race everyone stays in position waiting waiting for that green flag [Music] the clock says now here comes Ernie Moore's green flag [Music] [Music] Junior Johnson pulls ahead Fred Lorenzen drops behind each driver guns his car into the wide oval steering left left counterclockwise against the clock Against Time always against the clock always left the crowd stays on its feet because early laps often produce trouble Thomas Cox can't handle his board in the second lap he's out Johnson's number three Chevrolet shoots away to take what the sports casters are calling a commanding Lee his remarkably fast engine is King of the track will it last all 334 laps AJ Foy and a golden black number 13 Chevy is coming up behind Johnson now to take second position now over on the third turn a car is cutting sharp the crowd is on its feet it's a spin out John suth in number 30 Chevrolet losing it spinning to the dirt apron only 16 laps gone and two cars are out of the running make that three Paul Clark's number 74 car is lining Johnson and F make it a tight tuome burning rubber at 141 mph the mighty Tar Heel is showing everybody even the clock who's boss now Bruce brantley's fuel pump sends number 89 to the showers Johnson and F snake through 40 other cars hold it up with Johnson he signals his crew Johnson is pulling low going into the pits but it's not Pit Stop time Johnson's in bad trouble he's out of the race wow 65 laps and the fastest car on the track is out for good push rod trouble can't be repaired in time so the clock counts car number three out now in lap 71 AJ vo takes over over the lead in Smoky unix's number 13 Chevrolet Fireball Roberts Bobby Johns and Rex White Rumble right behind lenen is on the track but that's about all you can say for him James Norton blows his engine his number 65 Dodge scratches a smoky path to the pits and the end of the road the clock is sifting men from among men cars from among cars Buddy Baker looks sad out of the race voy surges forward never giving in to contenders nipping at his tail light no man on this track runs scared years of racing burn the courage into them a lifetime working with cars strips the men down to Bare fearlessness their relation with the clock isn't one of fear it's one of Master and servant drivers serve a master that doesn't think Before the Race began rain washed all accumulated rubber off the track that's changed things for all these drivers who set up their cars on a rubber saturated track the combatants Bunch up like a fist full of fingers pit Crews talk to their drivers with chalk boards that announce standings or signal pit stops before gas and tires give out mother please deed Jed and number 11 Ford is riding fast the weather is magnificent and the crowd rebels in it a Pontiac is in trouble over on the third turn and the crowd looks to see who's L Sutton and number 07 is spinning and skids into the track Edge he's blown his engine Sutton walks a head hanging bile back to his crew the caution light goes on to lock drivers in position until the track is ruled clear that caution light can be a blessing to other drivers they slip quickly into the pits to get service no they can't lose more than one lap so long as that yellow flag waves in comes Bobby Johns for an exhibition of precision tick tick tick John's goes back out in record time Larry Thomas pits his number two [Music] Pontiac back he goes Fireball Roberts drives is Fame to number 22 pag in for a fast refueling only one gas container May feed a car at a time and the amount of gas allowed at the pit wall is limited for safety so Robert's men throw the gas to that car Fireball will get about 5 mil to the gallon at high speed other cars grab the caution period to make engine repairs you see a little of everything at the pit wall even engines on fire in comes that number 99 Ford Bobby Isaac this is a driver's only chance to rest if you can call it that here's Fred Lorenzen who just went a lot of miles before coming in for two pit stops under this one [Music] caution he's been quiet these first 125 laps now he changes tires to get better turn traction [Music] back into the oval jungle boy that was hard work the green flag fluts O H the he's cut for 55 fast laps hold it Bo drops low he takes his Chevy into the pits with transmission trouble there's the word Bo and Chevrolet's chances in this race are through the crow looks for a new leader who's flying now Fireball Roberts that's who his 22 Pontiac sweeps the boys aside and rifles to the front here's a man who's taken trophies on most of NASCAR's tracks in the US Fireball for one knows he can't fight the clock he can lose that way he must work with the clock time after all is inevitable irrevocable the clock is Robert's master and every other driver's master [Music] [Music] Ned Jared skids at the first turn Rail and pulls out of it two scorers tabulate laps for each driver the driver might ask the clock what time will I finish this race too often the answer is too soon or too late now in the 132nd lap a fellow named Loren dashes out front to take the lead what a surprise maybe he's in the race after all barnelli Jones blows a tire on a piece of tail pipe and spins in the backstretch that number 15 Mercury is out to stay and the caution flag slows the traffic no sooner does the green light flash than Johnny Allen drops out with a blown engine Bobby Johns jumps forward in a burst of strength and snares the lead from Lorenzen in this 136th lap Bobby is won here before and aims to do it again now Johns has to fight for his front spot not against Lorenzen but against Joe Weatherly and his number eight Pontiac they drive side by side paint to paint mile after mile this is quite a trick at 140 to 150 mph there goes a car in trouble it's Bob James and number 32 going to the pit smoking like a rocket and the clock ticks away the laps and the chances to win [Music] bug Baker Billows in blue smoke one of the Pontiacs that could have won this race won't there goes a grand guy out of the race in the 157th left Larry Thomas kisses the race goodbye timing change double pits that number two Pontiac for Keeps Troy Rutman scrapes the home stretch wall number 84 Ford loses a wheel and bites the dust the rumbling race for the lead between JNS and Weatherly Thrills the crowd in an unforgettable Duo the two cars look perfectly matched in speed in the way they handle on the turns and straightaways it would be easier for JNS or Weatherly to drop back and draft the other but who wants to give up that lead it's a wild woolly battle John's pulls ahead now Weatherly moves up front Here Comes John's back up again now they come around like siamese twins how about that Herman beams got clutch trouble in his number 19 Ford you fans have seen beam leave a race pouth number 47 is going to the pits with more clutch trouble that's Jack Smith hey clock Watchers look at this Elmo Langley is running out of gas and Jean Elliot is snapping his fingers at time long enough to give Elmo a push both will come back to finish this race too this track is loaded with Southern gentlemen there goes another now it's Joe weatherly's race he's out ahead of Bobby Johns and the rest of the Brigade and keeps that lead to himself for 67 sweet laps this race is running around and around as if on the face of a giant cluck every lap is another countdown 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 speeding cars charge over unseen numeral they race each other and they race a great sweeping second hand Jim partu number 54 Ford is dead on the backstretch David Pearson goes out with a blown [Music] engine Fireball Roberts is getting wildly his tires have caught some of the oil from David Pearson's blown engine and he's off the track no he's coming back on Robert seems all right and goes right back into traffic as if nothing had happened except losing precious time what's with Joe Weatherly he's slowing down his car seems okay here he comes into the pits and we'll find out now Joe crawls out and Jack Smith slips in to relieve him Weatherly reports he's only half conscious from carbon monoxide poisoning now Rex White's head is bobbing inside his number four Chevy he's pulling in two his crew mechanically refuels and changes tires while white just as mechanically drags himself from the car that was killing [Music] him they pull off his hard hat Rex is almost unconscious he gets fresh air a [Music] Coke a good snort of ox oen and a trip to the hospital in the ambulance with him go Richard Petty and Paul Goldsmith so far eight top drivers now have had trouble with gas fumes the crowd can't understand even with Weatherly going out Smith holds that pontiac's hard gained lead but now on the 212th lap Lorenzen charges again it's his lead for four laps then JN takes command for 51 laps and now Lorenzen comes back again pass fast and takes the lead from [Music] John's Bob Cooper blesss out in Smoke as a broken connecting rod drives him off the track take your time drinking Bob time has run out for you [Music] and here comes another missile on Wheels Ford number 99 Bobby Isaac ready to hang up his crash helmet and go home time takes away there are only 21 cars left out of the 46 that started lenen has retained his lead since the 268th lap but he's stretching his gas and tires and he could pop any time now right behind him are Bobby Johns and Fireball Roberts they swing into a Battle Royal buzzing this mile and a half like two bumblebees look at them go John's Keep Second Place Roberts third Lorenzen stays ahead in first the winner has to be one of these three Lorenzen John's or Roberts another engine blown it's Jim Pascal and car 41 the spectacular number of blown engines is making history at this race watch it 20 speeding cars left on the track drivers no longer identify them El with a track with their cars with the crowds or with each other now in these closing minutes of the Atlanta 500 their only identity is with the clock they lives ride on the second hand that sweeps the clock's expressionless [Music] face Lorenzen is only one lap ahead of Johns and Roberts weatherly's Pac is in fourth place Fred fearlessly floorboards his foot in clock's record lap time the late start of the race is putting the end dangerously close to sundown no headlights on these cars this is a daytime sport the clock is ticking and Lorenzen is clicking will the clock destroy lorenzza now in his moment of greatness with a blown tire or engine or a dry gas [Music] tank Roberts pulls 11 in ahead of Johns to grab second position The Checkered Flag it's over Lorenzen wins tick and the race is over Fred Lorenzen has won the Atlanta 500 a second year in a row he averaged 130 and 1 12 mph a new record news writers and sports casters are saying his superb car his great mechanics are that lucky piece won the race or lorenzen's will to win or the carbon monoxide poisoning that hit other contenders or Fred's years of experience or the breaks in the pits but Fred Lorenzen knows better the race today was won for him by his sometime enemy sometime friend the [Music] clock I