Marvin Panch, the winner of the 1961 Daytona 500, brought the winning car to the ISC Archives yesterday to be put on display. Marvin is 86 years old now but has more energy than us 60 year-olds and is a great ambassador for the sport. He has a great Facebook page that his daughter Marvette keeps up and if you aren’t friends, you should be… This car is about 75% original and does it sound good when he fires it up! It was the car Fireball Roberts dominated the 1960 race with until it broke… In 1961, Smokey Yunick built Fireball a new 1961 Pontiac but the mechanics in the shop, own their own time, got the old car ready for the 500 and convinced Smokey to enter it also and put local driver Panch in it. Fireball won the first 100-mile qualifier and Panch finished second in the other one… Panch was given distinct orders not to race with Roberts though and just held back drafting other cars. Roberts led all but 17 of the first 187 laps but, true to form, his lead foot led to another blown engine and Marvin was there to take advantage… Just to see how times have changed, Marvin won a shade over $21,000 for winning in 1961 and this year the winner gets over $1.5 Million!!
I’m being told that this car is a replica, not a restoration, of the real car:
It would be nice to know where the real '61 Daytona 500 winner actually is. That car is a replica built by some Pontiac enthusiasts specifically for Mr. Panch. sigh
Over time, all replicas become real. They just do it faster in Gastonia.
If anyone’s familiar with Lee Holman’s attempts to pass off fabricated replicas as “real restored cars”, that’s where this comment comes in. Gastonia, NC is home to Holman’s shop.
When this car first appeared Marvin was very up front about it being a replica. I think it was built by Vernon Blank (former Smokey employee and the owner of the H.B. Bailey '72 GTO that ran 4th in the '72 Southern 500) and it was built using the same techniques and design as the original. Reportedly used some of Smokey’s original parts too, but that doesn’t make it a restoration.
Up until about ten minutes ago, I was a “friend” on Mr. Panch’s Face Book page. I noticed that he was describing the replica as the real deal there. I posted that it was a beautiful replica. That post went down the memory hole. So, quite naturally, I posted again. Oopsey. No longer Mr. Panch’s friend. There is clearly some attempt to perpetrate a fraud about that car going on. I note that NASCAR archivist, Eddie Roche, is describing the car as the real deal, too. He knows better. This is just wrong. I am saddened and disappointed. I am also really surprised that anyone thinks that this can be pulled off. The history of that car (the replica) is quite well know as Tom points out. Just more NASCAR hefer dust I guess.
There really just isn’t any question about the Pontiac’s replica status…the apparent concerted attempt to re-write history that’s going on notwithstanding. Like so very many competition cars from that era, the real car is lost to the sands of time. Not knowing exactly where it is (or went) does not undermine the very well known fact that Mr. Panch’s car…as nice as it is…never got closer to victory lane than the parking lot outside the track. I mean, good grief, when the car first showed up, magazine articles called it a replica if I recall correctly. Just sayin.
If you are a member of the site hosting that fiction (that you linked), you could do history a service by reposting the data in this thread. Or, you could let NASCAR try to pull the wool over the eyes of the rubes…again Sigh
Just thought I’d pass along some information. I wouldn’t know one way or the other about the real cars of this era.
I noticed this reporduction car had a column shift, and I didn’t see the transmission mentioned in the description. I wonder if it raced in period with a column shift 3 speed?
Most of the cars from the era had the shifters on the collumn because that is where they were when bought from a dealer as most were. Most had a rope, chain or something to make sure it did not come out of gear.
I know(knew) most of the people mentioned in the thread from the old days. Marvin and I had a lenghty discussion a few years ago(maybe 3?). He hasn’t changed much in his demeanor.
Bought a few engines from Holman-Moody back in the early 70’s to run in Late Model Sportsman which was like Nationwide today. We had to have the same license as the Grand National Drivers at that time. Not sure it is the same now.
Our state champion car was a 67 Fairlane on a 61 galaxie frame and a 427 engine(later 377 due to weight). The Late Butch Lindley was one of our competitors, if anyone remembers him(nice kid).
One thing fer sure - Marvin Panch is the real thing. I met him at the PRI show a couple of years ago and enjoyed every minute of our conversation. He had the car displayed in a trailer with clear plexi-glass sides.
