1962 Season Recap

Joe Weatherly used his scorching finish to the 1961 season as momentum for the 1962 campaign as he captured his first NASCAR Grand National (now the NASCAR Winston Cup Series) title.

Joe Weatherly, Richard Petty and Ned Jarrett each started 52 races in 1962, while Jack Smith started 51 and Rex White 37. Weatherly had quite a cushion on Petty in the standings, but Petty was on a hot streak at the end of the year.

FIVE RACES TO GO: Augusta, GA - Emerging star and NASCAR ambassador Joe Weatherly headed into Augusta Speedway with a 1474-point lead over Richard Petty with five races remaining on the 1962 schedule. His closest competitor got the better of him on this day, finishing second to Fred Lorenzen. Weatherly, however, came in third, followed by defending champion Ned Jarrett, who was third in points this season. Jack Smith, who held the fourth position in the standings, finished 12th.

FOUR RACES TO GO: Martinsville, VA - Again, Richard Petty finished second, this time to Nelson Stacy at Martinsville Speedway. Points leader Joe Weatherly kept the margin wide though with a fifth place effort. Ned Jarrett took third to stay in third place in the overall standings. Jack Smith followed the defending champion across the finish in fourth. Rex White, the 1960 NASCAR Grand National champion, was racing on a limited schedule but still found himself fifth in the standings. He raced at Martinsville, coming in 27th after experiencing engine trouble.

THREE RACES TO GO: North Wilkesboro, NC - Despite a spin early in the race, Richard Petty continued his hot streak but still did not make up much ground on Joe Weatherly, who finished in third place at North Wilkesboro. Petty cut Weatherly's lead to 1334 points, but with just two races remaining, Weatherly was on the verge of clinching. The other point contenders were average at North Wilkesboro. Rex White finished eighth, Ned Jarrett 11th and Jack Smith 13th.

TWO RACES TO GO: Charlotte, NC - Joe Weatherly finished in the top five for the seventh consecutive race and his consistency paid off. With a fifth place in the National 400, Weatherly clinched the 1962 NASCAR Grand National championship over Richard Petty. Petty finished the race in 16th place, but with a lead of almost 3000 points over Ned Jarrett, he was in no danger of losing the runner-up position in the season standings. Jarrett finished the race in 11th place. Jack Smith lost a fan belt and came in 24th. Rex White, making only his 36th start of the season, was 30th.

FINAL RACE: Hampton, GA - The season finale at Atlanta International Raceway saw Rex White win the 28th race of his career, taking the lead as Marvin Panch had to pit for fuel with three laps to go. 1962 champion Joe Weatherly made a charge but was 12 seconds behind White and took runner-up. Richard Petty was fourth, Jack Smith ninth and Ned Jarrett 40th after losing his engine. Weatherly won the 1962 title by 2396 points over Petty. Petty was 3104 points better than the third place Jarrett, who finished 2466 ahead of Jack Smith in fourth.