1961 Cup Series Results

Complete race results with winners, margins, and laps led — 52 races. Data current through the 2025 season; 2026 results added as races complete.

NASCAR Cup Series results from 1949 through 2026 — 78 seasons of racing history, plus 44 seasons of O'Reilly Auto Parts Series results and 31 seasons of Craftsman Truck Series results. Every race on this page includes finishing order, stage points, laps led, and margin of victory.

Cup history splits into distinct eras: the strictly-stock and Grand National era (1949-1971) raced on dirt bullrings and new paved superspeedways with schedules as dense as 62 events; the Winston Cup modern era (1972-2003) standardized the schedule at 28-36 races per season; the Chase era (2004-2013) introduced a 10-race points-reset postseason; the elimination playoffs era (2014-2025) used four rounds of cuts to crown a Homestead-Phoenix winner-take-all champion; and the 2026+ Chase format brings back a cumulative-points Chase decided at Homestead-Miami. Modern races (2017+) have full stage breakdowns; historic races carry finishing order and laps led, since stages were not introduced until 2017.

Need the season opener? The Daytona 500 kicks off every modern Cup schedule. For postseason context, see The Chase.

Cup SeriesO'Reilly SeriesCraftsman Trucks
2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020
2010s ▾
2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
2000s ▾
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
1990s ▾
1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990
1980s ▾
1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980
1970s ▾
1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970
1960s ▾
1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960
1950s ▾
1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950
1940s ▾
1949
# Date Race Winner
1 Nov 6 100 Miles at Southern States Fairgrounds Joe Weatherly
2 Jun 4 100 Miles at Speedway Park Lee Petty
3 Feb 24 Daytona 500 Qualifer #1 Fireball Roberts
4 Feb 24 Daytona 500 Qualifer #2 Joe Weatherly
5 Feb 26 Daytona 500 Marvin Panch
6 Mar 4 100 Miles at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds Cotton Owens
7 Mar 5 100 Miles at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway Rex White
8 Mar 12 249 Miles at Marchbanks Speedway Fireball Roberts
9 Mar 26 Atlanta 500 Bob Burdick
10 Apr 1 Greenville 200 Emanuel Zervakis
11 Apr 2 99 Miles at Occoneechee Speedway Cotton Owens
12 Apr 3 38 Miles at Bowman-Gray Stadium Rex White
13 Apr 30 Grand National 200 Fred Lorenzen
14 Apr 16 Gwyn Staley 400 Rex White
15 Apr 20 100 Miles at Columbia Speedway Cotton Owens
16 Apr 22 Hickory 250 Junior Johnson
17 Apr 23 Richmond 200 Richard Petty
18 Apr 9 Virginia 500 Junior Johnson
19 May 6 Rebel 300 Fred Lorenzen
20 May 21 102 Miles at Riverside International Raceway Lloyd Dane
21 May 21 World 600 Qualifier #2 Joe Weatherly
22 May 21 World 600 Qualifier #1 Richard Petty
23 May 27 100 Miles at Ascot Stadium Eddie Gray
24 May 28 World 600 David Pearson
25 Jun 2 100 Miles at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds Jim Paschal
26 Jun 4 125 Miles at Birmingham International Raceway Ned Jarrett
27 Jun 8 Pickens 200 Jack Smith
28 Jun 10 Myers Brothers 200 Rex White
29 Jun 17 Yankee 500 Emanuel Zervakis
30 Jun 23 50 Miles at Hartsville Speedway Buck Baker
31 Jun 24 38 Miles at Starkey Speedway Junior Johnson
32 Jul 4 Firecracker 250 David Pearson
33 Jul 9 Festival 250 Fred Lorenzen
34 Jul 20 100 Miles at Columbia Speedway Cotton Owens
35 Jul 22 108 Miles at Rambi Race Track Joe Weatherly
36 Jul 30 Volunteer 500 Jack Smith
37 Aug 6 Nasvhille 500 Jim Paschal
38 Aug 9 Bowman-Gray 500 Rex White
39 Aug 13 Western North Carolina 500 Junior Johnson
40 Aug 18 50 Miles at Southside Speedway Junior Johnson
41 Aug 27 80 Miles at South Boston Speedway Junior Johnson
42 Sep 4 Southern 500 Nelson Stacy
43 Sep 8 Buddy Shuman 250 Rex White
44 Sep 10 100 Miles at California State Fairgrounds Eddie Gray
45 Sep 10 Capital City 200 Joe Weatherly
46 Sep 17 Dixie 400 David Pearson
47 Sep 24 Old Dominion 500 Joe Weatherly
48 Oct 1 Wilkes 200 Rex White
49 Oct 15 National 400 Joe Weatherly
50 Oct 22 Southeastern 500 Joe Weatherly
51 Oct 28 100 Miles at Greenville-Pickens Speedway Junior Johnson
52 Oct 29 149 Miles at Occoneechee Speedway Joe Weatherly

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the first NASCAR Cup Series race?
The first NASCAR Cup Series race — then called the Strictly Stock Division — was held on June 19, 1949 at the three-quarter mile Charlotte Speedway dirt oval in North Carolina. Jim Roper was declared the winner after Glenn Dunnaway was disqualified for illegal rear springs, making it the first of 200 sanctioned points races in Cup history's inaugural season of eight events.
How many NASCAR Cup races are there per season?
The modern NASCAR Cup Series runs 36 points-paying races per year plus 2 non-championship exhibition events (the Cook Out Clash and the All-Star Race). The regular season covers 26 races, followed by a 10-race Chase in 2026. Historic Cup schedules varied wildly — 1964 had 62 races, while 1949 had just 8.
What is a NASCAR stage?
Stages were introduced in 2017 to split each Cup race into three scoring segments. Drivers earn stage points (10 down to 1 for the top 10 at each stage break) plus a playoff point for winning a stage. Stage breaks also create competition cautions that reset strategy. Races before 2017 have no stage data — only finishing order, laps led, and margin of victory are available.
Who has the most NASCAR Cup Series wins?
Richard Petty holds the all-time Cup Series wins record with 200 victories across a career from 1958 to 1992. David Pearson is second with 105, followed by Jeff Gordon (93), Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip (84 each), and Cale Yarborough (83). No active driver has crossed 100 wins.
What was the first NASCAR race at Daytona?
The inaugural Daytona 500 was held on February 22, 1959 at the brand-new 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Lee Petty was declared the winner three days after the race in a photo-finish review over Johnny Beauchamp. The race has opened every Cup Series season since and is the most prestigious event on the schedule.
Where can I find historical NASCAR race results?
NASCAR Reference has complete race results from 1949 to 2026 for the Cup Series, 1982-2026 for the O'Reilly (Xfinity) Series, and 1995-2026 for the Craftsman Truck Series. Each result includes finishing order, laps led, margins of victory, and driver stats.

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