Marvin Panch's win in the third Daytona 500 came two weeks before President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961



Panch's win came one day after 18 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team were killed in a plane crash in Belgium and two days after the element Lawrencium was discovered by scientists in Berkeley, Calif. President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in March, while residents of Washington, D.C. were given the right to vote in presidential elections later that month.

Marvin Panch's win in the third Daytona 500 came two weeks before President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961

Daytona Countdown: '61

Panch takes checkered flag; J.F.K establishes Peace Corps

By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
January 6, 2005
10:25 AM EST (15:25 GMT)

Driving a year-old Pontiac for Smokey Yunick, Marvin Panch beat Joe Weatherly by 16 seconds in the third Daytona 500 on Feb. 16, 1961.

With his $21,050 winner's check, Panch could have bought a new house (average 1961 price of $17,200) and would have had enough left over to put a brand-new 1961 Pontiac Ventura in the driveway. The Ventura's top speed was 124 mph, just 31 miles an hour off the pole speed of 155.709 mph, thanks to a V8 engine that produced 380 horsepower. Of course, the '61 Ventura only got 11.8 miles per gallon, but with gas prices averaging 31 cents a gallon, who cared?

Panch, an Oakland, Calif., native, had a better season than the 1961 Oakland Raiders, who went 2-12 under a pair of head coaches and lost their first two games by a combined score of 99-0.

On the radio, Connie Francis was wondering "Where The Boys Are." That song was No. 9 on the Cash Box charts in February, as Lawrence Welk's "Calcutta" owed the top spot. If Panch had driven from Oakland to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where the boys were on spring break in February of 1961, the 3,108-mile trip would have taken 62 hours at highway speeds -- or 20 hours and 46 minutes at Panch's race-winning speed of 149.601 mph.

Panch's win came one day after 18 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team were killed in a plane crash in Belgium and two days after the element Lawrencium was discovered by scientists in Berkeley, Calif. President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in March, while residents of Washington, D.C. were given the right to vote in presidential elections later that month.

Panch became the last Daytona 500 winner before manned spaceflight, as Russian Yuri Gagarin was sent into space on April 12. Alan Shepard became the first American in space on May 5. Twenty days later, President Kennedy announced plans to send men to the moon by the end of the decade.

A 23-year-old by the name of Bobby Allison made his Daytona 500 debut that day, finishing 31st in the No. 40 Chevrolet in the 58-car field. His son, Davey, would be born nine days later.

Current drivers born in 1961:

# Ward Burton (Oct. 25)

# Rich Bickle (May 13)

? Click here for more Daytona Countdown.

When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Peace Corps issues appeal to Thailand RPCVs Peace Corps is currently assessing the situation in Thailand, anticipates a need for volunteers and is making an appeal to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps. Also read this message and this message from RPCVs in Thailand. All PCVs serving in Thailand are safe. Latest: Sri Lanka RPCVs, click here for info.

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January 1, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Lesotho RPCV starts "Touching Tiny Lives" 1 Jan Guatemala RPCV was grassroots veterinarian 31 Dec Reginald Hodges will head Durham Literacy Center 30 Dec Ed Seidel is Director of Marine Resources Aquarium 30 Dec PC wants happy, shiny faces without felony convictions 29 Dec Newspaper says PC could go to India and Indonesia 29 Dec Tom Johnson choses to spend Christmas in Sierra Leone 28 Dec Barry Rosen helps compile textbooks for Afghanistan 28 Dec Dorinda Dove learned to appreciate midwifery in Africa 28 Dec RPCVs host Exhibition at University of Rochester 28 Dec Mike Tidwell calls on Sierra Club Official to step down 28 Dec RPCV says we can express patriotism as we see fit 26 Dec more top stories...

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The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.

Changing of the Guard With Lloyd Pierson's departure, Marie Wheat has been named acting Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations responsible for the day-to-day management of the Peace Corps. Although Wheat is not an RPCV and has limited overseas experience, in her two years at the agency she has come to be respected as someone with good political skills who listens and delegates authority and we wish her the best in her new position.

Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

RPCV safe after Terrorist Attack RPCV Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the U.S. consul general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia survived Monday's attack on the consulate without injury. Five consular employees and four others were killed. Abercrombie-Winstanley, the first woman to hold the position, has been an outspoken advocate of rights for Arab women and has met with Saudi reformers despite efforts by Saudi leaders to block the discussions.

Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here.

Your vote makes a difference Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

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