Daytona 500 Winner Marvin Panch Dies

Marvin Panch

Marvin Panch, winner of the 1961 Daytona 500 at Daytona Int’l Speedway, died Thursday morning. He was 89 years old.

Panch, born in Oakland, Calif., was found unresponsive in his car Thursday morning. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead of natural causes.

A veteran of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s, Panch is best known for his stunning victory in the 1961 Daytona 500. Driving a 1960 Pontiac out of Smokey Yunick’s shop, Panch was running behind the newer 1961 Pontiac of teammate Fireball Roberts when the engine in Roberts’ car expired.

That handed the lead in the race to Panch, who would go on to win the event and score the biggest victory of his career.

Panch more recently

Two years later a trip to Daytona Int’l Speedway nearly cost Panch his life. Panch was injured when a sports car he was driving flipped and caught fire, leaving him with excessive burns that prevented him from entering the 1963 Daytona 500.

Panch, who was slated to drive for the Wood Brothers, requested that the team hire one of his rescuers, Tiny Lund, to drive in his place. The move paid off as Lund would go on to win the Daytona 500 that year for the Wood Brothers.

Panch would go on to make 216 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, winning 17 times between 1956 and 1966. He finished a career-best second in the championship standings in 1957.