Fonty and Tim Flock along with Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, Ned Jarrett, and Bobby Isaac were considered to be below-average performers during the early years of NASCAR.
There were 42 American-born drivers who competed at this event; all of them were Caucasian males since Wendell Scott didn't make his introduction into NASCAR until the next decade.
Brownie King was the last-place finisher in this race due to trouble with his fan belt on lap 44.
While Rex White would zoom into the pole position driving at speeds up to 77.687 miles per hour (125.025 km/h) during solo qualifying runs, Bob Welborn in a 1959 Chevrolet convertible would defeat Lee Petty in a 1959 Plymouth hardtop vehicle by three laps averaging speeds up to 71.633 miles per hour (115.282 km/h).
Bill Scott and Dominic Persicketti were the typical example of maverick stock car drivers who drove during the days when it was affordable for the daring to go without a sponsor.