• The first live network television production of Grand National racing is aired by CBS Sports on Jan. 31 from Daytona International Speedway as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular program. Not wanting to tackle the task of producing a 500-mile race, CBS broadcasts a pair of 25-mile pole position races held as a prelude to the Daytona 500 and two compact car events staged on the road course.

• NBC Sports films a four-lap, 10-mile "Autolite Challenge" invitational race Feb. 12 at Daytona, which airs during the telecast of the "Today Show." Ned Jarrett wins the event.

• Richard Petty scores his first Grand National victory Feb. 28 in a 100-mile race at the Charlotte Fairgrounds half-mile dirt track.

• "Thunder In Carolina," the first full-length feature film with a NASCAR racing flavor, opens in Southern theaters in May.

• New banked, paved superspeedways open in Charlotte, Atlanta and Hanford, Calif., and host Grand National races.

• Rex White wins six races en route to the 1960 Grand National championship, scoring 35 top-10 finishes in 40 starts.

• Eighteen different drivers score Grand National victories in the 44-race season.