In the interim, Panch was running flawlessly in the Catalina. When Goldsmith went out with his wreck, he had been averaging 118 mph. When he got back out on the track and up to speed, he initially was averaging about 107 mph. As the laps began to add up, the drivers started their rotations, taking turns in both cars. Setting the first record was the Catalina hardtop at the 500-mile mark. Running at a speed of 113.292, it eclipsed the 500-mile record in 4 hours, 24 minutes and 48 seconds. Drivers responsible for the Catalina's success were Panch, Sutton, Roberts and Goldsmith.
Following his stint in the Catalina, Roberts proved to everyone that the Nichels Engineering team wasn't about to be denied, setting a single-lap record of 122.132 mph on the 205th lap, in the previously damaged Pontiac Police Enforcer. Ironically, Nichels made an error in believing that the Enforcer still had a shot at breaking the 500-mile mark, too, and thinking Roberts was on his 197th lap, he signaled him "to carry the mail." Fireball responded by destroying Goldsmith's previous one-lap record by over three miles per hour.
The USAC and NASCAR stars drove through the night. With the cold weather making pit stops terribly difficult and keeping warm and awake the utmost priority, the Nichels team hammered out mile after mile.
Then at 4 a.m., the worst possible scenario was realized-it began to rain. With the 2.5-mile asphalt oval now glistening in the moonlight, Nichels' long years of race tire development with Firestone paid off handsomely as his team immediately began installing Goodyear tires with a softer compound designed for just this eventuality. The Pontiacs averaged around 110 miles per hour through the night. At daybreak, the Nichels Pontiacs were running so well in the rain that in one instance Nichels ran onto the track to raise hell with Sutton, who had just been clocked at 114 mph.
Despite the fact that the last 11 hours of the 24-hour quest were run in the rain, with snow and sleet appearing periodically, the performance of the drivers, pit crews, cars and tires proved flawless. Pit stops in particular were designed with speed in mind, as the Nichels team constructed a plate across the front end of a fork lift, which raised the entire car to the optimal height for fueling, changing of tires and exchanging drivers. The team also designed a pressurized fuel filling system that forced excess air and a trace of fuel to exit through an overflow vent when the tank was full. Impact wrenches were used for tire changes, and without exception, the tire changers were always done before the fuel fillers.
At 10:56 a.m., Nichels Engineering's team was rewarded for all its efforts when the previous 24-hour distance record was shattered with over four more hours to go.
In the end, the black-and-white Nichels Pontiac Enforcer (which caught and passed the red Catalina during the night), with Rodger Ward behind the wheel, took the checkered flag, traveling 2,586.878 miles or 1,034.750 laps during the 24-hour run, for an average speed of 107.787 miles per hour. Nichels' Catalina with Sutton crossing the finish line ran 2,576.241 miles or 1,030.496 laps during the 24-hour run, for an average speed of 107.343 miles per hour.
The Calumet Region's own Nichels Engineering had come to Indianapolis to break three separate speed records. Upon returning home for Thanksgiving, they owned all three honors. The new standards for the 24-Hour Speed and Endurance Runs were established with an average 24-hour speed of 107.787 mph, a 500-mile average speed of 113.292 mph, and the one-lap record at a sizzling 122.132 mph.
At DarlingtonNichels didn't stop there. On December 8th and 9th, his world-class team went to Darlington International Raceway, in South Carolina, and did it all over again. Under the sanctioning auspices of Joe Epton and NASCAR, Nichels' cars were certified to challenge the current Darlington records.