Nashville's 1961 Southern 300

The fourth annual Southern 300 was held at Nashville's Fairground Speedways, Sunday, October 1, 1961.

A storyline going into the race was the discussion among some about the racing future of Bullet Bob Reuther, the track's first modified champion in 1958.

A 10-time feature winner from 1958 through 1960 and the track's first modified champion in 1958, Reuther had only one win in the ledger in 1961.

Reuther's cars were prepared by Charles 'Preacher' Hamilton, grandfather of future late model and Cup racer Bobby Hamilton. He also had sponsorship from country music singer (and future part-time racer) Marty Robbins.

Some began to refer to Reuther in the past tense. Rather than discuss whether he remained competitive at Nashville, they instead recalled his remarkable 150 MPH down Daytona Beach's Measured Mile in 1957.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal

Source: Getty Images

A few days before the race, Coo Coo Marlin just happened to be in the neighborhood and wanted to run a few test laps. He took an afternoon break from farming and made the trek up Highway 31 from Columbia, TN - about an hour or so south of Nashville - to make some practice laps.

Unbeknownst to Marlin, the track had applied new asphalt in turn 3 to smooth out some rough areas. Coo Coo managed to get on the track despite the repave. He wasn't looking for speed runs. Instead, he was looking to estimate fuel mileage.

Unlike the previous Southerns, no scheduled stage breaks were planned. Coo Coo's plan was to go the entire distance on a single tank of fuel. If he could make it work, he could gap the field significantly and almost certainly put himself in a position to win.

Speaking of practice, Charlie Binkley pulled a fast one on co-worker and fellow racer Jack Hildebrand a few days before race weekend. Both raced in the hobby division on Nashville's quarter-mile track. A 100-lap race for the hobby class preceded the Southern 300.

Miami's Red Farmer captured the Southern 300 pole with a track record. (Farmer later relocated to Alabama but was originally a Nashville native.) Chattanooga's Friday Hassler, who finished second in the first Southern, qualified second. Locals Eddie Mitchell and Crash Bond made up the second row.

Front row starters Farmer & Friday

Farmer's pole run was no fluke. At the drop of the green, he buried his foot and towed the field for nearly all of the first 60 laps before mechanical gremlins parked his car.

As Farmer slowed while leading, Reuther pulled a somewhat unexpected move. He slowed himself, pulled in behind Red, and pushed him to the pits - costing himself track position.

Jimmy Griggs, the 1958-1959 Southern winner, took over from Farmer. Griggs' lead was short-lived, however, as engine woes sent him to the trailer at lap 77. Crash Bond then took the lead and paced the field for the better part of the next 50 laps, but he too was bitten by mechanical issues and loaded up early.

The discounted-by-some Reuther rallied back from his goodwill gesture towards Farmer; found himself out front following the losses of Red, Griggs, and Bond; liked it there; and stayed there until the two-thirds mark of the race when he had to pit.

Following his stop, Reuther returned to the track nearly a lap down to leader L.J. Hampton. Reuther, however, wasn't known as Bullet Bob for nothin'. He quickly found his rhythm and set sail in an attempt to catch Hampton who had already made his stop as well. Lap by lap, Reuther cut into the lead.

Reuther needed only 25 laps to catch and then sail by Hampton to retake the lead. He led the next 40 laps before rain arrived to end the race. For the second time in four years, the race was shortened - the other being the 1958 Southern 200 because of darkness.

Reuther continued to race at the Fairgrounds and elsewhere through 1963. After winning the Southern 300 in 1961, he won only once more in Nashville - a 30-lap modified feature in 1963.

In his heyday, Reuther was frequently booed by Nashville fans. Once he stopped racing, however, a fondness set in for him. The track recognized Reuther by naming two 100-lap late model features in his honor in 1968 and 1969.

Many years later after attaining his pilot's license, Reuther became the personal pilot for his godson, Bobby Hamilton. Reuther passed away in 2008 at the age of 80 - a year after Hamilton's death.

Source for articles: The Tennessean

TMC