Nashville's 1962-1963 Southern 300s

The Southern 300 reached a bit of a milestone with its fifth edition in 1962. The season ending race for Nashville's Fairground Speedways was held on Sunday, September 30th.

About a month before the Southern 300, Jimmy Griggs of nearby Donelson wrapped up his first and only Fairgrounds modified title with his fourth win of the season. The final race of the year was now simply about the best of the locals vs. the out-of-town ringers.

Bobby Allison won the first two features of Nashville's 1962 season. It was his brother Donnie, however, who captured the pole for the final race of the season. Fellow Alabama Gang members Red Farmer and Bobby Allison qualified second and third. Local racers L.J. Hampton and Charlie Parrish rounded out the top five starters.

As the race grew in stature over its first five years, it also meant some racers loaded up before the race even began. Forty drivers arrived to claim 33 spots. Speaking of stature, the race winner's trophy continued to be a sizable one coveted by all.

Donnie showed early his pole run wasn't a one-lap flash. At the drop of the green, he held the lead for the first 100+ laps. A cut right-rear tire, however, sent him to the pits and ended his lead. He remained in the race but had to settle for a fourth place finish.

About the time of Donnie's issue, things went even worse for track champ Griggs. He broke something in his steering, popped the wall, and collected several others - most spectacularly Bud Fox. No one was injured, but five of six cars involved were done for the day - including Griggs.

Following Donnie's tire issue and the Griggs-initiated, multi-car wreck, Farmer inherited the lead. Red held it until a scheduled stop near lap 150. As Farmer made his stop, Chattanooga's Friday Hassler ascended to the top for a few laps before his own stop.

Malcolm Brady, the 1960 Southern 300 winner, took over from Hassler and seemingly had the race in hand. Somehow, however, he and his crew misjudged his fuel mileage or didn't add enough fuel to his modified.

While leading at lap 265, Malcolm unexpectedly ran dry. He coasted to pit road, got a few gallons to last the remaining 35 laps, and returned to action. Though he salvaged a good finish, Brady lost his shot at a second Southern win.

By that point of the race, the Alabama Gang was no longer a factor. Donnie couldn't regain his early race mojo, Farmer had fallen out with engine issues, and Bobby Allison lost several laps after an accident with Coo Coo Marlin and subsequent tire issue.

Hassler re-assumed the lead following Brady's misfortune. Friday continued the remaining few laps and won by about a half-lap over second place Brady.

Carol Steele (Miss Fairground Speedways), Hassler, 
Nashville Mayor Beverly Briley, and Margaret Petty (Miss Tennessee)

Though Donnie Allison could not convert his pole start into a pole win, he did ultimately win five races at Nashville between 1965 and 1978 - including the 1976 Winston 200 that coincided with Sterling Marlin's first professional racing start.

The racers returned a year later for the sixth Southern 300 slated for Sunday, September 29, 1963.

When racers and fans arrived on Saturday, September 28th for practice and qualifying, soaking rains unfortunately greeted them. The full schedule was moved back one week with the race rescheduled for Sunday, October 6. The 1963 race was the first of only two Southerns postponed by rain with the second soggy one happening in 1975.

After things reset a week later, some fans may have experienced a bit of deja vu from the 1962 Southern 300. As he did a year earlier, Donnie Allison again won the pole. He also did so by setting a track record - just as he'd done in '62.

Unlike qualifying in 1962, a couple of Chattanooga-area drivers nabbed the next two spots instead of Alabama Gang racers. Freddy Fryar qualified second followed by Bob Burcham. Both drivers would have plenty of success at the Fairgrounds throughout the remainder of the 1960s on the track's original half-mile configuration.

The top three qualifiers posed for a promotional photo for the local paper along with young fan Opie Taylor. - Wait, check that. - The young fan was actually Russ Thompson, known today by many across the web as Calhoun98 and a walking encyclopedia of racing knowledge from Nashville, NASCAR, Indy Car, and karting.

A lap-80 wreck eliminated several contenders including Fryar and Burcham. Mechanical woes doomed Red Farmer and NASCAR's Joe Lee Johnson.

Consequently, the top two finishers from 1962 - Friday Hassler and Malcolm Brady - once again found themselves at the head of the field again in 1963 for the better part of the final 200 laps. The duo separated themselves from the remainder of the field and were soon the only two cars remaining on the lead lap.

Hassler and Brady had differing race strategies. Hassler needed only one pit stop whereas Brady required three. Adding to deja vu feelings for Brady perhaps was his third and final stop. In 1962, he had to make an unscheduled stop for fuel. A third stop was needed in 1963 with 70 laps to go, but miscues extended the stop and put Malcolm well behind Hassler.

With 50 laps to go, however, Brady was down but not out. He closed the gap on Hassler and maintained pressure in an effort to force Friday into a mistake. Hassler didn't crack though, kept his rhythm, and crossed the finish line to secure back-to-back Southern 300 wins.

Not only was the race meaningful for Hassler individually, but it also marked a point of significant demarcation for the Fairgrounds. After six years of the modifieds as the featured division, big changes were ahead.

The track moved to full-bodied late model modified sedans beginning in 1964. The change was in line with other regional short tracks, but the news didn't come without come controversy and grumbling from the area racers. In 2011, Russ Thompson blogged about Nashville's new division that followed Hassler's win in Nashville's final modified race.

Source: Eddie Shaub / Nashville Fairgrounds Racing History

Friday took home the trophy for the 1963 season-ending race, and Coo Coo Marlin secured his second of four track championships. Marlin's first two titles came in Nashville's modifieds, and he earned his other two in the successor late model division. Interestingly, Coo Coo didn't win a single feature during his 1963 title run.

Throughout the rest of the 1960s, Hassler continued to make the trek between Chattanooga and Nashville to race regularly at the Fairgrounds. Though he only returned home with four trophies, at least two of them were from the increasingly prestigious Southern 300.

He balanced his late model racing career with an increasing number of starts in NASCAR Grand National competition. Sadly, Friday died in a wreck during his 125-mile qualifying race for the 1973 Daytona 500 while driving his familiar red, See Rock City-sponsored, #39 Chevelle.

Source for articles: The Tennessean

TMC