April 12, 1964 - Hillsborough's Joe Weatherly Memorial

NASCAR's Grand National drivers rolled into Hillsborough, NC in the spring of 1964 for the Joe Weatherly Memorial race at Orange Speedway.

In 1964, the town of Hillsborough was spelled Hillsboro. And Orange Speedway was originally known as Occoneechee Speedway. The one thing that didn't change, however, was the toughness of the 9/10-mile dirt track. A fixture on the GN circuit since its first year in 1949, some argue it was NASCAR's first superspeedway. 

The track remained on the circuit until 1968 when it was closed. Fortunately, many remnants of the track remain at the site that has been developed into a park of sorts. The speedway was one of several featured in the first season of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Lost Speedways series on the Peacock streaming service.

The 1964 spring race was originally scheduled for March 15 and named in memory of two-time GN champion and future NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Weatherly. Little Joe was killed in January 1964 in a wreck during the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside, California's road course. 

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times

As a few other race promoters experienced in the spring of '64, rain washed out Hillsborough's original date. The race and celebration of Weatherly's colorful life was rescheduled for about a month later.

Two future titans of NASCAR started on the front row in a pair of Hemi-powered Mopars - David Pearson on the pole in Cotton Owens' Dodge and the future King, Richard Petty, in his Petty Blue Plymouth. Junior Johnson started third in Ray Fox's Dodge, and two Fords piloted by Marvin Panch in the Wood Brothers' 21 and Ned Jarrett with Bondy Long rounded out the top five starters.

Midwest racer , Dick Hutcherson, qualified seventh in his second career GN race. Hutch won the pole at Greenville-Pickens in his debut two weeks earlier and held his own until his Ford's lug bolts broke. 

The frequent IMCA circuit winner - on dirt - did not lack confidence as he made his way south. After winning the pole and running well at Greenville-Pickens, he wondered aloud for some to hear if he might be Junior Johnson's peer in dirt track racing. Johnson was among the best on dirt so Hutch's comment didn't pass without notice. After hearing it, Johnson quipped:

I've heard he's pretty good, and he must be. I hope he is. The better they are, the more fun it is to beat them.

Hutcherson countered once more with "I'll let what happens next Sunday (at Hillsborough) do the talking."

Driving a second family Plymouth, Maurice Petty started alongside Hutch in the fourth row. Ralph started 26th in the 28-car field, and it was the eighth and final time Maurice and Ralph started the same race.

Richard Petty dominated the first third of the 150-lap race by leading all but the opening lap of the first 50. Pearson then took the lead as Petty stayed in his tracks. Until...

Shortly after the two-thirds mark, the clutch let loose on the 43 Plymouth. He coasted helplessly into the infield with a DNF. 

With the King sidelined, Hutcherson did what he could to hang with Pearson. His efforts were to no avail, however, as Pearson led the rest of the way. About four years later as Orange née Occoneechee faded from the schedule, Hutcherson was settling into a new role at Holman Moody - Pearson's crew chief when he moved from Owens' Dodge team.

In the battle of words between Hutch and Junior, Hutcherson got the upper hand with a P2 vs. Johnson's 9th place result. Humpy Wheeler would have exploited the word with over-the-top racing promotions in the 1980s, and FOX/NBC would have touted the back and forth as a rivalry. In reality, the 'battle' was little more than respect between two truly talented and very confident drivers. 

Earnhardt rallied to have a great day with a P4. Maurice Petty, on the other hand, had about as lousy day as his brother. A broken transmission barely a third of a way into the race doomed him to a 22nd place finish.

Source: Charlotte Observer

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March 28, 1964 - Greenville 200

The 11th race of the 1964 NASCAR Grand National season was the Easter Saturday night Greenville 200 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. Four of the season's 11 races had been run in November and December 1963.

Dick Hutcherson, an IMCA champion from the midwest, made his way south to give NASCAR a go. In his first career GN start and in a Holman-Moody Ford, Hutch won the pole with a track record.

Source: Greenville News

Lee Roy Yarbrough started second with Ned Jarrett, Jimmy Pardue, and Ralph Earnhardt rounding out the top five starters. Other notable starters included:

• Maurice Petty qualified 16th in the 22-car field. The race was the 7th of eight times Ralph Earnhardt and Chief qualified for the same show.
• Richard Petty started seventh in a second Petty Plymouth.
• Jim Paschal started eighth in Cotton Owens' Dodge as a teammate to ninth place starter David Pearson. Paschal started the season with Owens. After a few more races, however, he returned to the Petty Plymouth team for whom he'd raced a good bit in 1962 and 1963.
• Marvin Panch, the 1961 Daytona 500 winner, qualified 10th in the famed Wood Brothers Ford. One has to laugh at the caption of the photo featured in the Greenville News. Panch had his greatest success at the wheel of the Woods' car, but it's rather certain the owners/crew were the ones providing the instructions. 

Hutcherson leveraged his top qualifying spot as the race began. He got the jump on Yarbrough and led the first 60 laps. When Hutcherson pitted, Richard Petty's Plymouth then went to the top of the board where it remained for nearly 30 laps before falling by the wayside with mechanical issues. 

Another Ford driver assumed the lead as Ned Jarrett led 88 of the next 89 laps. Along the way, the King took over the wheel of brother Maurice's #41 Plymouth. It's uncertain if Chief wasn't feeling well or if team owner and father Lee believed the car could get a better finish with Richard at the helm.

With just over 30 laps to go, Wendell Scott blew a tire on his Chevrolet. The car then rolled over although Scott was uninjured. 

When the race returned to green with about 20 laps to go, Pearson wrestled the top spot away from Jarrett as the two banged doors. Jarrett maintained hot pursuit, but Pearson led the rest of the way and won by about 100 yards ahead of Ned. Panch finished third - the only other car on the lead lap.   

Pearson's fifth career Grand National win came with his first of four victories at Greenville-Pickens. It was also his second win in three races having won at Richmond about three weeks earlier. Pearson took naturally to the track in a GN car as he'd run and won on his home track often in the track's sportsman division in the late 1950s. 

Source: Greenville News

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March 25, 1967 - Greenville 200

NASCAR's Grand National division rolled into South Carolina on Easter Saturday for the eighth race of the 1967 season for the Greenville 200 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. 

Looming over the early part of the season was a potential Chrysler boycott - just two years removed from when big names such as Richard Petty and David Pearson were sidelined as part of their factory alliance. Once again, the Mopar Brass wasn't happy with NASCAR and its allowances for Ford Motor Company. If Chrysler boycotted again, the Petty team would be parked as would Cotton Owens' team with Pearson. Rumors began to surface that both teams might consider leaving Chrysler though denials from both camps soon followed.

Dick Hutcherson won the pole in Bondy Long's Ford (which likely added to Chrysler's boiling point). Three-time Greenville winner Pearson joined him on the front row in Owens' Dodge. Pearson banked two of his three Greenville wins the previous season and was going for three in a row. Elmo Langley, Big John Sears, and Jim Paschal rounded out the top five starters. 

Pearson got the jump on Hutcherson at the start and led the first 74 laps before a caution for a two-car spin sent the drivers to the pits. Sixth-place starter, Richard Petty, received great pit service and put the 43 in the lead as the race returned to green. 

Unfortunately, Petty collided with Hutcherson as they exited the pits. Though King took the top spot, he faded after a couple of laps because of damage from the pit exit collision. About 20 laps or so later, Petty's Plymouth became more than a handful. The car swapped ends in turn four, and he found himself looking directly at oncoming traffic. That was it for the King, and the Plymouth was loaded on the trailer for the trip back to Level Cross.

Throughout the second half of the race, Hutcherson pursued Pearson in an attempt to get the lead. Pearson's Dodge never surrendered, however, and Hutcherson began to fade a bit as the race neared its end. 

Pearson had a dominant night to capture his third consecutive Greenville win, his second in a row after winning at Bristol, and the 30th of his GN career. He led all but two laps - the two led by Petty near halfway. Paschal finished second as Hutcherson faded to seventh with a bum wheel.

The win turned out to be Pearson's final one for Cotton Owens and his last in a Dodge. A disagreement, a misunderstanding, a difference of opinion, or whatever it was about a month of so after their Greenville win, Owens released Pearson. After missing a few races, Pearson then linked up with the famed Holman-Moody team - a move that kept his mojo going in the final years of the 1960s.

Source: Greenville News

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March 19, 1967 - Bristol's Southeastern 500

The seventh race of the 1967 NASCAR Grand National season was the Southeastern 500 at Bristol International Speedway. The Bristol-then was a far cry from Bristol-now. The track name, seating capacity, and most important to most - the track surface - was completely different than they are in 2021. 

The six races of the season were won by a Who's Who of Racing with Hall of Fame names such as Fast Freddy Lorenzen, The King Richard Petty, Mario Andretti, and Dan Gurney. As the teams pulled into East Tennessee, however, 1966 Rookie of the Year driver James Hylton sat atop the points. 

Despite winning ROTY, finishing third in the 1967 Daytona 500, and leading the points, Hylton's arrival at Bristol wasn't a sure thing. His partner in their independent racing organization decided the costs were simply too prohibitive to continue. With no one to share the burden - including no factory support from Dodge, Hylton was at a crossroads. 

After working out an exit plan with his partner though, the points leader did tow to Bristol in an effort to keep things afloat as long as he could. Unfortunately, Hylton's challenges continued as he fell out of the race with over 100 laps to go.

Source: Greenville News

Darel Dieringer captured the pole in Junior Johnson's Ford, and Lorenzen lined up alongside him in his pearl white #28 Holman Moody Ford. The King qualified third, and Dick Hutcherson timed fourth. Independent G.C. Spencer rounded out the top five starters.

Famed Baltimore Colts quarterback, Johnny Unitas, served as the grand marshal for the race. His appearance at Bristol prefaced his fantastic 1967 season as he later captured the NFL's Most Valuable Player award for the season.

Dieringer led the first two laps before Petty took over to lead four laps. As the King led, Joe Edd Neubert had himself a handful in his first NASCAR GN race. He spun in front of the race leader leaving Petty little room. The King went as high as he could and scraped between Neubert's car and the guardrail. Though he narrowly slipped by, a cut tire two laps later (presumably from the incident) sent Petty into the fence and onto the trailer. 

With Ol' Blue done for the day, Hutcherson moved out front on lap seven and kept all challengers at bay until lap 54. Jim Paschal forced his way by Hutch and pulled the field for about the next 60 laps.

David Pearson soon took his Cotton Owens Dodge to the point. He led until lap 189 before surrendering his lead to Dieringer. For the next 300 laps or so, fans enjoyed a great battle between Hutch, Dieringer, and Cale Yarborough. All led sizable chunks of laps as Pearson stayed in the mix with the trio.

With 18 laps to go and the checkered flag within reach, Dick Hutcherson had stretched his lead to a full lap on Yarborough and two laps over third place Pearson. But as Ray Wylie Hubbard sings in Mother Blues, love and fate are mysterious things in this funky old world.

Hutch suddenly blew an engine in his Ford and just like that was done after having led 209 laps. When green flag returned, Cale was back in the lead with a one-lap advantage over Pearson and pulling away. But then like Hutch, he too fell into a pit of misfortune. His Wood Brothers Ford ran over some debris causing the #21 to blow a tire.

With so few laps remaining and a full-lap lead over second place, Cale opted to stay on track in an attempt to run the rest of the race on the tire's inner liner. Pearson gave chase to get to Cale, pass him, make up his lap, and pass the 21 again. He accomplished just that within a few laps and continued on to a welcomed but unexpected win. 

Pearson's 29th career win was his first of five victories at Bristol. Hutcherson would coincidentally serve as Pearson's crew chief in his Holman Moody years, and Pearson of course later piloted the Wood Brothers car that Yarborough occupied in 1967.

Source: Charlotte News

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August 19, 1965 - Sandlapper 200

NASCAR's Grand National drivers arrived in Columbia, SC on August 19, 1965, for the Sandlapper 200. The Thursday night event was a 200-lap affair on Columbia's half-mile dirt surface.

Though many of the drivers raced the track earlier in the season in April's Columbia 200, that race was missing a couple of star drivers. Neither David Pearson nor Richard Petty raced in the event because of the Chrysler boycott against Bill France Sr. and NASCAR. When many of the issues were resolved around mid-season, Petty and Pearson were greenlighted to return to GN racing at most tracks including Columbia.

Dick Hutcherson won the pole for the Sandlapper, and Junior Johnson lined up outside of him on the front row. Ned Jarrett and Tiny Lund nabbed the second row, and career rivals Petty and Pearson started fifth and sixth.

Perry Allen Wood recapped the race in his book Silent Speedways of the Carolinas:

The Mopar boys were back, and the place was jammed with no threat of rain. Many came out to see if Curtis Turner would make his long-awaited return, and he did but to watch. He tried at Spartanburg five days earlier and crashed in time trials.

Ford had the top four spots, but Chrysler was back and hungry. Junior put the yellow Holly Farms 26 out front at the onset and stayed there as the weeding-out process got underway. On lap two, Bob Derrington, Tiger Tom Pistone, and J.T. Putney had a grinding crash at the head of the homestretch for the first caution...

Leader Johnson snapped the throttle linkage and loaded up for 17th. That gave the lead to Hutcherson, who kept that gold and white 29 on the point, only slowed by a couple more cautions...

The career of Sam Smith ended at 108 laps when he bounced Sam Fogle's yellow Ford off a dirt bank, and his Grand National dream evaporated in 13th place. That is about when Cotton made a wedge adjustment to get more traction coming off the turns, and Pearson's Dodge went from OK to great. On lap 116, the Dodge passed [Hutcherson's] gold Ford and except for a few laps during pit stops, Pearson was gone...

It was a Pearson-over-Petty finish this time by about a second with Hutch third on the lead lap... It was an outstanding race, taking Pearson almost and hour and three quarters to gain his 12th career win. ~ p. 64

Source: Spartanburg Herald via Google News Archive

The race was the 9th of 63 times that Petty and Pearson finished in the top two spots.

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