November 22, 1962 - Jim Paschal Tastes The Turkey

November 22, 1962: Driving a #41 Petty Enterprises Plymouth, Jim Paschal wins the Turkey Day 200 at Tar Heel Speedway in Randleman, NC. Maurice Petty finished fifth in his #42 family team Plymouth, and Richard finished 11th after losing a transmission with 12 laps to go.

Though run in November 1962, the race was actually the third event of the 1963 season. Petty Enterprises was on a roll by winning all three races - and racking up top 5s to boot:

• November 4 at Fairgrounds Raceway in Birmingham AL - Paschal wins, Richard 2nd
• November 11 at Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa FL - Richard wins, Paschal 2nd
• November 22 at Tar Heel Speedway - Paschal wins, Maurice 5th

The race was the first of only three Grand National races run at Tar Heel - all as part of the 1963 schedule. Each race was 200 laps and 50 miles on the tight quarter-mile, paved track. Paschal won this first one, and he backed it up on May 5, 1963 with another victory in the second one. Richard finally broke through with a win on October 5, 1963 in the third and final race.

Glen Wood won the pole in his family team's #21 Ford, and Paschal started alongside him. Jimmy Pardue and Ned Jarrett made up the second row. Petty cars claimed three of the top 6 starting spots as Richard and Maurice timed 5th and 6th.

When the green flag waved, Wood set sail. The NASCAR Hall of Famer from Stuart, Virginia dominated the day by leading the first 173 laps. But with victory in the caution-free race seemingly in sight, Wood blew a tire, exited the race, and faded to a 15th place finish. Paschal took over the top spot and cruised unchallenged the remaining 27 laps to the win.

Article courtesy of Jerry Bushmire

Source: Spartanburg News Herald via Google News Archive

Parts of the speedway remain on a farm owned by the family of the late Frank Millikan. In May 2012, fellow Schaefer HOFer, Philly, and I gave it our best to visit what is left of the track. We found it - but had to leave before getting a chance to explore it.

This post concludes my 2013 series about wins by Petty Enterprises drivers other than by The King. If you've read one or more of the posts, tweeted about them, posted a link to Facebook, commented, emailed me, told someone about them, etc., THANK YOU. I've thoroughly enjoyed researching each of the races and finding supplemental information like photos, articles, program covers, etc. to add.

I'm not sure what direction I'll go next after having blogged about all of Richard's 200 wins and now the victories by other Petty Enterprises drivers. I'm open to ideas though - so let me hear them. Until then, GO 43!

TMC

April 10 - This day in Petty history

1960 - Starting fourth, Richard Petty wins his second career Grand National race in the Virgina 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The win is Richard's first of what would eventually grow to 15 victories over the span of his career. Richard's dad and Petty Enterprises teammate, Lee Petty, started third and finished sixth.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

Future Petty Enterprises teammate, Buddy Baker, made his first Martinsville start in the race. Though he would eventually win with Ranier Racing at Martinsville in 1979, he had a tough go in his first outing. He did a 180-degree spin in turn one and looked eye-to-eye into oncoming traffic including his father Buck Baker.

View image | gettyimages.com

A week earlier, little known John Rostek won the Copper Cup 100 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix (a track that preceded the current Phoenix Raceway). At Martinsville, Rostek learned how quickly one can go from the penthouse to the outhouse. As with Buddy Baker, Rostek looped his car in turn 1 and was nearly plowed by Jimmy Pardue and Tiger Tom Pistone.

View image | gettyimages.com

Richard led 135 laps; however, fellow NASCAR Hall of Fame member Glen Wood led the most laps with 165 circuits out front. The majority of Wood's laps out front came in the front-half of the race. Fred Lorenzen led almost 100 laps in the middle stages of the race, but he finished 18th after losing an engine with about 50 laps to go.

As the race hit its home stretch, the blue 43 Plymouth went to the point and stayed there. But Wood's teammate, Jimmy Massey in the #21 Ford, kept Petty honest.

View image | gettyimages.com

Massey pursued Petty lap after lap, but he couldn't muster a pass in the final 100 laps or so. The future King claimed his second career GN win, and Massey settled for second place.

Source: Ocala Star-Banner via Google News Archive

Songwriters Doug and Telisha Williams wrote and recorded a song titled Massey's Run. The lyrics were written from the perspective of Massey and his second-place finish to Petty. [Click here] for my blog post about their song and Massey.

TMC
Edited April 10, 2015