February 8, 1964 - Another Petty Daytona win

All true Petty fans, most NASCAR fans, and even several racing novices know Richard Petty won his first of seven Daytona 500s in 1964. He started from the front row alongside Paul Goldsmith and went on to dominate the 500.

A somewhat hidden piece of history, however, is how the front row was determined that year. Goldsmith and Petty laid down the quickest laps with their Plymouths and newly unveiled Hemi engines during qualifying on Friday, February 7. Prior to 1964 and in each year after 1964, the top two speeds guaranteed the top two starters for the 500.

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times

A new wrinkle, however, was added in 1964. The odd and even numbered qualifiers from Friday raced in twin 50-mile races on Saturday, February 8. The winners of the two races secured the top two starting positions. Goldsmith and Petty won their respective twin, so it worked out that the two quickest cars did earn the front row. Had the duo NOT won their races, however, they would have had to earn their spots in the traditional 100-mile twins held a few days before the 500.

Source: The Greenville News

Though the 100-mile twins counted in the pre-Winston era as official races, the 1964 50-mile pole races did not. (Nor did other Daytona 500 consolation and Firecracker qualifying races held between 1959 and 1967.) So add another win to Richard's list of Daytona accomplishments - especially when the media compares Earnhardt's Clash, twins, IROC, and other non-GN/Cup Daytona wins to the King.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal

In his 100-mile qualifying twin, Petty ran out of gas coming to the checkers allowing Bobby Isaac squeak by for the win and Jimmy Pardue in second. If someone other than Isaac had won the 50-mile race, King may well have started 8th vs. 2nd in the 500. With Petty's domination in the 500, however, it likely didn't matter where the 43 started - though his number of laps led may have decreased by a couple.

TMC

September 15, 1957 - Gwyn Lassos Langhorne

Today's Cup schedule seems to run forever as it begins in February and finishes in November. The schedules of the 1950s and 60s, however, were a true grind for those who made a legit effort to race in all or the majority of the races.

The 45th race of the 53-event 1957 season was scheduled for September 15th at Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania. The 300-mile race was a NASCAR Sweepstakes event - a blended race of Grand National hard-top sedans and drivers from NASCAR's convertible division.

Paul Goldsmith won the pole in Smokey Yunick's #3 Ford convertible. Fireball Roberts qualified second in his hard-top sedan. Glen Wood and Lee Petty made up the second row. Bob Welborn rounded out the top 5 starters. The rest of the 48-car field was set with the quickest ragtops starting in the inside, odd-numbered positions and the sedans filling the outside, even-numbered slots.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Several starters were drivers from the northeast making their one and only or at least an infrequent GN start including:

• George Bumgardner - only start
• Bobby Abel - only start
• Roger Baldwin - 2nd of two career starts
• Jerry Benjamin - 4th of 5 career starts
• Art Binkley - 4th of 5 career starts
• Don Gray - 3rd of 5 career starts
• Dick Klank - 6th of 7 career starts
• Tommy Elliott - 6th of 7 career starts
• Ken Marriott - 4th of 5 career starts (4 at Langhorne and 5th in inaugural Daytona 500)
• Huck Spaulding - 6th of 9 career starts
• Dutch Hoag, modified ace of the northeast  - 4th and final GN race

Fans witnessed a great back and forth battle between Goldsmith and Fireball during the first third of the race. Each led a handful of laps before being passed.

Fireball was finally able to shake Goldsmith as the race neared the 100 lap mark. Two additional challengers then made their way to Roberts' bumper. First, Bill Amick of Portland, Oregon got by Roberts to lead 19 laps. Like Goldsmith, Amick's time up front was short-lived. Roberts re-took the lead, and Amick later lost an engine near the 200-lap mark.

After Fireball led for a 63-lap stint, he began having steering issues. Multi-time NASCAR Short Track Division champ Jim Reed went out front for 44 laps as Roberts fell further behind. Then Reed developed engines issues of his own, and he fell out of the race after only 220 laps.

As the race cleared the two-thirds mark, Gwyn Staley arrived. Staley was driving a Chevrolet convertible for owner Julian Petty and started the race deep in the field in 25th. He led the remaining 85 laps to take the win by a half-second or so ahead of unknown Whitey Norman. Though close at the time for the fans and drivers, a post-race scoring recheck revealed Norman was actually two laps down to Staley.

Johnny Allen came home third. The little bit of remaining drama involved the fourth and fifth place finishers. With four laps to go, Buck Baker eased by Rex White into fourth place. On the last lap, however, Baker's Chevy ran out of gas. He coasted helplessly to the finish, and White was able to pass the fading Baker to reclaim fourth.

Although Staley raced Julian's convertible, NASCAR records recognize his win as a Grand National victory. His car was the only convertible of the top five finishers.

The race also turned out to be the final Grand National race at Langhorne. Staley needed a shade over four hours to capture the win. It seems like that would have been like an eternity to wrestle the wheel around Langhorne's one-mile, dirt circle. Yet at the time, the mark was a race record.

Staley's win was also the last of three career Grand National victories. All were won in 1957, and all were at the wheel of Julian Petty's Chevrolets.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

TMC

July 24, 1966 - Bristol's Golden Volunteer 500

Richard Petty raced in 60 Grand National / Cup races at Bristol from its opening in 1961 through the King's retirement in 1992. Sixty! Many might suggest Bristol wasn't of Petty's better tracks because he didn't rack up as many wins as he did at places such as Wilkesboro, Martinsville and Daytona.

Yet from 1961 through 1965, he averaged an 8th place finish. Excluding a couple of DNFs, he averaged about a 4th place finish. The 43 just had a tough time in the early to mid 60s finding victory lane at the East Tennessee half-mile.

Petty and the rest of the GN crowd got another shot at a Bristol win in the Volunteer 500 on July 24, 1966.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

When Bristol opened in 1961, Curtis Turner had recently been sentenced to a lifetime ban from NASCAR by Bill France, Sr. Interestingly, the lifetime punishment lasted only about four years (a different story for a different post). Turner raced a few times in late 1965 after he was reinstated plus a few more times in 1966. As a Bristol rookie, Turner claimed the pole in first round qualifying.

Source: Free Lance Star

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Turner was a Ford man in NASCAR's Grand National and Convertible divisions. When he returned, he drove a little bit of everything - Ford, Mercury, Plymouth and even Chevrolet.

Just because Pops won the pole didn't mean all doubt was erased by those in and around the garage area. No one was quite certain who owned Turner's Chevy. The records suggest owner Toy Bolton entered the car. Bolton was the owner of record for a number of drivers for about 125 races from the early to mid 1960s. The car was also believed to have been previously owned by Smoky Yunick - which raised the eyebrows of many.

Adding to the intrigue was the work on the car done by Turkey Minton, one of Junior Johnson's mechanics. Junior and his right-hand man, Herb Nab, lurked near the car during the weekend leading many to believe Junior actually owned the car. Imagine if such a scenario arose today in an era of Twitter and too much cable TV pre-race coverage.

Source: Spartanburg Herald 

David Pearson, in Cotton Owens' #6 Dodge, qualified second alongside Turner. Petty and Paul Goldsmith made up row 2. Former Petty driver Jim Paschal and Sam McQuagg qualified fifth and sixth, respectively.

View image | gettyimages.com

Buddy Baker started the race in Emory Gilliam's #00 Dodge. He had interesting sponsorship from a Tennessee gubernatorial candidate - not a lady of the evening. John Jay Hooker was a lawyer, a businessman, and a career political gadfly. Hooker was running for Tennessee governor in 1966. Baker didn't win the race - nor did Hooker win his.

Turner put his top starting spot to good use. He may have been a track rookie and a bit rusty from a few years away from NASCAR Grand National racing. But he adapted quickly to Bristol's asphalt and led the first 80  laps.

Goldsmith then went to the point to nearly match the number of laps led by Turner.

Courtesy of Ray Lamm

Richard Petty then got by Goldsmith and settled into a dominating rhythm. He led lap after lap, and he put the field one or more laps down. But all was not well inside the 43. Petty began developing some significant pain with his neck, but he stayed on the track and in the lead.

Paschal fell out of the race a few laps shy of 300 when the engine in his Plymouth went south. He stuck around the track, and the Petty crew brought him to their pit stall about 100 laps later. Petty was able to pit for the driver swap, and Paschal was able to belt in and return to the action without losing the 43's lead.

When Lee Petty was critically injured in February 1961, his racing career essentially ended. Richard was not yet an established winner though he did pick up a few wins along the way in 1961 through 1964. Jim Paschal was hired by the Pettys in 1962, and my opinion is his multiple wins over the next three seasons helped keep the team in business. Consequently, Paschal was the logical choice to put in Richard's car when his neck discomfort became too much to handle.

Paschal kept the lead, but the 43 Plymouth started giving up a little bit each lap as the race near its conclusion. Goldsmith's Plymouth was the only other car in the lead lap with the 43. He was hauling the mail and began chipping away at the lead lap by lap over the last 50 laps of the race.

With five laps to go, Goldsmith got the opportunity he needed. He made the pass on Paschal and led the final laps to take the checkers.

View image | gettyimages.com

Goldsmith picked up his ninth and final career GN win. It was also his 3rd win of the season across a wide variety of tracks - Daytona, Rockingham and Bristol.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

For the second time in three years, Petty watched helplessly as a Bristol victory slipped through his grasp with just a few laps to go. Lee Petty was mad at the loss. He wasn't mad at Goldsmith for winning or Paschal for bringing home the 43 in second. Instead, he was angry at RICHARD for having exited the car.

Source: Spartanburg Herald 

The King finally did notch a Bristol victory in the 1967 Volunteer 500. He nabbed two more in 1975 when he swept the Southeastern 500 in March and the Volunteer 500 in November.

TMC