Racing History Minute - March 4, 1961

Race number six of the 1961 season came a week AFTER the Daytona 500. It was the 1961 Daytona 500 that effectively ended the career of Lee Petty and which also resulted in the number 43 car of Richard Petty being destroyed by an airborne exit from the track. So, of the 6,000 fans who showed up at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, SC for a 100 mile/200 lap race on the half-mile dirt track, many were surprised to see Richard Petty roll out a year old Plymouth to compete while his father was still barely clinging to life in a Daytona hospital. But, as would be related so many times over the following years, in order for Petty Enterprises to survive, it was necessary to keep a car on the track.

Only 18 cars entered the race although 58 had raced Daytona a week earlier. Regardless of the small field, the crowd was thrilled when qualifying was over as sentimentally their hearts were with Lee Petty. Ned Jarrett won the pole in a B. G. Holloway Ford at a speed of 63.92. Junior Johnson in the Holly Farms Pontiac would start second, Richard Petty in the Petty Engineering Plymouth third, Cotton Owens in his own Pontiac fourth and Rex White in a Chevrolet fifth. The crowd then was torn between hometown favorite Owens, and sentimental favorite, young Richard Petty.

Junior Johnson wasted no time shoving his Pontiac to the lead where he would stay the first 102 laps before a pit stop allowed Cotton Owens to lead for the first time. Owens ducked into the pits on lap 109 and it was Johnson back out front. Johnson was running a rapid pace which kept him in front until lap 182 when his Pontiac broke a fuel line and forced Junior to the pits for good. Owens took over at that point and was prepared to fight off and challenge from a hard charging Richard Petty who had an unscheduled pit stop but was flying through the field to catch up. With 30 laps remaining, Petty spun to bring out the third caution flag and that spin put him a lap down to leader Owens.

The checkered flag waved over the number 5 Pontiac of Owens as the dust soaked crowd cheered their hometown favorite. This was the 5th Grand National win for Owens who had managed to win one race a year for the previous four years. The dust had been a huge problem for drivers and the crowd. It was said that no one left the track without carrying large portion of the real estate with them in their clothes, shoes and hair.

Finishing order:

1. Cotton Owens, Owens Pontiac, winning $800.00

2. Richard Petty, Petty Engineering Plymouth, winning $525.00 (1 lap down)

3. David Pearson, Pearson Chevrolet, winning $375.00 (3 laps down)

4. Jimmy Pardue, Pardue Chevrolet, winning $275.00 (5 laps down)

5. Doug Yates, Yates Plymouth, winning $250.00 (7 laps down)

6. Ernie Gahan

7. Rex White

8. Herman Beam

9. HarryLeake

10. Junior Johnson

11. Curtis Crider

12. E. J. Trivette

13. TommyIrwin

14. Ed Livingston

15. Charlie Glotzbach

16. Ned Jarrett

17. Wendell Scott

18.Fred Harb

Average speed for the race was 59.152, slowed by 3 caution flags.

Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.

I didn't realize that "Chargin' Charlie" Glotzbach (15th- carburetor fire) had competed in Grand National events as early as 1961, but a record check shows two 1960 starts and four 1961 starts for Charlie before he returned to the GN circuit in 1967.

Tim notes the very small field of cars entered. Spartanburg sports editor, Jim Foste r notes a number of big-name drivers were on hand, but not entered, including Joe Weatherly , Buck Baker , Banjo Matthews , Buddy Baker and Larry Frank .

Foster always gave good coverage to the racers in the Spartanburg paper. He'd later head up Public Relations for Dodge Motorsports before going to work for Bill France, Sr. and becoming Vice President, Marketing and Communications for both NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation, as well as President of Daytona Speedway.

Foster would later found the Southern Motorsports Press Association (today's National Motorsports Press Association) and hold its first convention at Spartanburg race promoter, Joe Littlejohn's Pine Street Motel in Spartanburg. That's the same motel where Bud Moore quartered Ricky Rudd and me when we flew to Spartanburg in 1983 to negotiate for Ricky to replace Dale Earnhardt in the vacated Bud Moore Thunderbird for 1984.

When I moved to Spartanburg in 1986, I lived for several months with my family at Bud Moore's lake house on Lake Bowen outside of Spartanburg. Jim Foster would come back to Spartanburg from his high ranking duties in Daytona every year for a week or two's respite at Bud's lake house.

Here's Jim Foster's coverage in Sunday's Spartanburg paper:

Eventual winner Owens in hot pursuit of Junior Johnson.

For the record, only 15 cars showed up the next day (Sunday) for the 200-lap asphalt race on Asheville-Weaverville's half-mile. Rex White routed the field, leading all 200 laps. Cotton finished 2nd in that race.

Well, there went my History Minute for tomorrow! lol

Well, pooh. Sorry.

I didn't realize Chargin' Charlie had come South that soon in his career either. Guess we all learn some fact or other from some of these History Minutes.

No problem at all Mr. Fulton. I got a laugh out of that because I had seen the report on the Asheville-Weaverville race and thought "that's a good one for tomorrow". I always appreciate what you do and the comments you make so please keep them coming.

The History Minutes are a terrific educational tool. We are fortunate for your foresight in sharing these moments with us.

More probable this pic is from June 1961 race vs. March based on Cotton's short sleeve shirt. But was still too good to pass up. Had to add to *bump* this post. - Getty

Unlike Wendell, after his four 1961 GN starts, Chargin' Charlie Glotzbach didn't return to NASCAR Grand National racing for seven years when he made nine 1967 starts for Harry Hyde and Nord Krauskopf in a K&K Dodge.

By the way, Perry, any misidentification of the racetrack locale in the photo posted by TMC-Chase can be blamed on the wonderful folks at ISC Images and Archives (big surprise, huh?) who supplied the cutline below to Getty Images with the photo:

Good ole Cotton, one of my hero's........Wonder how many of todays high dollar drivers have dined on pork & beans and a Pepsi-Cola

Pretty sure I've seen Jeff Gordon after eating some high dollar pork tenderloin cooked by the traveling Hendrick Motorsports chef on a thousand dollar grill chase it with a Pepsi!

Guilty as charged. Yes Dave, you are correct - i went with Getty's tagging. A year or so ago when I found so many great pics on Getty, I was cropping & uploading just as quickly as Tim could post another history minute. But I've certainly learned since then to give each pic a second glance sanity check. Glad too PAW and others can simply eyeball some of these pics and say "Uh-uh. That's not X-track. I don't care WHAT the internet says." Ha.

And probably in Pepsi emblazoned stemware to boot!

Great story

Bump