When I began my blog series of Richard Petty's 200 wins in the summer of 2011, my plan was (1) blog about each of his wins (2) include an article or photo in each one (3) include as many personal accounts as possible and (4) address other interesting aspects of the race beyond Ol' Blue getting the checkers.
One year later, I looked back at what I'd discovered and typed and thought "Dang son, ya did it. Well almost..."
Two races eluded me. One was his 10th career GN win at Starkey Speedway in Roanoke, VA. I couldn't find any photos, article, program, ticket stub, video, personal memories, etc.
But with the passing of another year, I'm now glad to say I can cross one of the two off my list. Today I found an article about the race in the archives of the Spartanburg Herald . I'm not sure if I overlooked it last time, if I didn't check that page, or what happened. But I have it now.
Eighteen cars started the race. Jack Smith won the pole with Petty to his right on the front row. The rest of the top 10 starters were:
- Ned Jarrett
- Bob Welborn
- G.C. Spencer
- Tom Cox
- Joe Weatherly
- Jimmy Pardue
- Ray Hughes
- Curtis Crider
Richard won driving a #42 Petty Plymouth. The win was his first of only two races racing his dad's number. (The second win was at Augusta in 1966.)
The finishing order:
| Finish | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Richard Petty | Plymouth |
| 2 | Joe Weatherly | Pontiac |
| 3 | Ned Jarrett | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Bob Welborn | Pontiac |
| 5 | Jack Smith | Pontiac |
| 6 | Tom Cox | Pontiac |
| 7 | Jimmy Pardue | Pontiac |
| 8 | Larry Thomas | Dodge |
| 9 | Ray Hughes | Plymouth |
| 10 | G.C. Spencer | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Curtis Crider | Mercury |
| 12 | Wendell Scott | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Herman Beam | Ford |
| 14 | Fred Harb | Ford |
| 15 | Harry Leake | Chevrolet |
| 16 | Worth McMillion | Pontiac |
| 17 | George Green | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Dick Getty | Chevrolet |
--
Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 08/15/17 10:35:09AM
