September 18, 1960: Richard wins his 3rd race

Occoneechee? Or is it Orange?

Is it Hillsboro? Or is it Hillsborough?

Either way, young Richard Petty won his third career Grand National race on the western ...err, central North Carolina dirt track on September 18, 1960. I posted a blog entry a couple of years about the race that can still be read here:

http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-18-this-day-in-petty-history.html

But I'll repeat a good bit of it here.

Richard Petty earns his third career victory by taking the pole, leading every lap, and winning the 110-lap race at Orange Speedway in Hillsboro, NC. Only 18 cars started the event.

Junior Johnson tried to give Richard a run. However, he ran off the track and his pursuit was done. Richard's father, three-time Grand National champion, and [ 1960 spring winner ] at Hillsboro, Lee Petty, settled in second place after Johnson was gone. But with less than 20 laps to go, Lee broke and ended up finishing 11th.

Love your post, but I think the good residents of Hillsborough / Hillsboro would be surprised to wake up and discover they'd been transported to "western" North Carolina! Central or Piedmont would better describe the location near the confluence of today's Interstates 85 and 40.

DOH! I know better than that. I'll leave "as is" though to fully cop to my mistake and to keep your reply relevant. I've had a couple of those lately. Need to do better job of proofreading before submitting. Need to eliminate incidents of being a...

Been there, done that often lately. Wouldn't have mentioned it if I didn't like you!

I'd like mine with cheese please.

My sense of humor is wide ranging from thought provoking wit to juvenile um err "pass gas" jokes. I enjoy hefty portions of cheesy jokes - and have plenty to share.

Some of those guys in that race won by Richard will be at Occoneechee on September 28th. I know Rex will because we talked about that in Augusta last weekend. I guarantee you Rex will have memories of this race to share. He is remarkable. Someone in Augusta asked him if he had ever wrecked anyone on purpose. Rex said "yes" and then went on to tell the story. Want to know who he wrecked and what was said? Come to Hillsborough on the 28th.

I'll be in Music City on the 28th and packing for a trip to Phoenix. AFTER the 28th, perhaps the story can be shared here.