Boyd's Speedway just outside of Chattanooga, TN hosted two Grand National events - one each in 1962 and 1964. The first one was held on August 3, 1962.
The track technically sits just on the Georgia side of the TN/GA border, but most refer to the track as 'being in Chattanooga'.
In only his third full-time GN season, Richard Petty won the pole for the Confederate 200. Ned Jarrett qualified beside Petty in his #11 Ford. Fireball, Jack Smith and Little Joe rounded out the top 5 starters. The state of Tennessee had a reasonable delegation of drivers in the field including:
- Friday Hassler of Chattanooga
- Jerry Smith of Chattanooga - making his final of 3 GN starts
- Harold Fryar of Chattanooga (and brother of short track ace Freddy) - his only GN start
- Sherman Utsman from Bluff City
- G.C. Spencer from Jonesboro
- George Green from Johnson City
When I toured the Petty Museum for the first time in 2011, I almost overlooked this trophy sitting on the top shelf of one of the cabinets. I happened to notice it said BOYDS SPEEDWAY on it; however, I couldn't see a date on it. The King won the pole for both of Boyd's races, so I'm not certain which year this trophy is for.
I referenced Greg Fielden's 40 Years of Stock Car Racing - Volume 2 to get some info for this race, but I also found an AP story summarizing it. Both are consistent with how it began and how it ended, but the parts in the middle differed significantly.
Fielden's account of the race indicated Jarrett jumped out front at the drop of the green to lead the first 9 laps before relinquishing it to Petty for most of the rest of the race. The AP writer said Jarrett led the first 50 laps.
Fielden's book then shows King Richard out front for the next 172 laps before losing the lead to Weatherly with 18 to go. The AP report aligns with Fielden's account in that Petty dominated most of the rest of the race. However, the AP says a pit stop by the 42 of Petty with about 30 laps to go gave the lead - and eventual win - to Weatherly.
Neither report states why Petty made a pit stop. Apparently it wasn't expected as the race was only 100 miles and took just under one-hour to complete.
Junior Johnson had an inauspicious start to his new relationship with car owner Ray Fox. He exited the race with overheating problems in his first start in Fox's car. Fox had fired his previous driver, David Pearson, who had made a limited number of starts for him in 1961 and 1962. Junior of course had driven a Fox-prepared car previously - most notably when he won the 1960 Daytona 500.
Race report published in Spartanburg Herald
Boyd's still operates weekly dirt-track racing today. [ Website ] Just recently, the track had a big turnout when Austin and Ty Dillon came to town to race the local guys.
| Fin | Driver | Sponsor / Owner | Car |
| 1 | Joe Weatherly | Bud Moore | '61 Pontiac |
| 2 | Fireball Roberts | Jim Stephens | '62 Pontiac |
| 3 | Jim Paschal | Cliff Stewart | '62 Pontiac |
| 4 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | '62 Plymouth |
| 5 | Sherman Utsman | Sherman Utsman | '62 Ford |
| 6 | G.C. Spencer | G.C. Spencer | '62 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Bob Welborn | J.C. Parker | '62 Pontiac |
| 8 | Ned Jarrett | B.G. Holloway | '62 Chevrolet |
| 9 | Buck Baker | Buck Baker | '62 Chrysler |
| 10 | Jack Smith | Jack Smith | '62 Pontiac |
| 11 | Buddy Baker | Buck Baker | '61 Chrysler |
| 12 | Wendell Scott | Wendell Scott | '61 Chevrolet |
| 13 | Harold Fryar | Ralph Smith | '62 Chevrolet |
| 14 | Curtis Crider | Curtis Crider | '62 Mercury |
| 15 | George Green | Jess Potter | '61 Chevrolet |
| 16 | Herman Beam | Herman Beam | '62 Ford |
| 17 | Junior Johnson | Ray Fox | '62 Pontiac |
| 18 | Jerry Smith | Curtis Crider | '61 Mercury |
| 19 | T.C. Hunt | Wildcat Williams | '62 Ford |
| 20 | Friday Hassler | J.C. Parker | '61 Pontiac |
| 21 | Nero Steptoe | '60 Chevrolet |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 08/03/17 12:00:41PM
