Happy Halloween Race Fans. Time to trick or treat yourself to a minute of NASCAR History. Today we are going to the one-mile track in Rockingham, NC, that became known as "The Rock" and was robbed of its Cup dates by greed and selfishness. In spite of the efforts of Andy Hillenburg to bring action back to the track, he has been thwarted by requirements for more and more expenditures to make "The Rock" race safe. But today is not the day to lament the current situation of the facility, although it breaks my heart, but to return to that sunny Sunday afternoon in 1965 when it was indeed a treat for a race fan to be at that track for the event that unfolded.
There were 43 entries to start the race, one of those being Curtis Turner. Curtis had been one of the earliest stars of NASCAR but was "banned for life" by Bill France when Curtis attempted to "unionize" the drivers in order to obtain a loan from The Teamsters Union to help the finally strapped Charlotte Motor Speedway, which had been the brainchild of Turner. When NASCAR outlawed the Mopar teams in 1965, attendance hit rock bottom for the sport, so in an effort to draw more fans, Turner was reinstated. Oh, and just a side note to that statement is that Turner was involved in establishing a circuit to compete with NASCAR and it is believed by many that France was afraid of what Turner could do with such a circuit. But for this race in Rockingham, Curtis would take the wheel of a red and white number 41 Wood Brothers Ford. It would be Turner's 7th start since being reinstated by Big Bill.
Richard Petty, who had been allowed to return to tracks one mile or less in length, put his Plymouth on the pole with a speed of 116.260 mph. Junior Johnson would start second in a Ford, David Pearson in Cotton Owens' Dodge qualified third, Curtis Turner fourth and Marvin Panch in another Wood Brothers Ford fifth.
Junior blasted his Ford to the front when the green dropped and he would stay there for 45 laps before Curtis Turner took over for one lap. Panch then held the front spot for 3 laps before Johnson moved out front again. Bobby Isaac led lap 82 but was overhauled by Johnson on lap 83. Isaac pushed his Ray Nichels Dodge back in front to lead from lap 90 to 99. On lap 100 it was Turner again and he would lead the pack until lap 145 when teammate Panch took over for 29 laps.
In the first 175 laps of the race, Richard Petty had been involved in a 5 car crash on lap 58 which parked the 43 behind the wall. He would take over the number 42 being driven by Jim Paschal. The number 42 was 2 laps in arrears when Richard got in the car on lap 126. David Pearson and Gene Black were also involved in the crash that took out the 43.
Turner was back in front on lap 176, but most of the crowd was watching the Petty blue number 42 as Petty was literally slicing his way through the field like a hot knife would cut butter. On lap 376, the number 42 took the lead and was pulling away from the field as if on a track of its own. On lap 359 the Plymouth experienced ignition problems and headed to the pits to the attention of "the Chief" and soon returned to the track although laps down by that point.
With Petty's pit road ignition replacement, Curtis took over the front spot again for 4 laps before Junior Johnson once more took over. Cale Yarborough got into the mix on lap 439 and would lead until lap 473 until Turner passed him and led the last 26 laps of the race.
There is some discrepancy in the record of this race from my source. It clearly shows Junior Johnson out of the race with engine failure on lap 154, yet it shows Junior leading laps as late as lap 378. It also, properly, indicates that it was Jim Paschal leading laps 276-359 although it was Richard Petty doing the driving. As the car was started by Paschal, the finishing position and points would go to Paschal.
Curtis said, from Victory Lane, that "I was driving as hard as I could go" explaining why he tagged the wall twice during the race, including the late stage battle with Cale Yarborough. Curtis said the Wood Brothers car was so perfect that even bouncing it off the wall twice didn't hinder the performance.
Finishing Order:
1. Curtis Turner, Wood Brothers Ford, winning $13,000.00
2. Cale Yarborough, Banjo Matthews Ford, winning $6,450.00
3. Marvin Panch, Wood Brothers Ford, winning $4,010.00 (2 laps down)
4. G. C. Spencer, Spencer Ford, winning $2,450.00 (10 laps down)
5. Jim Paschal, Petty Plymouth (Richard relieving) winning $2,000.00 (14 laps down)
6. J. T. Putney
7. Dick Hutcherson
8. Elmo Langley
9. Buck Baker
10. PAUL LEWIS
11. Larry Hess
12.Bobby Johnson
13.Worth McMillion
14.Wayne Smith
15. Jimmy Helms
16. Ned Jarrett
17. Bob Derrington
18. Jabe Thomas
19. Neil Castles
20. Wendell Scott
21. Bobby Isaac
22. Frank Warren
23. Sam McQuagg
24. Buddy Baker
25. David Pearson
26. Roy Tyner
27. Fred Lorenzen
28. Lionel Johnson
29. Junior Spencer
30. E. J. Trivette
31. Roy Mayne
32.Junior Johnson
33. Stick Elliott
34. Tom Pistone
35. Doug Cooper
36. Richard Petty
37. Darrell Bryant
38. Gene Black
39.Rene Charland
40. Don Hume
41. Buddy Arrington
42. John Sears
43. Darel Dieringer
PERSONAL NOTE: My friends and I had been looking forward to this race for months in anticipation of seeing a new speedway for NASCAR. The Rock is only about a 2 hour drive from home. We had everything prepared for a weekend adventure, even to some heavy plastic paint tarps we intended to extend from the infield fence to our car. We had no doubt we would claim a place against the fence in turn fouras we planned to be there when the gates opened Saturday.
At the time, I worked in the parts department of Burnside Dodge, the local Dodge dealer and part of my duties was to drive the 1965 Dodge delivery van to pick up and deliver parts around the city. If you remember those vans, the nose was flat and the battery was actually in a metal box mounted behind the driver's seat in the utility vans such as the one I was driving.
About 3:00 p.m. that Friday afternoon, I needed to make a run to the Oliver Motor Company, the Chrysler-Plymouth dealer in town, about 5 miles across town to pick up a brake master cylinder for a car our mechanic was working on. I jumped in the van and headed out, taking my usual route to Oliver Motor Company which took me through the less traveled part of the city. I had just passed our Township Auditorium down town and was going through the green light just past that. Meanwhile, some "brothers" had robbed a bank and were running from law enforcement in a 1964 Chevy Impala.
I never really knew what hit me until I woke up lying on the sidewalk with EMTs (were they called that back then) trying to clean me up. The bankrobbers had run the red light at a speed estimated to be around 60 mph and hit the van right in the passenger's door. It knocked the van so high in the air it took down the wires for the traffic signals. Witnesses said the van came down nose first into the pavement and rolled over on its top. Witnesses pulled me out, covered in blood, broken glass and battery acid from where the battery had exploded on impact and covered me and the inside of the van with the contents. I had glass particles from the broken out windshield imbedded all in my face, neck, arms and hands.
I was transported by ambulance to the local emergency room (about 5 blocks from the accident) and they worked on me for a couple house getting the glass out and taking care of the burns from the acid. Then it was off to x-ray for the very bloody knee I had. After about 4 hours of being looked at by everyone in the city who had a white coat, the word came down that I would need to stay a day or two for "observation". I remember quite the discussion between me and those doctors before my mother got involved. I'm not sure of what all she said but I did hear something about the race in Rockingham. When she finished instructing the doctors in the proper practice of medicine, I was released with a huge bottle of pills for pain and orders to come in Monday for further examination.
So, come Saturday morning, it was off to The Rock with me still wearing a bandage around my head where several deep cuts has suffered the battery acid burns. There were five of us who set up camp, sure enough against the fence in turn four. We had a great time but it was cold that Saturday night and when I went to unzip the sleeping bag Sunday morning I could hardly move.
Mama and Daddy showed up about 10:00 a.m. as they did not come for the campout. Of course Mama had to closely examine "her boy" and it was determined a new bandage had to be put on as the cuts on my face had bled a little overnight. So, Doctor Mama took care of that and we set about getting ready for the race to start.
To say that I was in pain that day would be an understatement. I didn't tell anyone but the pain was awful in my knee and my back was so sore I could hardly get around. After Richard got wrecked I felt even worse but then he got in the 42 and I had reason to cheer again. Somewhere around 300 laps I couldn't stand the pain anymore and although Richard was leading in the 42, I agreed to take a couple of those pain pills and lie down in the back seat of Daddy's car. Within minutes I was out like the proverbial light.
With about 10 laps to go, Mama was shaking me awake saying the race was about to win. I sat up rubbing my eyes and looked at the track just in time to see the number 42 go flying by. I was sure he was leading as he was blowing them off the track when I "passed out" but, alas, Richard had lost all those laps with ignition problems. My attention then turned to Curtis Turner.
Having grown up watching Curtis race I was happy to see that he was making a comeback and it felt good, even at my young age then, to know that a childhood "hero" could still get the job done. Our group walked over to the pits after the race, or more accurately describing my efforts as hobbling. When we encountered Richard Petty and he saw the bandage he said something about someone finally getting to me. We all laughed that one off but learning how much I have aggrevated him his entire career, he could have perhaps been hoping someone had bounced a tire iron off my head!
The sun was setting as we got back in the car and for one of the few times in my race traveling history, I climbed in the back seat and the last thing I remember was us entering the tunnel. I slept all the way back to Columbia and they had to shake me to pieces to wake me.
I was so impressed with the track at Rockingham, that I wrote a letter to the track. When the little pamplet came out for the next race, they had printed part of my letter in that brochure. I was, indeed, thrilled to see my name in something actually associated with a NASCAR track.
Rockingham has changed since that first race. They increased the banking and made other improvements around the property. I still love that track but it was that first race that will forever be deep in my heart. On that Halloween in 1965, there were no tricks, only treats.
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future
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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
