Racing History Minute - October 24, 1965

As has often been pointed out in this series, the 1965 season was a season dedicated to the advancement of Ford Motor Company's racing efforts after NASCAR outlawed the Chrysler "hemi" engine. Ford was winning everything, of course, as the only competition was between the much talented field of Ford drivers. Included in that stable for Ford drivers was a gentleman from Iowa named Dick Hutcherson.

When the attendance at races fell off as the Mopar fans stayed home, NASCAR relented and allowed Chrysler Corporation back and allowed the hemi to be run on tracks one mile or less. While there was some success from the Mopar camp with the late entry into the season, Ford was still the dominant force on the track for most races. Today we travel back to the .9 mile (on 1 mile by some stats) dirt track located in Hillsborough, NC, the track known as Orange Speedway. On this date in 1965, the boys would run 100 miles/112 laps on the super fast dirt track.

Dick Hutcherson led the field of 20 qualifiers with a speed of 98.810 mph in his Holman-Moody Ford. Junior Johnson put his Ford in second starting spot, Ned Jarrett in the Bondy Long Ford was third, Jim Paschal in a Petty Engineering Plymouth would roll off fourth and David Pearson in the Cotton Owens Dodge started fifth.

The green flag waved and Hutcherson and Johnson roared off racing door to door. The bumper of Junior's Ford found the right front tire of Hutcherson's car and cut the right front tire, forcing "Hutch" to the pits to change tires. He returned to the track running one lap down to the leaders but determined to get back out front.

Meanwhile, as Junior and Dick had their encounter of the close kind, David Pearson had moved around them both to lead the first 24 laps. Junior ran down David by lap 25 and went back out front. On lap 57, while extending his lead, the A-frame on the Johnson Ford broke causing the car to sag and the left front wheel to lean in at a 45 degree angle. Still, Johnson was leading the race and actually slowly extending his lead when NASCAR determined the situation was unsafe and blackflagged a very unhappy Johnson. Johnson hit the pits and found the A-frame situation could not be and he was out ofthe race.

Dick Hutcherson took over when Johnson pitted, but David Pearson was mounting a formidable challenge until mechanical problems forced him to slow his pace substantially. Pearson watched helplessly as "Hutch" moved away and one by one, four other drivers would slip by him to relegate David to a sixth place finish.

There were three caution flags for a total of 14 laps which slowed the winner's average speed to 87.462 mph. It should be noted that 1965 was Dick Hutcherson's rookie year in NASCAR Grand National competition although he was unable to run for Rookie of the Year honors.

Finishing order:

1. Dick Hutcherson, Holman-Moody Ford, winning $1,000.00

2.Tiger Tom Pistone, Glen Sweet Ford, winning $600.00 (3 laps down)

3. Jim Paschal, Petty Engineering Plymouth, winnint $400.00 (3 laps down)

4. Cale Yarborouch, Kenny Myler Ford, winning $300.00 (6 laps down)

5. PAUL LEWIS, Lewis Ford, winning $275.00 (7 laps down)

6. David Pearson

7. Darel Dieringer

8. Bob Derrington

9. Worth McMillion

10. Neil Castles

11. Buddy Baker

12. Clyde Lynn

13. Ned Setzer

14. Wendell Scott

15. Junior Johnson

16. Ned Jarrett

17. G. C. Spencer

18.Buddy Arrington

19. Wayne Smith

20. Jimmy Helms

For members reading these posts for the first time and wondering why fifth place finisher, PAUL LEWIS, is prominent in all upper-case letters, it is because Paul is the reason this site exists. The relationship between Paul and JeffGilder (the site's founder) is a long one and it was Paul who helped Jeff have a successful career behind the wheel.It is Paul's hope that the history of this sport and those who made that history happen never be forgotten. To that end, Jeff established RacersReunion.com and everything you see here on the site is the result of the influenceof PAUL LEWIS. Paul is truly one of the finest individuals you will ever meet.

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

Ed Sanseverino has this great pic from the race in his collection. However, the photo's caption does include an error. While logical to think Richard Petty was behind the wheel of the 43, he wasn't. Jim Paschal drove the 43 for the Petty team that day. Richard didn't participate in it. I assume he had a conflicting drag racing commitment though I haven't been able to find an article to support my hunch.

Great picture! That is some good racing there for sure.

Based on the race preview, it sounds like the promoter had expected Richard Petty to race...

Source: Spartanburg Herald

...but when the green flag fell, it was Paschal taking the reins of the 43 vs. Richard. Would be interesting to know the reaction of the fans when they learned of the swap. By all I've read over the years, Paschal was a likable enough guy. And he certainly did a lot to keep Petty Enterprises afloat in the early 1960s. But if you bought a ticket to the Hillsboro race expecting to see King race, hmm.

Source: Spartanburg Herald

Earlier in the 1965 season, on March 7, I saw Dick Hutcherson do something in that #29 Ford I've never seen before or since, roll a car over on the Richmond dirt track. It happened on lap 95 of the 1965 Richmond 250 down in turn 1 to the 3rd qualifying Iowan who'd lep 18 laps that day.

That particular race was a stinker short field all Ford show won by Junior Johnson, but it was the first race ever televised from the Commonwealth of Virginia, on tape delay by ABC Wide World of Sports. We used to have a 3/4" tape from ABC of that event in our media archives at Richmond, but the "new" ISC ownership was unable to locate it when I told them about it on the occasion of the track's 60th anniversary.

When "Hutch" rolled the car at Richmond that day in 1965, he scrambled across the track to the old wooden board fence in turn 1 and actually climbed it to keep from being hit by cars. Knowing that he wasn't injured, it was a pretty hilarious moment for me and my buddies Frank and John - all die hard independent Chevy fans - to see a factory Ford driver hanging from the fence for dear life!

That incident was clearly caught by Wide World of Sports and Southern MotorSports Journal ran a sequential photo of Dick scrambling from his overturned factory Ford to the board fence and climbing it in the next SMJ issue of 1965.

If anybody has that March 1965 issue of SMJ covering Richmond, that photo spread would make a cool addition to this site. Who knows, maybe Ray Lamm has it, too.

Anyway, Hutch was a great dirt track racer. Got to work with him the tiniest bit when I was ghost writing all Oldsmobile NASCAR press materials and Hutcherson-Pagan was warehousing the Olds sheet metal and parts for Olds racing manager, Dave Jarrard. Hutch used to also raise horses in a joint venture with a prominent Charlotte doctor and my one time business partner had bought a speedboat from Hutch's business partner, Eddie Pagan.