April 21, 1963 - King captures Virginia 500
Stock Car Racing History
Dennis - Those 4 images are fantastic. Glad you were able to round them up & add them to this post.
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Stock Car Racing History
April 21, 1963 - King captures Virginia 500
Stock Car Racing History
A couple of years ago, I blogged about Richard Petty's win in the Virginia 500 at Martinsville.
http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-21-this-day-in-petty-history-part.html
I thought I'd repeat the text of if it here on RR this year and add a bit to it.
Starting 8th, Richard Petty leads the final 41 laps and notches his 18th career victory with a one-lap win over Tiny Lund in the Virginia 500 at Martinsville.
The pace lap before the start - with Rex White starting from first (his final career pole) and Fireball Roberts alongside him on the front row. Petty started on the outside of the 4th row.
Junior Johnson was the first car out of the race. He lost a right side tire and took a hard lick into the fence. Completing only 23 laps, Junior finished 33rd and dead last.
Holman & Moody driverFireball Roberts dominated the early part of the race. He led the first 177 laps from the drop of the green. But a blown tire and wreck into the fence ended his day at lap 223.Fred Lorenzen dominated most of remaining part of the race by leading the next 282 laps. But he stumbled with a broken axle near the end and finished 5th six laps down to Petty.
Petty Enterprises teammate Jim Paschal suffered heat exhaustion and needed help from a relief driver. The observant and appreciative crowd roared when the old man - Lee Petty - took over the #41 Petty Plymouth and soldiered it home to an 8th place finish. Lee had raced only once since a near-death accident at Daytona in February 1961 ( video ).
Richard had to play the fuel mileage game and eked out enough laps from a quickly emptying tank to get the 43 to the checkers. Like Paschal, Petty too was wiped out after a long-day of racing on an usually hot April day. He collapsed briefly after getting out of the car but quickly recovered to enjoy the victory celebration.
Article courtesy of Jerry Bushmire
I've not been successful in finding a victory lane photo. The above article references, however, that Richard was greeted in victory lane by the reigning Miss Virginia, Patricia Gaulding. She went on to participate in the Miss America pageant.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Richard Petty | '63 Plymouth |
| 2 | Tiny Lund | '63 Ford |
| 3 | Darel Dieringer | '63 Mercury |
| 4 | Ned Jarrett | '63 Ford |
| 5 | Fred Lorenzen | '63 Ford |
| 6 | Joe Weatherly | '63 Pontiac |
| 7 | Billy Wade | '63 Dodge |
| 8 | Jim Paschal | '63 Plymouth |
| 9 | David Pearson | '63 Dodge |
| 10 | Jack Smith | '63 Plymouth |
| 11 | Rex White | '63 Chevrolet |
| 12 | Jimmy Pardue | '63 Ford |
| 13 | Jimmy Massey | '62 Chevrolet |
| 14 | Neil Castles | '62 Chrysler |
| 15 | Roy Mayne | '62 Chevrolet |
| 16 | Worth McMillion | '62 Pontiac |
| 17 | LeeRoy Yarbrough | '63 Mercury |
| 18 | Curtis Crider | '62 Ford |
| 19 | Larry Manning | '62 Chevrolet |
| 20 | E.J. Trivette | '61 Chevrolet |
| 21 | Bobby Isaac | '63 Ford |
| 22 | Earl Brooks | '61 Chevrolet |
| 23 | Herman Beam | '63 Ford |
| 24 | Buck Baker | '63 Pontiac |
| 25 | Wendell Scott | '62 Chevrolet |
| 26 | Larry Frank | '63 Ford |
| 27 | Stick Elliott | '62 Pontiac |
| 28 | Fireball Roberts | '63 Ford |
| 29 | Larry Thomas | '63 Dodge |
| 30 | Ed Livingston | '62 Ford |
| 31 | Bud Harless | '62 Pontiac |
| 32 | Jerome Warren | '62 Mercury |
| 33 | Junior Johnson | '63 Chevrolet |
updated by @tmc-chase: 04/22/24 10:21:39PM
What has Dave Fulton done now????????
Administrative
Yep, on a dartboard. Boogity, boogity, bullseye!
April 17, 1965: South Carolina racing ... 30 minutes apart
Stock Car Racing History
My first car was a hand-me-down black 1965 Dodge Dart that already had 150,000 miles on it. My grandfather bought it new in 64 or 65. My grandmother gave it to me after he passed away. I had my sights on a Camara ... or a Firebird ... or a Mustang. But my dad who wanted me to be gracious to my grandmother for her offer AND who was paying my car insurance insisted I take the Dart.
He and I had to change just about everything on it except the paint and the VIN. My dad insisted it would be good for me to learn how to change points, a timing chain, valve cover gaskets, a fuel gauge, the transmisssion, the exhaust manifold, the carburetor, etc. because I'd then know how to do my own car maintenance as an adult. Umm, have you SEEN underneath a hood these days?
I nicknamed it "The Black Flash". But unlike The Cotton Picker, the Flash had little flash. That little slant six was durable, but let's not kid anyone. Set low ET? Right. I'm betting the alien critter E.T. could outrun the Flash. But ... it did get me through HS and most of college. I finally sold it for $75 - enough to cover my share of the deposit I had to pay for my first post-college apartment.
April 17, 1965: South Carolina racing ... 30 minutes apart
Stock Car Racing History
On April 17, 1965, the NASCAR GN teams - at least the ones that fielded factory Fords and several independents - raced at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. Li'l Bud Moore claimed the pole, and Dick Hutcherson qualified alongside him in his Holman-Moody Ford.Buck Baker and Tiny Lund comprised the second row. Hutch dominated the event by leading 191 of the 200 laps to claim the win.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Dick Hutcherson | '65 Ford |
| 2 | Ned Jarrett | '65 Ford |
| 3 | Buddy Baker | '64 Dodge |
| 4 | Bud Moore | '65 Plymouth |
| 5 | Fred Harb | '64 Pontiac |
| 6 | Paul Lewis | '64 Ford |
| 7 | J.T. Putney | '64 Ford |
| 8 | Henley Gray | '64 Ford |
| 9 | Clyde Lynn | '64 Ford |
| 10 | Wendell Scott | '63 Ford |
| 11 | G.T. Nolen | '64 Pontiac |
| 12 | Doug Cooper | '64 Ford |
| 13 | Neil Castles | '65 Plymouth |
| 14 | Larry Frank | '64 Ford |
| 15 | Bob Derrington | '64 Ford |
| 16 | G.C. Spencer | '64 Ford |
| 17 | Buck Baker | '65 Oldsmobile |
| 18 | Elmo Langley | '64 Ford |
| 19 | Jeff Hawkins | '64 Dodge |
| 20 | E.J. Trivette | '63 Chevrolet |
| 21 | Roy Tyner | '63 Chevrolet |
| 22 | Cale Yarborough | '64 Ford |
| 23 | Tiny Lund | '64 Ford |
| 24 | Bernard Alvarez | '64 Ford |
| 25 | Jabe Thomas | '64 Ford |
Meanwhile, about a half-hour to the west, the straight-line bunch gathered for some drag racing. The expected feature match was to be between Richard Petty in the Petty Enterprises 43Jr Plymouth Barracuda and Don Nicholson. During practice runs, however, Nicholson had issues with his car. He then totaled a borrowed sub and was done for the event.
A surprise entrant to the day's races was Spartanburg's own David Pearson. Like Petty, he was on the sidelines from a GN perspective because of Chrysler's boycott of NASCAR. The King-to-be had already begun drag racing earlier in the year, and Pearson dabbled in it a bit himself. But all were surprised when Pearson arrived in Spartanburg with a quickly-built Dodge Dart wagon built by his NASCAR car owner, Cotton Owens, and dubbed The Cotton Picker.
Between the two on-track rivals and GN Mopar 'teammates', Pearson laid down the quicker ET of the two. According to the following article, Pearson's Dart was finished by Owens' just the previous day.
From Spartanburg Herald
From Bill Rankin's photos
The car was featured on the cover of the September 1965 issues of Rodder & Super Stock magazine.
updated by @tmc-chase: 04/16/17 09:22:53PM
April 17, 1960: Easter Sunday controversy at Wilson Speedway
Stock Car Racing History
A couple of years ago, Dave Fulton posted a NASCAR.com column written by Mark Aumann about NASCAR races held over the years on Easter Sunday.
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/12949/history-of-easter-weekend-nascar-points-races
One of those races was held April 17, 1960 at Wilson Speedway in NC.
Emanuel Zervakis of Virginia won the pole for the 200-lap, 100-mile race. Buck Baker qualified alongside him on the front row. Ned Jarrett and Rex White made up row 2, and Joe Weatherly and Lee Petty timed 5th and 6th.
Zervakis set sail from the pole and was apparently the class of the field that day. He didn't need a pit stop during the race and took the checkers 3 seconds ahead of second-place Weatherly.
Lee Petty races Tiger Tom Pistone and Joe Lee Johnson.
A tired but happy Zervakis looks happily at the trophy he is to be presented.
Zervakis is pleased as punch about winning the race - but hold on just a sec...
Following the race, NASCAR officials wanted to take a look at the size of Zervakis' gas tank. I'm unsure if NASCAR took it upon themselves to do the post-race inspection as was reported - or if Weatherly's Holman-Moody team protested Zervakis #85 Chevrolet.
Zerkavis' tank was indeed found to have a higher-than-normal fuel capacity though fuel mileage never really was an issue for the race. On one website I read: When asked later how Weatherly knew Zerkavis' tank was illegal, Little Joe grinned and said "...because I was running the same tank he was." Classic.
As a result, Zervakis was disqualified and placed dead last. Weatherly was promoted from second to the win and credited with leading one lap.
Race report from Spartanburg Herald
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Joe Weatherly | '60 Ford |
| 2 | Lee Petty | '60 Plymouth |
| 3 | Tom Pistone | '60 Chevrolet |
| 4 | Rex White | '60 Chevrolet |
| 5 | Buck Baker | '60 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Joe Lee Johnson | '60 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Richard Petty | '59 Plymouth |
| 8 | Bob Welborn | '60 Chevrolet |
| 9 | Neil Castles | '58 Ford |
| 10 | Junior Johnson | '59 Chevrolet |
| 11 | Bunkie Blackburn | '58 Ford |
| 12 | Al Tasnady | '58 Ford |
| 13 | Ned Jarrett | '60 Ford |
| 14 | Buddy Baker | '60 Chevrolet |
| 15 | Paul Lewis | '58 Chevrolet |
| 16 | L.D. Austin | '58 Chevrolet |
| 17 | Roy Tyner | '58 Mercury |
| 18 | Bob Roberts | '59 Oldsmobile |
| 19 | Emanuel Zervakis (DQd) | '60 Chevrolet |
updated by @tmc-chase: 02/04/19 04:05:57PM
Other April 16 GN / Cup races
Stock Car Racing History
A year ago, Tim Leeming posted about [ the first Gwyn Staley Memorial race ] at North Wilkesboro on April 16, 1961. Rex White won the event.
Here are a couple of quick highlights of some of the other GN / Cup races on April 16th.
1964 Columbia 200 - David Pearson wins the pole, Richard Petty qualifies 3rd, but Ned Jarrett wins the race. - Devin
1967 Gwyn Staley 400 - Darel Dieringer wins his final career GN race driving a Ford for Junior Johnson. - Steven Wilson
1972 Rebel 400 - David Pearson wins with the Wood Brothers. He kept his 'even year' Darlington streakgoing with wins in 1968, 1970 and 1972. The 1972 was also his first of six Darlington wins in the 21 Purolator Mercury. - from Motor Racing Programme Covers
From News and Courier
1978 Gwyn Staley 400 - Darrell Waltrip wins under caution at North Wilkesboro over King Richard.
Photo by David Allio .
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
Checkered past & checkered flag for Texas World Speedway
Stock Car Racing History
Two individuals who factored into Earnhardt's later success participated in the final Cup race at TWS in the 1981 Budweiser 400 - Richard Childress and Kirk Shelmerdine. Kirk made his first of 26 Cup starts in that race as a teammate to his employer Childress. For reasons I don't know yet, Kirk, Baxter Price and DK Ulrich all were start-and-park cars. Price made it one lap in a 2nd Jimmy Means car. Kirk made it 2 laps in RC's Pontiac. And DK went 4 laps in his own car as his 2 other cars driven by Tim Richmond and Rick Baldwin continued.
The prize money wasn't that great, and the haul to College Station was a long and expensive one. So I'm not sure why RC and Means in particular would field a 2nd entry other than as perhaps as backup cars to be used a week later at Riverside. (DK fielding 3 cars DIDN'T surprise me. He rolled out an astonishing 18 different drivers in his cars in 1981.)
Kirk's #8 McDonald's Pontiac
Here is Childress' car he raced at Riverside a week later. Same look and sponsor - including contingency decals - but back to number 3. And though tough to read, I THINK Kirk's car in the above pic has RC's name below the A post as can be seen in the below pic from Riverside.That's why I'm wondering if Kirk was asked to run a couple of laps and then park it. RC needed it intact for 7 days later. Or at least that's my guess.
