The pairing of Pearson with the Woods was simply magical from the early through mid 1970s. I wasn't a fan of Bobby Allison or Cale growing up. I wasn't a fan of Earnhardt during his prime. And I don't like it when Jimmie Johnson wins regularly today. Yet even as a Petty fan, I remember being dumbfounded at just how successful that Purolator Mercury was - even when it beat my 43 Dodge.
In the next to last race of the 1974 season, Richard Petty starts from the pole position in the American 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway aka Rockingham.
Former Petty driver Buddy Baker started on the front row alongside the King in Bud Moore's RC Cola Ford. David Pearson and Cale Yarborough made up the second row. Petty Enterprises employee, Joe Millikan, made his Winston Cup debut in a #67 Plymouth fielded by Buddy Arrington. Marvin Panch's son, Richie Panch, qualified a respectable 12th.
And the late Dick Trickle qualified 23rd in his sixth Cup start in a Mercury entered under Dave Marcis' name. From Danny Quick collection.
The Petty team had to think hard about how the 43 could beat the Wood Brothers Mercury.
Donnie Allison and CooCoo Marlin stroll to their cars to get ready for the race.
The start!
Bobby Allison raced his Matador alongside Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. Bettenhausen raced the #40 Chevy fielded by D.K. Ulrich - whose initials were still on the door panel by the A-post.
Dave Marcis fielded a car for Trickle, but he also drove his regular ride - the #71 K&K Insurance Dodge. After racing for himself for much of the year, he was hired by Nord Krauskopf late in the year. He raced at Charlotte and Rockingham in the 71 to wind down 1974 and began a full season with the team in 1975. Here he is racing the reigning Cup champion, Benny Parsons.
Cale's Carling Beer Monte Carlo looks a bit worse for wear. But looks didn't mean much that day as Yarborough paced the field for much of the afternoon.
Petty, Pearson, and Cale led all but 13 laps of the race. Cale led the most with 231, and King paced the field for 79 laps. Pearson led 169 including 79 of the last 81 en route to a win. Pearson may have grimy when crawling from the Purolator 21, yet to the victor belonged the spoils.
The King's 3rd place finish was enough to secure his 5th NASCAR GN/Winston Cup title - even with one race remaining.
Race report from Spartanburg Herald
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | David Pearson | '73 Mercury |
| 2 | Cale Yarborough | '74 Chevrolet |
| 3 | Richard Petty | '74 Dodge |
| 4 | Bobby Allison | '74 Matador |
| 5 | Darrell Waltrip | '72 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Donnie Allison | '74 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Dick Trickle | '73 Mercury |
| 8 | Earl Ross | '74 Chevrolet |
| 9 | Benny Parsons | '74 Chevrolet |
| 10 | Jackie Rogers | '74 Chevrolet |
| 11 | Lennie Pond | '74 Chevrolet |
| 12 | Coo Coo Marlin | '73 Chevrolet |
| 13 | Jerry Schild | '72 Chevrolet |
| 14 | Bob Burcham | '73 Chevrolet |
| 15 | Walter Ballard | '74 Chevrolet |
| 16 | Joe Mihalic | '74 Chevrolet |
| 17 | Joe Millikan | '72 Plymouth |
| 18 | James Hylton | '74 Chevrolet |
| 19 | J.D. McDuffie | '72 Chevrolet |
| 20 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr | '72 Chevrolet |
| 21 | Cecil Gordon | '72 Chevrolet |
| 22 | Bill Champion | '72 Ford |
| 23 | Frank Warren | '74 Dodge |
| 24 | Richard Childress | '73 Chevrolet |
| 25 | Elmo Langley | '72 Ford |
| 26 | David Sisco | '74 Chevrolet |
| 27 | Richie Panch | '72 Chevrolet |
| 28 | Ed Negre | '74 Dodge |
| 29 | Dave Marcis | '74 Dodge |
| 30 | Jody Ridley | '72 Ford |
| 31 | Dick Brooks | '74 Chevrolet |
| 32 | Harry Jefferson | '72 Ford |
| 33 | Neil Castles | '74 Dodge |
| 34 | Buddy Baker | '74 Ford |
| 35 | G.C. Spencer | '74 Dodge |
| 36 | Joe Frasson | '74 Dodge |
About 4 years ago before I really got into blogging about Petty wins, I cobbled together a post of some of my favorite racer names - some nicknames and some given to them by their mamas. Possum topped my list.
https://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-favorite-racer-names.html
At Wilson Speedway in North Carolina on October 20, 1957, Billy Myers and Possum Jones raced to a controversial finish. In the end, Billy Myers in his #88 Petty Engineering Oldsmobile was declared the winner with Possum scored in second.
Bob Welborn's 4th place finish earned him enough points to secure the 1957 championship despite the convertible division having one race remaining in the season a week later at Columbia.
Gwyn Staley started seventh and finished eighth in a Chevy convertible owned by Julian Petty (Lee's brother, Richard's uncle).
I nearly missed out on posting about this race on its anniversary. Greg Fielden's book Rumblin' Ragtops and racing-reference.info both had the date of the race as October 30th. Fortunately, I found about the discrepancy this morning while looking for info to support Tim Leeming's October 20th post.
Read on for more:
https://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-20-1957-billy-myers-wins-wilson.html
| Fin | Driver | Sponsor / Owner | Car |
| 1 | Billy Myers | Petty Engineering | '57 Oldsmobile |
| 2 | Possum Jones | Bob Welborn | '57 Chevrolet |
| 3 | Paul Goldsmith | Slim Rominger | '57 Ford |
| 4 | Bob Welborn | Bob Welborn | '57 Chevrolet |
| 5 | Glen Wood | Wood Brothers | '57 Ford |
| 6 | Joe Weatherly | Holman-Moody | '57 Ford |
| 7 | Emanuel Zervakis | Junie Donlavey | '57 Chevrolet |
| 8 | Gwyn Staley | J. H. Petty | '57 Chevrolet |
| 9 | Larry Frank | Lonnie Fish | '57 Chevrolet |
| 10 | Whitey Norman | Whitey Norman | '56 Ford |
| 11 | Roger Baldwin | Roger Baldwin | '56 Ford |
| 12 | Neil Castles | '56 Ford | |
| 13 | Ken Rush | J. S. Rice | '57 Ford |
| 14 | Clarence DeZalia | Clarence DeZalia | '56 Mercury |
| 15 | Bill Poor | Bill Poor | '56 Chevrolet |
| 16 | Darel Dieringer | John Whitford | '57 Ford |
| 17 | Fred Harb | Fred Harb | '57 Mercury |
| 18 | Bill Champion | Bill Champion | '56 Ford |
| 19 | Don Gray | Lonnie Fish | '56 Chevrolet |
This article about the tragedy resulting from Tiny's lost wheel didn't scan well. But you'll get the idea.
Source: News And Courier
Race preview from The Dispatch
Race report also from The Dispatch
Julian Petty's car number in this race? Yep, number 43.
Pace lap with Perk Brown and Herb Thomas on front row.
Racing action between Fred Dove (138) and Johnny Patterson (58). As Tim noted, Patterson finished 5th. He raced a Hudson for owner H. B. Ranier. Hmm, could it be? Any relationship to Harry Ranier?
Race report from Spartanburg Herald .
Herb was way before my time. So hard for me to connect though I enjoy reading stories about him. Plus, my father-in-law's name is Herb. A retired accountant who has walked agonizingly slow for years. So it makes it doubly difficult for me to conjure images of a racing Herb. haha
