Racing History Minute - August 18, 1960
Stock Car Racing History
The 1960 season was especially interesting for me. I was making all the weekly races at The Columbia Speedway and Uncle Bobby would venture out to the track in Newberry, SC some Saturday nights, and we ventured to other tracks around the area, none of which still exist today, but remain as memories in my mind. Admittedly, the memories are about as bright as the dim lighting most of those tracks provided for night racing, but memories still.
It was during the 1960 season that we made the trip to Charlotte, NC in June for the very first World 600. We had been making both races at Darlington since 1957, but Charlotte was a brand new speedway and seemed quite bigger to me then than it does today. I absolutely loved those 1960 cars! The Chevys were nice looking, the Fords great, but how I loved those big-finned Plymouths! Especially those painted Petty Blue.
On this date in 1960, we were in the infield, against the turn four fence, for a 150 mile/300 lap race on the half-mile super fast dirt track known as Columbia Speedway. Most Grand National races on this track had been 100 miles and would return to 100 miles in the future, but on this night, it was an extra 100 laps we would get to see. As is the case with most teenagers when they really love something, I could never get enough racing. An extra 100 laps was fine with me, even 200 extra laps,300....., well, you get the idea. I probably would not have been a popular promoter with the drivers of the day, but I just never seemed to tire of watching those races, any track, anywhere, anytime.
Twenty-six cars signed in at the speedway that day. Tommy Irwin in a Thunderbird would qualify on the pole at a speed of 60.36 mph. G.C. Spencer put a Chevy in second, Doug Yates in a Plymouth third, David Pearson in a Chevy fourth and Gerald Dukes in a Thunderbird was fifth. All of these guys were independents and although David Pearson would go on to win 105 Grand National races, he was a virtual rookie in 1960. His big break would come in 1961. Buck Baker, starting sixth in his Chevrolet was the quickest of the higher financed drivers, or should I say "driver with a winning reputation".
The written record I have of that race is very limited as to information. My personal memories of the race is that it was extremely fast, it seemed, and turned out to be a battle between Rex White and Richard Petty in the closing laps. I can still almost see that big Plymouth chasing that Chevrolet but never able to quite catch Rex. One indelible memory I have of that race was going in the pits afterwards within a minute of Richard climbing out of his car. I remember that even though he had finished second to White, he was literally laughing at the fun he had. Richard was in his second year of Grand National racing and I suppose running second to Rex White was a reason to flash those pearly whites through that red clay stained face. Lee, on the other hand, was not exactly the picture of good spirits as he had fallen 15 laps off the pace late in the race due to rear end failure while running third behind Rex and Richard. I don't remember a lot of autograph seekers coming up to Richard that night, but nonetheless, there were more than the first time I had approached him for an autograph after his first ever race in 1958.
Rex won for the fourth time in 32 races in the 1960 season in this race. He would go on to win the Championship in 1960. Rex still appears at many of the events honoring the sport and will most likely be at Middle Georgia Raceway on August 31st, Augusta International Raceway Presevation Society event on September 14th and surely the Occoneechee Speedway event on September 28th. For those of you who have never met Rex, you should plan on making it to one of these events. Rex is an excellent ambassador for the sport and certainly among the best at recalling the formative years of building NASCAR. Anyone who meets Rex White will never forget the encounter.
Top five finishers:
1. Rex White, Piedmont Friendly Chevrolet, winning $1,000.00
2. Richard Petty, Petty Engineering Plymouth, winning $600.00
3. Buck Baker, Baker Chevrolet, winning $450.00
4. Ned Jarrett, Courtesy Ford, winning $350.00
5. Tommy Irwin, Irwin T-Bird, winning $325.00
Sixth through tenth were Possum Jones, Lee Petty, L.D. Austin, Herman Beam and Curtis Crider. Bunkie Blackburn finished 12th, with Paul Lewis 14th, Cotton Owens 15th, Fred Harb 16th, Neil Castles 17th, David Pearson 19th, Bobby Johns 20th, Jimmy Pardue 21st, Wilbur Rakestraw 22nd (for you Cody Dinsmore) , Junior Johnson 24th, Joe Weatherly 25th, and second place starter G.C. Spencer is credited with 26th and last position after leaving the race on lap 42 with rear end problems in his Chevy.
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM