Richard Petty Scores First Grand National Victory at Charlotte Fairgrounds
Young Plymouth Driver Surges Past Rex White in Final Laps Before 7,849 Fans
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 28 — Richard “Dick” Petty, the smooth‑running youngster from Randleman, N.C., captured the first major stock‑car victory of his career Sunday afternoon, wheeling a 1959 Plymouth to an impressive win in the 100‑mile NASCAR Grand National event at the Charlotte Fairgrounds.
A crowd of 7,849 turned out for the Carolinas’ season opener and watched the 22‑year‑old Petty take command in the closing miles, slipping beneath veteran Rex White with just 18 laps remaining. Petty never surrendered the lead thereafter, guiding his Plymouth steadily over the rough dirt surface that sidelined most of the 21‑car field. Only seven cars were still running at the finish.
White, the former Silver Spring, Md., driver now living in Spartanburg, S.C., steered his 1959 Chevrolet to second place. Third went to none other than Lee Petty, Richard’s father, who brought Doug Yates’ Plymouth home just behind the leaders.
Track Takes Heavy Toll
The rugged pace and choppy track conditions proved too much for many of the newer machines. Only one 1960 model — a Chevrolet driven by Roy Tyner of Red Springs — survived to the finish, placing sixth.
Junior Johnson, fresh from his Daytona 500 triumph earlier this month, powered Glenn Wood’s 1959 Ford to fourth. Joe Eubanks finished fifth in a ’59 Chevrolet, Tyner sixth, and Jimmy Pardue of North Wilkesboro seventh in a ’59 Dodge.
Petty Times His Move
For the younger Petty, NASCAR’s 1959 Rookie of the Year, the victory marked his first Grand National win in a late‑model hardtop and came in only his sixth start at the Charlotte track.
Petty said he had been studying White’s line through the first turn and noticed the Chevrolet repeatedly striking a large bump on corner exit.
“I saw my chance to get in under him at the bend,” Petty explained. “He would have had me on the straightaway, but passing him on the inside seemed the solution. With that bump helping me, it worked out really well.”
A Timely Assist From Father
White mounted a determined charge to retake the lead, but at lap 187 he found himself momentarily checked by Lee Petty, who was running strongly though not on the same lap. The elder Petty crowded White entering the first turn, forcing the Chevrolet into a near spin. The hesitation allowed Richard to pull away for good.
Asked afterward whether he had helped his son secure the victory, Lee Petty grinned and replied, “Maybe I didn’t help him, but I sure didn’t hurt him any.”
Courtesy of The Charlotte Observer February 29, 1960 via Newspapers.com