Dick Hutcherson - After Retirement

After Retirement

With 22 poles and 14 wins between 1964 and 1968, Hutch retired from full-schedule racing to concentrate on his chassis-building business in Charlotte. After four years of top-level racing he became crew chief for his friend and fellow driver David Pearson in 1968. The combination won the championship in 1968 and 1969. In 1968 he also appeared in the Elvis Presley stock car racing movie Speedway.

Another step in his career became a reality after his tenure with Pearson when he was named general manager of Holman-Moody, a position he held until December 1971 when he and West Coast driver Eddie Pagan formed Hutcherson-Pagan, a business to build and repair race cars. The two were very successful as they built cars for A.J. Foyt, Darrell Waltrip, Rick Wilson, and others.

Recalling his involvement with A.J Foyt, Dick Hutcherson said that "A.J. had bought a Camaro to run USAC stock cars and we were running at Texas World Speedway at College Station. He had gotten mad about what some reporters had written about him in the days before the race. Well he sat on the pole and was leading the race when he pulled in with just a couple laps to go. I leaned in the car and asked him what was wrong and he said, 'Overheating.' I looked at the gauges which were normal and said, 'Why'd you pull out?' He looked at me and said, 'I didn't want to talk to those reporters in Victory Circle.' We had the race won and he parked the damn car!"

In 1976 Dick Hutcherson un-retired to drive at 24 hours of Le Mans again. He co-drove a 7 liter Ford Torino with Dick Brooks and Marcel Migiot. The Torino exited in the 11th hour with an oil leak.

Dick become sole owner of the firm after the death of Eddie Pagan in 1984. one of the sport’s most successful car building operations over the last 30 years. Hutcherson-Pagan parts trucks are still a familiar site around the nation’s race tracks. After being a former owner, President, and one of the founders of Hutcherson-Pagan, Dick retired. He died on November 6, 2005 on his way home from Florida.