Dick Hutcherson - NASCAR Career

NASCAR Career

On March 28, 1964 at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina former IMCA champion Dick Hutcherson was a surprise entry and put his Ford on the pole. He led the first 60 laps before Richard Petty moved into the lead until lap 87. Failure of lug bolts on his right front wheel forced him to the pits after his 109th lap. David Pearson passed Ned Jarrett 23 laps from the finish and won the 100-mile race

As he was racing in the Midwest, he kept hearing about the great racing and the big purses in NASCAR, so he moved south and started on the Grand National circuit, the earlier name of today's Sprint Cup Series. He won 14 NASCAR races in 103 starts in the #29 Holman Moody car from 1965 to 1967. Dick was the hands-down favorite to win rookie of the year in 1965, but was ruled ineligible for the award because he was a past champion in IMCA. He was part of the Ford factory team that dominated the season, including the impressive feat of winning the pole position in back to back events at Myrtle Beach and Valdosta, and he nearly won the NASCAR championship in his first full season, settling for second.

In 1966, Ford briefly withdrew from official sponsorship of NASCAR, and Hutcherson took up Grand Prix racing as part of Ford’s challenge to the dominance of Ferrari. Hutcherson and Ronnie Bucknum co-drove the third place #5 GT-40 Mark IIA at Le Mans in June of that year, completing 4682 laps and following two other GT-40s. That same year he finished third in the 1966 NASCAR points battle, despite only competing in 14 races.

In 1967 Dick Hutcherson made 33 starts with 2 wins, 20 top 5's, and third overall, Richard Petty, the 1964 champion, made David Pearson's 1966 season look somewhat mortal. Petty won 27 races in 48 starts. On March 19, 1967, at the seventh race of the season, David Pearson earned his first career victory at Bristol in the Southeastern 500, with Dick Hutcherson finishing fifth. On July 27, 1967 Hutch won the Dixie 500 at Atlanta, after a blown engine while leading put Petty out of the race. Dick Hutcherson won the Dixie 400 on August 6, 1967, leading up to Petty’s string of 10 straight wins. Petty was officially anointed as "The King" during his extraordinary season. With five races to go at Martinsville, VA - Richard Petty had his ninth straight win. Dick Hutcherson was third in points and was runner-up to Petty in the race. It was the same story with four races to go, with Richard Petty winning his tenth straight with Dick Hutcherson runner up. With three races to go, at Charlotte, NC driver Buddy Baker broke Richard Petty’s winning streak. Dick Hutcherson again ran strong, coming in third. With two races to go at Rockingham, NC native Bobby Allison won and solidified his first top five finish in the point standings. After leading late in the race, Dick Hutcherson came home in the 13th position. At the final race in Weaverville, NC Bobby Allison won his second straight victory. Dick Hutcherson finished the season with another top five finish. In 1967, Dick took the checkered flag first at Maryville and Atlanta, and wound up third in the points despite running only 33 times compared to Richard Petty's 48 and James Hylton's 46. Dick averaged 1,020 points per race as compared to Petty only averaging 885 points and Hylton only 792 points per race. Hutcherson retired at the end of the season.