1965 NASCAR Grand National Series

The 1965 NASCAR Grand National Series was the seventeenth season of the premier Grand National Series stock car racing championship sanctioned by NASCAR. Due to the increasing speeds of the cars, the concerns for safety, and no availability of the Hemi to the general public, NASCAR outlawed the Chrysler hemi engine. Chrysler responded by withdrawing their support, and drivers Richard Petty, David Pearson, Paul Goldsmith, Bobby Isaac, and others were forced to sit out the races.[1] Driver Ned Jarrett won the Grand National Drivers Championship after winning 13 of the 54 races he competed in, he clinched the title with 3 races remaining in the season after finishing 5th in the National 400 from Charlotte Motor Speedway.[2] Ford won the Manufacturers Championship again.[3]

The newly built Rockingham Speedway opened in 1965, and Curtis Turner returned from his ban to win the inaugural race in his Ford. Turner had been banned from NASCAR in 1961 by Bill France, Sr. for trying to organize a drivers' union with the Teamsters.[4]

Schedule
No. Race title Track Date
1 Motor Trend 500 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside January 17
2 100-mile qualifying races Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach February 12
3
4 Daytona 500 February 14
5 1965-05 Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds, Spartanburg February 27
6 Fireball 200 Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, Weaverville February 28
7 Richmond 250 Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds, Richmond March 7
8 1965-08 Orange Speedway, Hillsborough March 14
9 Atlanta 500 Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton April 11
10 Greenville 200 Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Greenville April 17
11 Gwyn Staley 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro April 18
12 Virginia 500 Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway April 25
13 Columbia 200 Columbia Speedway, Columbia April 28
14 Southeastern 500 Bristol International Speedway, Bristol May 2
15 Rebel 300 Darlington Raceway, Darlington May 8
16 Tidewater 250 Langley Speedway, Hampton May 14
17 1965-17 Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem May 15
18 Hickory 250 Hickory Speedway, Hickory May 16
19 World 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord May 23
20 1965-20 Cleveland County Fairgrounds, Shelby May 27
21 1965-21 New Asheville Speedway, Asheville May 29
22 1965-22 Harris Speedway, Harris May 30
23 Music City 200 Nashville Speedway, Nashville June 3
24 Birmingham 200 Fairgrounds Raceway, Birmingham June 6
25 Dixie 400 Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton June 13
26 Pickens 200 Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Greenville June 19
27 1965-27 Rambi Raceway, Myrtle Beach June 24
28 1965-28 Valdosta 75 Speedway, Valdosta June 27
29 Firecracker 400 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach July 4
30 1965-30 Old Dominion Speedway, Manassas July 8
31 Old Bridge 200 Old Bridge Stadium, Old Bridge July 9
32 1965-32 Islip Speedway, Islip July 14
33 The Glen 151.8 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen July 18
34 Volunteer 500 Bristol International Speedway, Bristol July 25
35 Nashville 400 Nashville Speedway, Nashville July 31
36 1965-36 Cleveland County Fairgrounds, Shelby August 5
37 Western North Carolina 500 Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, Weaverville August 8
38 1965-38 Smoky Mountain Raceway, Maryville August 13
39 1965-39 Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds, Spartanburg August 14
40 1965-40 Augusta Speedway, Augusta August 15
41 Sandlapper 200 Columbia Speedway, Columbia August 19
42 Moyock 300 Dog Track Speedway, Moyock August 24
43 1965-43 Beltsville Speedway, Beltsville August 25
44 Myers Brothers 250 Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem August 28
45 Southern 500 Darlington Raceway, Darlington September 6
46 Buddy Shuman 250 Hickory Speedway, Hickory September 10
47 Pennsylvania 200 Lincoln Speedway, New Oxford September 14
48 1965-48 Old Dominion Speedway, Manassas September 17
49 Capital City 300 Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds, Richmond September 18
50 Old Dominion 500 Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway September 26
51 Wilkes 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro October 3
52 National 400 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord October 17
53 1965-53 Orange Speedway, Hillsborough October 24
54 American 500 North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham October 31
55 Tidewater 300 Dog Track Speedway, Moyock November 7

Expansion
  • Fords had won 34 races before NASCAR adjusted the rules to allow the Chryslers to compete, but it was too late in the 55 event season for them to mount a championship challenge.[4]

References
  1. "1965 NASCAR Grand National Recap". HowStuffWorks. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  2. "Grand National standings for 1965". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  3. Almanac of Stock Car Racing. l. pp. p.
  4. Fleischman & Pearce 2004, pp. 152–153.

Bibliography


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