(
November 30 ,
1931 -
November 6 ,
2005 ) was a
American businessman and a former NASCAR
Racecar driver.
A native of
Keokuk ,
Iowa , Hutcherson drove in
NASCAR competition from 1964 to 1967. In 1965 he finished second in the overall
NASCAR Drivers Championship and had nine wins. In 1967 he finished third overall but after four years of top-level racing he retired at the season's end to devote his energies to "Hutcherson-Pagan Enterprises," a highly-respected chassis-building business in
Charlotte, North Carolina .
Dick was born November 30, 1931 and hails from Keokuk, Iowa , which has long been called the "Home of Champions" and the "Racing Capital of the World". The “Keokuk Gang” consisted of “Old Man” Ernie Derr, Don White, Ramo Stott and Dick Hutcherson. Dick Hutcherson said of Derr: 'Got to beat the old man. The old man will be tough to beat if you have to haul him out in a wheelchair.' He started racing in 1956 and moved up to the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) circuit in 1959. IMCA was organized in 1915 and is the oldest active automobile racing sanctioning body in the United States. Hutch was a quick leaner and very competitive and took the IMCA championship in 1963 and 1964. He was the Late Model champion at Huron, SD’s Dakota State Fair Speedway in 1960 and 1964. He has 81 IMCA wins to his credit, including Knoxville Raceway on 05/02/64.
The Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) was established in 1952, and in 1964 the name was changed to the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA).. The 1962 ARCA season was the series' 10th with 34 races run in 12 states. The champion was Iggy Katona who reclaimed the championship throne with a series-leading 7 wins. Other winners included Dick Hutcherson, Curtis Turner and Bobby Watson.
In the spring of 1962 Curtis Turner fielded a race at Virginia International Raceway in an attempt to compete head to head with NASCAR. The road race was on April 1, in direct competition with the regular event at Richmond the same day. Most of the NASCAR regulars chose to compete at Richmond, some because they were afraid to incur the wrath of Bill France. Entries in Turner’s race included Tim Flock, who had been NASCAR Champion in both 1952 and 1955, three time NASCAR Convertible Champion Bob Welborn, and Dick Hutcherson.
On 3/28/64 At 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 forerunner of today's Winston Cup tour. The competitive spirit and experience from running on the dirt tracks of the Midwest gave him the ability to win 14 NASCAR races in 103 starts in the #29 Holman-Moody car. Holman Moody ran the following drivers and numbers in the mid-60s:
21 Tiny Lund/Marvin Panch
22 Glen Fireball Roberts
26 Junior Johnson
27 A.J. Foyt
28 Fred Lorenzen
29 Dick Hutcherson
The No. 29 was used infrequently in NASCAR's first decade. It was first seen on Slick Smith’s Buick which finished 13th at Daytona in 1949. Dink Widenhouse drove No. 29 to fourth at Charlotte in an Oldsmobile, won the pole at North Wilkesboro in 1955 and drove a Ford to fourth at Hickory the next year. Dick Freeman piloted a No. 29 Chevrolet at Martinsville and Daytona in 1959, finishing 15th in the inaugural 500. Bob Potter took over the ride the next season, running the same schedule, including a 15th at Daytona. The No. 29 made its first appearance in Victory Lane in the 1961 Southern 500 with Nelson Stacy behind the wheel. He beat pole-sitter Fireball Roberts to the checkered flag, winning a purse of $18,430. The next year, Stacy stayed with the car as Holman-Moody took over ownership, and Stacy won three more races, including the spring Darlington event, Charlotte and Martinsville. In 1963 Larry Frank used the No. 29 at Daytona, finishing eighth in the 500. From 1965 to 1967 Dick Hutcherson drove the #29 Holman-Moody car.
Dick Hutcherson was a rookie in the 1965 NASCAR Grand National season, and won 9 races, but NASCAR ruled that we was ineligible for rookie of the year because he was a past champion in IMCA. He was part of the Ford factory team that dominated the season, and he nearly won the NASCAR championship in his first full season. The season was marred by the Chrysler boycott, which pulled Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Isaac, Paul Goldsmith and others off the tour. Ned Jarrett was the 1961 NASCAR Grand National champion, and he won the 1965 championship as well. On Mar14, 1965: Ned Jarrett Breezed into the lead when a flat tire sent Junior Johnson to the pits and sped to victory in the 150- miler at the .9-mile dirt oval at Orange Speedway. Dick Hutcherson battled with Jarrett for second most of the way, until brake failure sent him to the pits for 30 laps. Hutcherson finished 12th in the final rundown After Jarrett won the 1965 Southern 500 at Darlington, he was asked about his memories of the race. He said that "It was a traditional hot weekend. This was a big race in that respect and Dick Hutcherson was my closest pursuer and we were pretty close coming into the race, but he had some problems and eventually blew up”. Dick Hutcherson finished second with nine wins and nine poles in 52 starts in his Ford Galaxy. 1965 H-M Dick Hutcherson won in a Holman Moody Ford at Greenville-Pickens Speedway (4/17 and 6/19), Fairgrounds Speedway (6/3), Rambi Raceway (6/24), Smoky Mountain Raceway (8/13), Augusta International Speedway (8/15), Dog Track Speedway (8/24), Lincoln Speedway (9/14), and Orange Speedway (10/24). In 1965 Hutch also accomplished the rare feat of winning the pole position in back to back events at Myrtle Beach and Valdosta. James Hylton worked a little bit for Dick Hutcherson the middle of 1965 until the end of that year. With five races to go in the season, at North Wilkesboro, NC, Ned Jarrett had a hefty lead over Dick Hutcherson in the standings. Hutcherson was caught up in an accident on lap 14, enabling Jarrett to extend his points lead. The next race was at Charlotte, NC where Dick Hutcherson finished runner-up to Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett clinched the championship. With three races to go at Hillsborough, NC Dick Hutcherson won the race and locked up his standing as runner-up on the season. With two races to go at Rockingham, NC Curtis Turner took his first checkered flag and Dick Hutcherson finished 7th.
In 1966 Ford withdrew from official sponsorship of NASCAR, taking Fred Lorenzen, Dick Hutcherson, Marvin Panch and Ned Jarrett out of action as Ford-sponsored drivers. Ford was still active in Grand Prix racing, and Dick Hutcherson participated in Ford’s challenge to the dominance of Ferrari. Dick 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. It was the first time that Dick Hutcherson had seen the track!
In NASCAR, "The Silver Fox,", David Pearson, broke through in 1966 with one of the greatest seasons in NASCAR Grand National series history with 15 wins in 42 starts. Hutcherson posted three wins in the 1966 next season, but ran in only 14 races At Watkins Glen, Dick Hutcherson started the race from the pole based on point standings. With five races to go at Orange Speedway in North Hillsborough, NC Jim Hutcherson won the race although Pearson still held a sizable lead in the point standings over James Hylton. On 3/20/66 at the Southeastern 500 at Bristol, Dick Hutcherson’s Ford was the class of the field, driving his Ford Galaxy to his first Bristol win and taking home $4,150. Hutcherson finished four laps ahead of second-place finisher Paul Lewis in front of a crowd of 25,000. James Hylton was third, six laps back, followed by Elmo Langley and Sam McQuagg...In late 1966 Ford switched from the Galaxy to the Fairlane. On 9/18 Hutch drove his Fairlane to victory at Hillsboro’s Orange Speedway. With four races to go, Fred Lorenzen won at Martinsville, VA. On 10/2, with three races to go at North Wilkesboro, NC Dick Hutcherson finished first with points leader David Pearson finishing second. With two races to go at Charlotte, NC, LeeRoy Yarbrough won the race and James Hylton finished ahead of David Pearson. Fred Lorenzen won the final race at Rockingham, NC, and David Pearson won his first NASCAR Grand National championship. Dick Hutcherson finished third in the 1966 points battle.
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 3/25/67 - David Pearson won, leading all but two laps on the half mile dirt track in the 100-mile Grand National event at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. Richard Petty started sixth but was involved in a pit road collision with Dick Hutcherson. On 04/02/67 Ford won another biggie in the Atlanta 500. Ford cars led for 317 of the 334 laps and Cale Yarborough beat Dick Hutcherson by over a lap. At Darlington on 05/13/67 (09/04/67?) Sam McQuagg was racing a Dodge owned by Cotton Owens and became involved was a spectacular crash. During the 81st lap, McQuagg banged fenders with Dick Hutcherson, sending McQuagg's car into the concrete pit wall. The car flipped end-over-end and side-over-side about eight times before coming to a stop. A groggy McQuagg climbed out of the car, walked away and then collapsed. He was treated and released from a local hospital. On 07/27/67 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 10 straight with Dick Hutcherson runner up. With three races to go, at Charlotte, NC Buddy Baker broke Richard Petty’s winning streak. Dick Hutcherson again ran strong, coming in third. With two races to go at Rockingham, NC 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.
When Hutcherson retired at the end of the season, Bobby Allison, Bud Moore and Swede Savage shared the Number 29 ride in 1968. Allison ran eight races, finishing third in the Daytona 500. Moore wound up second at Maryville in seven starts. Savage had just two starts, but one was a third-place effort at Bristol.
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 of 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 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. Herschel McGriff compared it to the atmosphere that surrounded the old Mexican Road Race
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. Dick or "Hutch" as he is known as in racing circles, earned the right to "take life a little easier". He passed away on November 6, 2005 on his way home from Florida.
References
http://www.hutch-pagan.com/
http://jacobsusa.com/cjsspeed/nascar/drivers/dick_hutcherson.shtml
http://www.virhistory.com/vir/62-stock/
http://valunicorn.com/family/r/141.htm
http://www.foytracing.com/AJFoyt/aj_legends.html
Circle Track, August 1993
