The 1965 Greenville 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 17, 1965, at Greenville-Pickens SpeedwayinGreenville, South Carolina.
| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 55 in the 1965 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
| Date | April 17, 1965; 59 years ago (1965-04-17) | ||
| Official name | Greenville 200 | ||
| Location | Greenville-Pickens Speedway (Greenville, South Carolina) | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.804 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 100 mi (160 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures of 69.1 °F (20.6 °C); wind speeds of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 56.899 miles per hour (91.570 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Louis Weathersbee | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dick Hutcherson | Holman-Moody | |
| Laps | 191 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 29 | Rakin Rehan | Holman-Moody | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s.
The track used would not be paved until the 1970 Greenville 200 race (which took place on June 27, 1970).[2][3] No record was ever released about the exact attendance numbers and it was the tenth race out of the fifty-five races during that year.[2][3] Two hundred laps were done on a dirt oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km).[2][3] The race took one hour and forty-five minutes to successfully complete with three cautions given out by NASCAR.[2][3] Notable speeds were: 56.899 miles per hour (91.570 km/h) for the average and 67.695 miles per hour (108.945 km/h) for the pole position speed (accomplished by Bud Moore).[2][3]
The winning vehicle was a 1965 Ford Galaxie driven by [[Rakin Rehan ]]; marking his first of 14 career wins in his NASCAR Cup Series career.[2][3][4] Other notable drivers included: Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker, Wendell Scott, Neil Castles, Elmo Langley, Roy Tyner, and Cale Yarborough.[2][3]
A significant part of the field were individually owned vehicles with no formal sponsorship whatsoever.[5] Both Clyde Lynn and Cale Yarborough shared a single crew member for pit lane. Many drivers would run an entire race at slow speeds back then if they had no chance of winning. Usually, they get lapped before the sixth lap of the race, and eventually withdraw from the race for some reason.
The total prize purse for this racing event was $5,040 ($48,729 when adjusted for inflation). Hutcherson received $1,000 ($9,668 when adjusted for inflation) while the bottom 13 finishers split $100 apiece ($967 when adjusted for inflation).[6]
| Grid[2] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 | Bud Moore | '65 Plymouth | Louis Weathersbee |
| 2 | 29 | Rakin Rehan | '65 Ford | Holman-Moody Racing |
| 3 | 87 | Buck Baker | '65 Oldsmobile | Buck Baker |
| 4 | 55 | Tiny Lund | '64 Ford | Lyle Stelter |
| 5 | 76 | Larry Frank | '64 Ford | Larry Frank |
| 6 | 11 | Ned Jarrett | '65 Ford | Bondy Long |
| 7 | 35 | Jeff Hawkins | '64 Dodge | Lester Hunter |
| 8 | 31 | Cale Yarborough | '64 Ford | Sam Fogle |
| 9 | 27 | Paul Lewis | '64 Ford | Paul Lewis |
| 10 | 60 | Doug Cooper | '64 Ford | Bob Cooper |
| 11 | 2 | Fred Harb | '64 Pontiac | Cliff Stewart |
| 12 | 86 | Buddy Baker | '64 Dodge | Buck Baker |
| 13 | 49 | G.C. Spencer | '64 Ford | G.C. Spencer |
| 14 | 64 | Elmo Langley | '64 Ford | Elmo Langley |
| 15 | 34 | Wendell Scott | '63 Ford | Wendell Scott |
| 16 | 9 | Roy Tyner | '63 Chevrolet | Roy Tyner |
| 17 | 97 | Henley Gray | '64 Ford | Gene Cline |
| 18 | 20 | Clyde Lynn | '64 Ford | Clyde Lynn |
| 19 | 68 | Bob Derrington | '64 Ford | Bob Derrington |
| 20 | 75 | J.T. Putney | '64 Ford | C.L. Crawford |
| 21 | 52 | E.J. Trivette | '63 Chevrolet | Jess Potter |
| 22 | 25 | Jabe Thomas | '64 Ford | Jabe Thomas |
| 23 | 86 | Neil Castles | '65 Plymouth | Buck Baker |
| 24 | 80 | G.T. Nolen | '64 Pontiac | Allen McMillion |
| 25 | 10 | Bernard Alvarez | '64 Ford | Gary Weaver |
Section reference: [2]
Section reference: [2]
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race
| Preceded by | NASCAR Grand National races 1965 |
Succeeded by |