4 replies to this topic

[Nanni Dietrich]

There is a legendary photo at the end of 24 Hours du Mans 1966, with three Fords: first, under the flag is the black MK2 of Bruce McLaren-Chris Amon, winners of the race, second the gray one for Ken Miles-Denny Hulme and third another orange Mk2. I think at the steering wheel is Dick Hutcherson who was classified third with Ronnie Bucknum.
Can someone help me to know well this guy?
Was Dick Hutcherson a Nascar driver?
And after this race did he run in F. A/5000 ?

Thanks, folks.

[Don Capps]

Dick Hutcherson came into NASCAR Grand National racing during the 1965 season from either IMCA or ARCA in the Midwest. As a rookie, Hutcherson ran the full circuit and engaged in a contest with Ned Jarrett for the championship that season. Like most of the Ford drivers, Hutcherson sat out most of the 1966 season and soon drifted from racing into team management and related activities.

It was Gus Hutchison that raced in the Formula SCCA/Continental/5000 series.

I got to meet and speak with Dick Hutcherson several times during the 1965 season. He seemed a pretty straight-forward guy and quite a Racer. He was really very good, especially on the dirt -- but Ned Jarrett was one of the best of that period on the dirt tracks and the Bondy Long team just had that edge and experience on Hutcherson.

That he did fairly well at Le Mans was not all that much of a surprise. Many drivers during that period could drive about anything anywhere anytime.

[Jim Thurman]

Dick Hutcherson is from Keokuk, Iowa (the same Iowa town that produced several Stock Car greats from the 50's through 70's: multi-time IMCA champ Ernie Derr, IMCA and USAC star Don White, Ramo Stott and Dick's brother Ron - an ARCA champ).

Dick Hutcherson arrived in NASCAR in 1964 fresh from back to back IMCA titles (indeed, his two broke up Derr's streak of 4 straight championships, and Derr won 7 straight after Hutcherson left for NASCAR!). I have no idea of his win totals in IMCA because that series hasn't been well compiled, but he was listed as winning 29 IMCA races in 1964, all on dirt (I don't know if IMCA even had any pavement races at that time, and they were rare). He only made a few starts in 1964 before running a full schedule in '65.

After retiring as a driver after 1967, Hutcherson was a team manager and partnered West Coast star Eddie Pagan to form Hutcherson-Pagan, which was the premiere chassis constructor for NASCAR for many years.

Hutcherson's stats in NASCAR Grand National:

1964: 4 starts, 2 poles (dirt tracks at Greenville and Spartanburg) and a 2nd place finish

1965: 52 starts, 9 wins, 9 poles, 2nd in points
his 9 wins were all on short tracks (under a mile in length), 6 on dirt, 3 on pavement
all 9 poles on dirt tracks

1966: 14 starts, 3 wins, 2 poles
wins: Bristol, North Wilkesboro and Hillsboro (9/10 mile dirt)
poles: Daytona (100 mile qualifier) and 1 on a dirt track

1967: 33 starts, 2 wins, 9 poles, 9 2nds, 3rd in pts.
wins: Maryville (dirt short track) and 'Dixie 500' at Atlanta Intl. Raceway (superspeedway)
poles: Riverside, Rockingham, 4 paved short tracks, 3 dirt short tracks

Career: 103 starts, 22 poles, 14 wins, 19 2nds, 17 3rds, 50 top 5 finishes.

Quite impressive, especially when one considers he only had one season making a serious run at the championship, and that was his first full season in the series.

[buddyt]

At just about all the Nascar race tracks that Nextel....Bush....or the trucks run, a tractor trailer painted in a bad shade of brown will be there selling racing parts with the name....HUTCHERSON..
PAGAN painted on its side....

[Nanni Dietrich]

Thanks!

But I was curious about Dick Hutcherson activity out of Nascar.
Did he run only one LM 24h? or also in other time and in other race in sportcars?

It seems very inusual: let us suppose that Jeff Gordon or Matt Kenseth will run next LM 24h at the wheel of a Bentley Exp8 or a Courage-Peugeot...