02/15/2021 – Tarheel Speedway is a 1/4-mile paved short-track located north of Randleman, North Carolina (yes, that Randleman that is home to a certain NASCAR legend) that has been closed for over 50 years and, while still physically present, is in very poor condition.
A total of three Cup races were ran at Tarheel Speedway, all part of the 1963 season with Jim Paschal taking victory twice and Richard Petty once; the winning marque for all races was Plymouth (the highest finishing Pontiac came home in 2nd for the first two races courtesy of Joe Weatherly – interestingly enough Weatherly finished 2nd for the third race as well, but driving a Mercury – and 6th place for the third race courtesy of Buck Baker).
While the track’s Cup association began and ended in 1963, it remained open and sought to heighten its profile by utilizing Cup sponsorship on three occasions before its final closure in 1967. Interestingly enough, on all three occasions the sponsorship was carried by a Pontiac – Joe Weatherly driving Cliff Stewart’s 1962 Pontiac for the dramatically named 1963 Speedorama 200 at Rambi Raceway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Weatherly started 7th and finished 3rd), Ralph Earnhardt driving Fred Harb’s 1962 Pontiac for the 1963 Southern 500 at Darlington, South Carolina (Earnhardt started 26th and finished 25th), and Canadian native Jim Bray driving Shorty Johns’ 1964 Pontiac for the 1965 Daytona 500 (Bray started 29th and finished 32nd).
Pontiac Racing 