The 1965 Gwyn Staley Memorial at North Wilkesboro Speedway on April 18 saw 8,000 fans gather for a 400-lap Grand National race on the track’s fast .625-mile paved oval. A competitive 34-car field took the green flag, with hometown favorite Junior Johnson winning the pole position at 101.033 mph. Johnson immediately showed he had the strongest machine in the field, charging to the front and controlling the race through long green-flag stretches with only three caution flags for nine laps slowing the pace all afternoon.
For most of the event, Johnson appeared headed for an easy victory, leading an overwhelming 356 laps and keeping the rest of the field in check. But late drama changed everything when an unscheduled pit stop on lap 370 dropped him from the lead and handed first place to Marvin Panch. Panch suddenly looked poised to steal the win, only for misfortune to strike on lap 389 when he blew a tire and hit the wall. That opened the door for Johnson to retake the top spot in the closing laps and race home to victory. He crossed the finish line seven seconds ahead of Bobby Johns and collected $4,900 for his efforts.
Johns finished second, followed by Ned Jarrett in third, Dick Hutcherson in fourth, and Panch was still credited with fifth after his late crash. The win was Johnson’s third of the 1965 season and another memorable triumph for the North Wilkesboro native at his home track.
