On October 24, 1965, the NASCAR Grand National Series made its second and final visit of the year to the 0.9-mile dirt oval at Orange Speedway in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
A modest crowd of about 4,500 fans turned out for the 112-lap event featuring a 20-car field. Dick Hutcherson, driving the #47 Holman-Moody Ford, captured the pole with a lap speed of 98.810 mph. However, his race nearly ended before it began: he cut a tire on the opening lap and had to pit, falling a lap behind the leaders.
Despite the early setback, Hutcherson mounted a strong recovery on the fast dirt surface. He ultimately led 53 laps and pulled away to win his ninth victory of the season by a commanding three-lap margin over second-place finisher Tom Pistone. Jim Paschal finished third in a Petty Enterprises Plymouth, also three laps down, followed by Cale Yarborough in fourth and Paul Lewis in fifth.
The race saw three cautions for 14 laps, which slowed the overall average speed to 87.462 mph. Hutcherson earned $1,000 from the $4,540 total purse for the triumph in what was his rookie Grand National season (though he was ineligible for Rookie of the Year honors due to prior IMCA success). It was a classic display of resilience and speed on one of NASCAR’s historic early dirt tracks.
