"Tiger" Tom Pistone
Martinsville, Va. (April 25, 1966)
- The experts wrote off the Fords for the Virginia 500 stock car race, and,
according to the final scoring sheet, they were right.
Jim Paschal of High Point, N.C.,
won the race in a 1966 Plymouth, followed by Paul Goldsmith, of Munster, Ind.,
in a 1965 Plymouth, and Richard Petty of Randleman, N.C., in another 1966 Plymouth.
Paschal started from the pole position
and led 368 laps of the 500-lap race despite a scoring error that at first gave
the win to Goldsmith.
Nevertheless, the story of
Sunday's race was, in many ways, the story of a Ford driver, "Tiger" Tom Pistone,
a 5-foot-3 mechanic from Chicago, Ill.
When the Ford factory withdrew its
support from the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), Pistone
didn't really care. He had never had factory backing anyway.
Ford was protesting a recent NASCAR
rule change which required that more than 400 pounds be added to any car using
Fords new overhead cam engine.
But Pistone saw something else in
the rules change. For the first time NASCAR was permitting the use of two
carburetors on the older Ford wedge engines.
He was convinced his 1964 Ford
could be competitive with the new carburation set-up. He decided to give his
theory a real test at Martinsville. Starting from 20th place, the little
charger flew past the other independents and started catching the Chrysler
factory cars.
First he passed Petty, then Sam
McQuagg's Dodge Charger, then Goldsmith and Paschal.
As the crowd of 15,500 cheered
him on, the Tiger led the race for 42 laps. A pit stop to cool a flaming rear
grease seal cost him three laps but he knew he still could win.
Then a rod snapped on lap 361 and
his run for the money was over.
But when he strolled into the
press box after the race, the 37- year-old driver was all smiles and laughter.
Results –
- Jim
Paschal
- Paul
Goldsmith
- Richard
Petty
- Elmo
Langley
- G.C.
Spencer
- Paul
Lewis
- Bobby
Allison
- James
Hylton
- David
Pearson
- Buddy
Baker
- Buck
Baker
- Jack
Lawrence
- Joel
Davis
- Roy
Tyner
- Henley
Gray
- Sam
McQuagg
- Worth
McMillion
- Wendell
Scott
- Bobby
Johns
- Wayne
Smith
- J.T.
Putney
- Tom
Pistone
- Bill
Champion
- Doug
Cooper
- J.D.
McDuffie
- Gene
Cline
- Jimmy
Helms
- Hank
Thomas
- Jabe
Thomas
- Clyde Lynn
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