1965 – Jarrett Takes Prize in Southern 500 Go

Southern 500 winner Ned Jarrett is joined by wife Martha, daughter Patricia, beauty queen Vicki Johnson and Johnny Reb.

Darlington, S.C. (September 6, 1965) – Ned Jarrett won the Southern 500 stock car race Monday after mechanical troubles sidelined the day’s two leaders, Darel Dieringer and Fred Lorenzen, with 41 laps to go.

Jarrett, the 32-year-old factory Ford driver from Camden, S.C., collected the $20,000 prize money in addition to the 63 laps he led in the race.

Buddy Baker, driving the 1965 Plymouth started in the race by his father, three-time winner Buck, finished second.

Dieringer finished third, although he drove from the 323rd lap on with no brakes. Roy Mayne, in a 1965 Chevrolet, was fourth and Buddy Arrington took fifth.

Jarrett, known as the gentleman of the stock car circuit, and one of the best short track drivers around, put his Ford in the lead for good on lap 326 over the 1.5-mile Darlington International Raceway and sailed home without any serious challenges.

Dieringer, whose day was surely the most frustrating of his 10-year career, led for 187 laps on the demanding high-banked oval and appeared to be safely home with his only victory of the year when his brakes failed on his aging 1964 Mercury.

Jarrett, one of the few drivers who enters every NASCAR late model event, was never out of the top-10 during the early stages of the race when the favorites dueled themselves out of action.

Near the end, it had boiled down to a duel between Dieringer and Lorenzen. The lead had changed hands 18 times and there had been eight leaders before two quick pit stops changed the fortunes of the top five.

Dieringer had made his last pit stop on lap 300, giving the lead to Lorenzen. But Lorenzen went in for tires and fuel, and Dieringer took over again. On lap 303, Dieringer’s right rear wheel caught on fire due to the faulty brakes and that sent him back to the pits. Lorenzen took over the lead but on the next lap, his engine blew.

That left Jarrett alone in front, although Dieringer made a battle of it for a while, driving without brakes. With 13 laps to go, however, Dieringer’s car came to a halt on the backstretch.


Results –

1. Ned Jarrett
2. Buddy Baker
3. Darel Dieringer
4. Roy Mayne
5. Buddy Arrington
6. H.B. Bailey
7. Gene Elliot
8. Frank Warren
9. J.T. Putney
10.Lionel Johnson
11.Fred Lorenzen
12.Jimmy Helms
13.Bob Derrington
14.Paul Lewis
15.Wayne Smith
16.E.J. Trivette
17.Bobby Johns
18.Don Hume
19.Dick Hutcherson
20.G.C. Spencer