July 4, 1964, at the Firecracker 400: Bobby Isaac in the #26 1964 Dodge in the
garage area at Daytona. Bobby's Dodge was prepared by Ray Nichels and finished
2nd to Nichels' team car, also a Dodge, driven by AJ Foyt. Foyt's car was
identical except it was #47. These cars were red with gold numbers.
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July 4, 1964, at the Firecracker 400: David Pearson in his #6 1964 Dodge. The
large truck, visible on the right with "Plymouth" written on it, is the
Petty van.
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August 10, 1964: Jim Paschal's #41 1964 Plymouth won the World 600. Jim was
Richard Petty's team mate. This photo was taken at the now defunct
Asheville-Weaverville Speedway near Ashville, NC. Note the lack of
advertising and decals on the car. The driver's uniforms were nearly as plain.
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1965 WNC 500: Richard Petty won the race in this 1965 Plymouth. This photo was
taken at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway. Again, note the lack of advertising
and decals. In the lower left corner you can see the nose of David Pearson's
1965 Coronet. The hood said "Hemi Powered".
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Sam McQuagg, Rookie of the Year in 1965, is shown here with his 1966 Charger built
by Ray Nichels. Sam won the 1966 Firecracker 400. He was involved in a spectacular
crash in the 1967 Southern 500 and only drove occasionally after that.
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Paul Goldsmith in his #99 1968 Road Runner (probably built by Ray Nichels). This was
a promotional photo you got when you purchased Valleydale Bologna. Paul and Ray's
father were in the US Merchant Marines in WWII together and knew each other at
Sheepshead Bay, NY boot camp.
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This is Ray's 1970 GTX. It replaced the 1969 Road Runner that he bought new and drove
less than 1,000 miles before it suffered a Mopar wiring malady and burned up. This
photo was taken somewhere in western Nebraska. The GTX was a 440 automatic, with buckets
and console. Ray bought this car before purchasing an orange SuperBird. The GTX was
purchased new in July, 1970 with a $3,050 voucher from the burned-up Road Runner plus
$1,200 additional cash. It was traded off for the SuperBird in December, 1970.
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This is Ray's SuperBird (which he owned until 1974) shown sitting in the snow at
Kincheloe AFB in the upper peninsula of Michigan in the winter of 1972-73. Look
closely at that rear tire and you'll see the tire chain! The Bird was Ray's only car,
so he had to get around with it however he could. Where is this SuperBird now? It's
owned by WW/NBOA President Sue George!
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