Collector Car Corner – Looking back at Riverside Raceway, NASCAR events and some sad times

Q: Hi Greg. I remember a long time ago you wrote about Riverside Raceway and the Ford cars that won there. You also mentioned Les Richter, the man responsible for Riverside and a former Los Angeles Rams pro football standout.  How about revisiting the history of NASCAR racing at Riverside, the Mercury and Ford drivers that raced there and Richter. Thanks, Jim R., retired and now living in Florida.

A: Jim, I’m happy to help as it’s been a while since I mentioned the famous but now defunct Riverside Raceway.  

Opening in 1957, Riverside Raceway featured up to seven distinct track configurations and was known for some great sports car and NASCAR racing. It would also earn a reputation as a dangerous track as A.J. Foyt nearly lost his life in a NASCAR stock car event in 1965 when he lost his brakes entering turn nine. An SCCA club driver, John Lawrence, was killed at the first Riverside race when he flipped his MGA. 

The first NASCAR Riverside 500 mile race was held in 1958 and won by Eddie Gray in a 1957 Ford. The second NASCAR race was held in 1961, but was cut to just 100 miles instead of the 500 grueling miles. Lloyd Dane in a 1961 Chevy won it.

Two NASCAR races were held in 1963 with the length back to 500 and 400 miles. Ford’s Dan Gurney (Motor Trend 500) and Mercury’s Darrell Dieringer (Golden State 400) shared the wins. Then, Gurney went on a tear and dominated single races from 1964 to 1968, sans a Parnelli Jones win in 1967. To round out the decade, Richard Petty won in 1969 driving a Ford.  

Riverside NASCAR events competed on a 2.62 mile layout., which included a long 1.1-mile straightaway leading to turn nine. Gurney, by the way, made his name at Riverside in 1958 when he finished second in an ill-handling Ferrari that other top drivers didn’t want to drive.

The Mercury and Ford stockcars were identical sans sheet metal from 1963 on, although set up by different race teams. The Fords relied mostly on Holman-Moody or the Wood Brothers, while the Mercury division had Bill Stroppe head up its factory race division. 

As for other drivers of Mercury and Ford stock cars, the one that sticks out in my memory is the late Dave MacDonald, a driver who I believe would have been a champion in whatever class he had chosen had his life not been cut short at the 1964 Indy 500 double fatal crash that also claimed Eddie Sachs. 

MacDonald finished second in a Wood Brothers Ford in 1963 at Riverside’s Golden State 400. He had carved a winning reputation in road racing as he won countless big races in Corvettes and AC Shelby Cobras amongst other brands. He nursed the Wood Brothers Ford home in ’63 after leading a race best 92 laps when his transmission lost second gear. MacDonald also had a second place finish in NASCAR racing at Augusta International Raceway in November of ’63 and then a final NASCAR top 10 finish at the 1964 Daytona 500.

Racing also lost two-time NASCAR champ Joe Weatherly in January of 1964 at Riverside when he crashed his Mercury Marauder in turn six of the season opening Riverside 500 and was killed instantly. Weatherly’s head hit the steel barriers as “Little Joe” never wore a shoulder harness and liked his seat belts on the loose side. 

On the bright side, many other drivers posted big wins for Mercury at Riverside, most notably David Pearson who won three times in succession, twice in 1976 and once in 1977. 

The track closed in 1989 to make way for a mall. Overall, a total of 48 NASCAR Riverside races were held from 1963 to 1988, with Ford/Mercury scoring 15 wins.

In ending, you are correct about Riverside track president Les Richter, he the late, great, LA Rams NFL football star that was responsible for Riverside’s overall success. I had the pleasure on interviewing Mr. Richter several times along my way, but that’s for another column as he was such an interesting person and deserves more than just one paragraph. We’ll catch up on Richter’s legacy one day soon.

Thanks for your letter and I hope this look back at Riverside answered your questions. 

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes questions on collector cars, auto nostalgia and old-time racing at greg@gregzyla.com or at 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840)