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Marvin Panch started in the racing world as a
car owner in California. In 1949, when his driver didn't show up,
Marvin ended up racing his own car to a third place finish. He
continued to race his own cars and had his first big win that same
year on July 4th at the Balboa Stadium, a ¼ mile dirt track in San
Diego. Panch continued racing the next six years in California
winning several races and a championship.
In 1953, Marvin traveled to the east coast
to race the Darlington race finishing 28th. Based on his
performance, Lee Petty invited him back to Darlington in 1954 to
race a Petty car. Marvin finished 3rd in the race capturing the
attention of a Pennsylvania Oldsmobile dealer named Tom Horbison who
asked Panch to remain on the east coast and drive for him during the
1955 race season. During the season, Marvin ran extremely well, out
qualifying and out running the Ford factory cars. As a result, Panch
was offered a Ford ride in 1956 by Pete DePaolo.
Panch won his first Grand National (now
Winston Cup) race on July 20, 1956 at Montgomery, Alabama. Marvin
won the pole and dominated the 100-mile event.
Panch began the 1957 season by winning the
first two races of the year. He posted a third victory in April.
After Ford pulled out of racing in mid-1957, Panch drove the
remainder of the year for Holman-Moody winning an additional three
races and finishing second in the points championship. Despite the
six wins and 22 top-five finishes in his 42 starts that year,
Panch's career took a major step backward following the departure of
the Ford factory team. In the next three seasons, he only competed
in a total of 24 races.
"We just didn't have the money to run our
own team, and I was just never able to get back into a good car
until Smokey called," says Panch. "Those were some hard times."
Smokey Yunick offered Panch a ride in a
year old 1960 Pontiac for the 1961 Daytona 500. Panch won the
Daytona 500 putting both himself and his career back on track. A
little more than a year after his Daytona 500 win, Panch was hired
by the Woods Brothers to drive their Ford. This partnership would
eventually yield 8 wins, 11 second and 11 third place finishes in 69
starts during the 1962 - 1966 seasons.
"We had a lot of success together," says
Panch. "We won some races and always finished up good when we didn't
win. It was like having money in the bank." The relationship came to
an end on March 27, 1966 when Ford Motor Company again pulled out of
NASCAR due to a rules dispute.
Lee Petty offered Panch a ride for the 1966
Charlotte 600 in a year old Plymouth. Marvin captured the Charlotte
600 for his 17th and last career victory. Marvin continued driving
for Petty until his retirement after the National 500 at Charlotte
in October 1966.
Through his racing career Marvin Panch
drove for top car builders such as Smokey Yunick, the Woods
Brothers, Ray Fox Holman-Moody and Petty Enterprises. "I feel that I
cornered the market when it comes to driving for some of the best
car builders in the business. I rate them all very highly," says
Marvin.
Marvin Panch was inducted into the National
Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1987 and was named one
of the top 50 drivers by NASCAR in 1998.
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