Thanksgiving is a pretty big occasion in the country and people usually love spending this time with their near and dear ones. But looking back at NASCAR throughout its 75 years of existence, it’s worth wondering if there’s ever been a race that was scheduled on Thanksgiving.
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Well, as it turns out, it was the case, but only for a few races, mostly on Thanksgiving weekend and one on occasion on the day itself. Although, such a thing never happened in the 21st century.
Back in 1960, Ned Jarrett won a race on Columbia Speedway (Dirt). The actual race had taken place a year prior (1959) but his standings were calculated for the next year. Interestingly, just three years later there was another race scheduled on Thanksgiving called the Turkey Day 200 at Tar Heel Speedway which Glen Wood was dominating the race until he blew his engine.
Thereafter, the win was claimed by another driver named Jim Paschal and Petty Enterprises.
The 2001 New Hampshire 300 was close to Thanksgiving, but not on the actual day
Originally, the 2001 New Hampshire 300 was scheduled to take place on the 16th of September. But owing to the fact that the tragedy of 9/11 had taken place just days prior, NASCAR, along with several other sports, decided not a hold a sporting event out of respect.
Thereafter the event was postponed to take place on the 23rd of November, just a day after Thanksgiving. The high heat on that day caused several tire issues to pop up on multiple cars. NASCAR even had to throw in a caution to allow teams to check the blistering on the tires.
Just five days before this race, Hendrick Motorsports legend Jeff Gordon grabbed his fourth Cup Series (Winston Cup) championship, and he was rapid at New Hampshire that day. The race was made famous for what happened in the dying stages of the race. It was Jeff Gordon versus Robby Gordon going at it for the win that day.
Both drivers made contact with each other on many occasions in the heat of the battle with the HMS star ending the race out of the top 10, while Robby went on to win his first Winston Cup win.
Speaking with the press Gordon later revealed his true intentions for repeatedly hitting him. He said, “I wish I would’ve taken his tire down so he wouldn’t have won. I know it wasn’t sportsmanlike but his actions weren’t sportsmanlike.”
Jeff Gordon did not appreciate the way Robby Gordon had raced him and added that the latter should be embarrassed for winning a race under those circumstances.
