Tuesday 14th March 1972

David Pearson drove a Chevrolet Camaro to victory as NASCAR inaugurated it’s new Grand National East division with a 100 mile race on the 1/2 mile dirt Jacksonville Speedway. Pearson finished 2 laps ahead of another Camaro driven by Charlie Blanton with veteran Buck Baker 3rd in a Pontiac Firebird. Veteran Grand National independents Wendell Scott and James Hylton rounded out the top 5. The series was created when the Grand National schedule was cut to 31 races after the 1971 season by eliminating most short tracks and all dirt tracks. Open to Grand American “muscle cars” as well as Grand National legal cars, the schedule was made up of traditional Grand National short track races of 250 miles or less in length. The division only lasted two seasons.