1965 in NASCAR was a year that contained many changes. Due to the increasing speeds of the cars, and the concerns for safety, NASCAR outlawed the Chrysler hemi engine. Chrysler responded by withdrawing their support, and drivers Richard Petty, David Pearson, Paul Goldsmith, Bobby Isaac, and others were forced to sit out the races. Driver Ned Jarrett won the Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) Drivers Championship after winning 13 of the 54 races he competed in. Ford won the Manufacturers Championship again.
THE newly-built Rockingham Speedway opened in 1965, and Curtis Turner returned from his ban to win the inaugural race in his Ford. Turner had been banned from NASCAR in 1961 by Bill France, Sr. for trying to organize a drivers' union with the Teamsters.