The year was 1967. Lyndon B. Johnson was President. Gas was 36 cents per gallon and Ritchie County Raceway held an event that has defined the sport of Super Late Model racing for more than 40 years. The original owners didn’t set out to create an event that would stand the test of time. Nor did they believe it would out-live the very track it was contested on. What they did believe was that Ritchie County Raceway was one of the best dirt tracks in the country and that the best drivers should compete on it. To do this they knew they needed four things. A big race, a big purse, a big weekend and an even bigger crowd. So, Pete and Ruby Wilson, along with Ideline Hinkel came up with a plan. The big race would be a 100-lap Super Late Model feature event. The big purse, to attract the drivers, was set at $1,000 during a time when the Census Bureau had the median income per year at $5,974. The big weekend was determined to be Labor Day weekend. But, the key to it all, was a big crowd. To attract a large crowd the name had to be just right. Many were suggested but none fit the event until Hinkel’s granddaughter said ‘‘what about Hillbilly Hundred?’’ The name stuck and the legend began. The event grew each year, as did the prestige of winning it. In 1969 the event was rained out, but it returned the following year. Clate Husted took the checkered flag in 1970, but it was his good friend that proved to be the fastest Hillbilly of them all.