1966 Buddy Shuman 250

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1966 Buddy Shuman 250
Race details [1]
Race 43 of 49 in the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date September 9, 1966;53 years ago (1966-09-09)
Official name Buddy Shuman 250
Location Hickory Speedway, Hickory, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.400 mi (0.644 km)
Distance 250 laps, 100 mi (150 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds of 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Average speed 76.923 miles per hour (123.796 km/h)
Attendance 10,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Cotton Owens
Laps 195
Winner
No. 6David PearsonCotton Owens
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1966 Buddy Shuman 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 9, 1966, at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.

Contents

The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s.

Background

Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars".

The track first opened in 1951 as a 1⁄2-mile (0.80 km) dirt track. Gwyn Staley won the first race at the speedway and later became the first track champion. Drivers such as Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, and Ralph Earnhardt also became track champions in the 1950s, with Earnhardt winning five of them.

In 1953, NASCAR's Grand National Series visited the track for the first time. Tim Flock won the first race at the speedway, which became a regular part of the Grand National schedule. After winning his track championship in 1952, Junior Johnson became the most successful Grand National driver at Hickory, winning there seven times.

The track has been re-configured three times in its history. The track became a 0.4-mile (644 meters) dirt track in 1955, which was paved for the first time during the 1967 season.

Race report

David Pearson managed to defeat Richard Petty by at least one lap; clinching his first NASCAR championship in the process. This would also be the last race until the 1981 Riverside opener that Richard Petty ran a number other than 43. [2] [3]

There were 21 competitors in this race; all of them were American-born males. [2] [3] 250 laps were finished on a dirt oval track in one hour and twenty five minutes. [2] Petty would qualify for the pole position with a top speed of 76.923 miles per hour (123.796 km/h) while the average speed of the race would only be 70.533 miles per hour (113.512 km/h). [2] [3] Darel Dieringer would finish in last place due to an overheating engine on lap 3 out of 250. [2] [3] The entire purse of the race would be a paltry $4,640 ($36,563 when adjusted for inflation). [3] Pearson would receive $1,000 of it ($7,880 when adjusted for inflation) while Dieringer would collect a meager $100 ($788 when adjusted for inflation) along with seven other low-ranked finishers. [2]

Other notable names to make their appearance include Junior Johnson, African-American race car driver Wendell Scott, perennial underdog J.D. McDuffie, and future pace car driver Elmo Langley. [2] [3] A crash would take Junior Johnson out of the race on lap 212. [2] [3] Three changes for first place were made along with five caution flags for a distance of 14 laps. [2] [3]

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
142Richard Petty'66 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
26David Pearson'65 Dodge Cotton Owens
31Paul Lewis'65 Plymouth Paul Lewis
464Elmo Langley'64 Ford Elmo Langley / Henry Woodfield
52Bobby Allison'65 Chevrolet Donald Brackins
64John Sears'64 Ford L.G. DeWitt
792Hank Thomas'64 Ford W.S. Jenkins
826Junior Johnson'66 Ford Junior Johnson
948James Hylton'65 Dodge Bud Hartje
1087Buck Baker'66 Oldsmobile Buck Baker

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. David Pearson
  2. Richard Petty
  3. Paul Lewis
  4. James Hylton
  5. Hank Thomas
  6. Wendell Scott
  7. Bobby Allison
  8. Clyde Lynn
  9. John Sears
  10. Bill Seifert
  11. Junior Johnson*
  12. Elmo Langley
  13. Henley Gray
  14. J.T. Putney
  15. J.D. McDuffie
  16. Paul Dean Holt*
  17. Buddy Baker*
  18. Buck Baker*
  19. Neil Castles*
  20. Tom Pistone*
  21. Darel Dieringer*

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

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References

Preceded by
1966 Southern 500 		NASCAR Grand National Series season
1966		Succeeded by
1966 Capital City 300
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