1966 Myers Brothers 250

Last updated
1966 Myers Brothers 250
Race details [1] [2]
Race 41 of 59 in the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Bowman Gray Stadium 2024.svg
Date August 27, 1966;58 years ago (1966-08-27)
Official name Myers Brothers 250
Location Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.250 mi (0.421 km)
Distance 250 laps, 62.5 mi (100.5 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 84.9 °F (29.4 °C); wind speeds of 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Average speed 45.928 miles per hour (73.914 km/h)
Attendance 15,000 [3]
Pole position
Driver
 Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Cotton Owens
Laps 129
Winner
No. 6David PearsonCotton Owens
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1966 Myers Brothers 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 27, 1966, at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Contents

Background

Bowman Gray Stadium is a NASCAR sanctioned 1⁄4-mile (0.40 km) asphalt flat oval short track and longstanding football stadium located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most legendary venues, and is referred to as "NASCAR's longest-running weekly race track". Bowman Gray Stadium is part of the Winston-Salem Sports and Entertainment Complex and is home of the Winston-Salem State University Rams football team. [4] It was also the home of the Wake Forest University football team from 1956 until Groves Stadium (later BB&T Field) opened in 1968.

Race report

The race took one hour and twenty-one minutes to complete. [2] [3] Three cautions slowed the race for sixteen laps. [2] [3] Notable speeds for this race were: 45.928 miles per hour (73.914 km/h) as the average speed [2] and 54.348 miles per hour (87.465 km/h) for the pole position speed. [3] Because the paved oval course only spanned 0.250 miles (0.402 km), [2] [3] speeds on this track emulated that of America's Interstate Highway System.

Fifteen thousand fans came to see David Pearson defeat Richard Petty by ten seconds. [2] [3] There were 23 American-born drivers and one foreign driver (Don Biederman). [3] Dale Inman was one of three most notable crew chiefs in the race along with Frankie Scott and Bud Hartje. [5]

Curtis Turner and Bobby Allison were involved in a crash [2] that got them disqualified from the race in addition to police intervention. However, no charges were laid. The incident started on lap eight of the race and the two drivers would knock and spin each other for approximately ten laps. Both vehicles were eventually tossed out as they came out of a demolition derby. However, Allison and Turner eventually became friends again but this incident would be the most heinous in pre-modern NASCAR history. Turner would eventually die in 1970 from an airplane crash which would also take the life of professional golfer Clarence King. [6]

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.

Qualifying

Grid [3] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
142Richard Petty'66 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
26David Pearson'65 Dodge Cotton Owens
32Bobby Allison'65 Chevrolet Donald Brackins
426Curtis Turner'66 Ford Junior Johnson
559Tom Pistone'64 Ford Tom Pistone
664Elmo Langley'64 Ford Elmo Langley / Henry Woodfield
74John Sears'64 Ford L.G. DeWitt
848James Hylton'65 Dodge Bud Hartje
992Hank Thomas'64 Ford W.S. Jenkins
1065Buddy Arrington'65 Dodge Buddy Arrington
1194Don Biederman'64 Chevrolet Ron Stotten
1240Eddie Yarboro'65 Dodge Eddie Yarboro
1361Joel Davis'66 Chevrolet Toy Bolton
1434Wendell Scott'65 Ford Wendell Scott
1570J.D. McDuffie'64 Ford J.D. McDuffie
1638Wayne Smith'66 Chevrolet Archie Smith
1720Clyde Lynn'64 Ford Clyde Lynn
1860Ernest Eury'64 Chevrolet Joan Petre
1915Paul Dean Holt'64 Ford Lyle Stelter
2097Henley Gray'66 Ford Henley Gray
2100Buddy Baker'64 Ford Clyde Lynn
2295Bill Seifert'64 Ford Bill Seifert
2373Jimmy Helms'64 Ford Joan Petre
2450Larry Manning'64 Chevrolet Edgar Wallen

Timeline

Section reference: [3]

Finishing order

Section reference: [3]

  1. David Pearson† (No. 6)
  2. Richard Petty (No. 42)
  3. James Hylton (No. 48)
  4. John Sears† (No. 4)
  5. Tom Pistone (No. 59)
  6. Wendell Scott† (No. 34)
  7. Clyde Lynn† (No. 20)
  8. J.D. McDuffie† (No. 70)
  9. Henley Gray (No. 97)
  10. Eddie Yarboro (No. 40)
  11. Don Biederman*† (No. 94)
  12. Ernest Eury (No. 60)
  13. Larry Manning (No. 50)
  14. Joel Davis (No. 61)
  15. Elmo Langley*† (No. 64)
  16. Buddy Baker*† (No. 00)
  17. Curtis Turner*† (No. 26)
  18. Bobby Allison* (No. 2)
  19. Bill Seifert* (No. 95)
  20. Paul Dean Holt* (No. 15)
  21. Hank Thomas* (No. 92)
  22. Buddy Arrington* (No. 65)
  23. Wayne Smith* (No. 38)
  24. Jimmy Helms* (No. 73)

* Driver failed to finish race
† Driver is deceased

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References

  1. ↑ "1966 Myers Brothers 250 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "1966 Myers Brothers 250 racing results (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1966 Myers Brothers 250 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  4. ↑ Zona, Chris; Trevin Goodwin (2007). 2007 Rams Football (PDF). Winston-Salem State Athletics. p. 30.
  5. ↑ "1966 Myers Brothers 250 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  6. ↑ "Curtis Turner's Death". Motorsports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series season
1966		Succeeded by
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