1966 Smoky Mountain 200

Last updated
1966 Smoky Mountain 200
Race details [1]
Race 35 of 49 in the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date July 28, 1966;56 years ago (1966-07-28)
Official name Smoky Mountain 200
Location Smoky Mountain Raceway, Maryville, Tennessee
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.745 km)
Distance 200 laps, 100 mi (80 km)
Weather Extremely hot with temperatures of 93 °F (34 °C); wind speeds of 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)
Average speed 69.822 mph (112.368 km/h)
Attendance 6,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver Emory Gilliam
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Cotton Owens
Laps 100
Winner
No. 1 Paul Lewis Paul Lewis
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1966 Smoky Mountain 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on July 28, 1966, at Smoky Mountain Raceway in Maryville, Tennessee.

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.

Race report

This 200-lap race would last for nearly one and a half hours; six thousand spectators would watch an event where Richard Petty became the last-place finisher by virtue of steering problems on the 17th lap. Buddy Baker and David Pearson would dominate much of the race. [2] Paul Lewis would go on to defeat Pearson by a time of two seconds; making it his only career victory in a car of his own ownership after starting two cars away from last in this unlikely triumph. [2] Lewis would dominate the final 64 laps of this event and would never let go. [2] Unfortunately, Lewis was never able to record another victory in his NASCAR Cup Series career after the end of this event.

Out of the 29 drivers on the grid, there was only one foreigner in the event - Canadian-born Don Biederman. Buzz Gregory became the lowest-finishing driver to finish the race; he was 84 laps behind the lead lap drivers. The number of cautions for this event was never recorded. Throughout the race, the average speed of the vehicles was 69.822 miles per hour (112.368 km/h). [2] Notable crew chiefs that would make an appearance at this race were Herman Beam, Bob Cooper, Clair Jackson, Frankie Scott, Dale Inman and Bud Hartje. [3]

1975 & 1976 Late Model Sportsman Champion and longtime Sportsman and Busch Series Veteran L.D. Ottinger made his Grand National debut; he would not return to the Cup Series until 1973. Ottinger made his last Cup race in 1984, driving for Rod Benfield and the #98 Levi Garrett team, replacing the recently released Joe Ruttman for two races. [4] He finished 21st and 22nd at Charlotte and North Wilkesboro Speedway, respectively.

Buddy Baker clinched the pole position for this racing event with his top speed of 77.821 miles per hour (125.241 km/h) during solo qualifying sessions. [2] Individual race earnings for each driver ranged from $1,000 ($8,352 when adjusted for inflation) to $100 ($835 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse offered for this NASCAR event was $4,940 ($41,258 when adjusted for inflation). [5]

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
100Buddy Baker'65 Dodge Emory Gilliam
219J.T. Putney'66 ChevroletJ.T. Putney
36David Pearson'65 Dodge Cotton Owens
448James Hylton'65 Dodge Bud Hartje
564Elmo Langley'64 FordElmo Langley / Henry Woodfield
620Clyde Lynn'64 FordClyde Lynn
743Richard Petty'66 Plymouth Petty Enterprises
84John Sears'64 Ford L.G. DeWitt
918Stick Elliott'66 Chevrolet Toy Bolton
1093Blackie Watt'64 Ford Harry Neal
1102Doug Cooper'65 Plymouth Bob Cooper
1211Ned Jarrett'64 Ford Bernard Alvarez
1397Henley Gray'66 FordHenley Gray
1487Buck Baker'66 OldsmobileBuck Baker
1586Darel Dieringer'64 Dodge Buck Baker
1606Jack Lawrence'64 MercuryJohn McCarthy
1773Buzz Gregory'64 Ford Joan Petre
182Bobby Allison'64 Ford Donald Brackins
1988Neil Castles'66 ChevroletBuck Baker
2074Earl Brooks'64 Ford Gene Black
2135L.T. Ottinger'65 OldsmobileKen Carpenter
2270J.D. McDuffie'64 FordJ. D. McDuffie
2361Joel Davis'66 ChevroletToy Bolton
243Buddy Arrington'65 Dodge Ray Fox
2525Jabe Thomas'64 Ford Jeff Handy
2653Jimmy Helms'64 Ford David Warren
271Paul Lewis'65 PlymouthPaul Lewis
2834Wendell Scott'65 FordWendell Scott
2994Don Biederman'64 Chevrolet Ron Stotten

Top 20 finishers

PosNo.DriverManufacturerLapsLaps ledTime/Status
11 Paul Lewis Plymouth200641:25:56
26 David Pearson Dodge200100+2 seconds
319 J.T. Putney Chevrolet1990+1 lap
402 Doug Cooper Plymouth1950+5 laps
52 Bobby Allison Chevrolet1940+6 laps
648 James Hylton Dodge1940+6 laps
74 John Sears Ford1920+8 laps
893 Blackie Watt Ford1910+9 laps
997 Henley Gray Ford1900+10 laps
1006 Jack Lawrence Mercury1890+11 laps
1187 Buck Baker Oldsmobile1880+12 laps
1234 Wendell Scott Ford1880+12 laps
1388 Neil Castles Chevrolet1880+12 laps
1418 Stick Elliott Chevrolet1830+17 laps
1574 Earl Brooks Ford1830+17 laps
1653 Jimmy Helms Ford1750+25 laps
1761 Joel Davis Chevrolet1710+29 laps
1820 Clyde Lynn Ford1710+29 laps
1970 J.D. McDuffie Ford1570+43 laps
2094 Don Biederman Chevrolet1550+45 laps

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

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References

Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series season
1966
Succeeded by