1966 Southern 500

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

<templatestyles src="Module:Infobox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

1966 Southern 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 42 of 59 in the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Darlington Raceway
Layout of Darlington Raceway
Date September 5, 1966 (1966-September-05)
Official name Southern 500
Location Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.375 mi (2.212 km)
Distance 364 laps, 500.5 mi (805.4 km)
Weather Hot with temperatures reaching up to 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speeds up to 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)
Average speed 114.830 miles per hour (184.801 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Jon Thorne
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 131
Winner
No. 16 Darel Dieringer Bud Moore
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1966 Southern 500, the 17th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 5, 1966 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

Background

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

The track is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval.[3] The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees.[3] The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees.[3] Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.[3]

Summary

A field of 44 drivers competed for a total purse of $67,960 ($495,654.93 when adjusted for inflation).[4] The media was unpleased with the treatement that they received from NASCAR after a terminal crash by Earl Balmer almost wiped out the press box. As a result, they petitioned the president of the track, Bob Colvin, threatening not to be responsible for any loss of life should another terminal crash injure or kill a member of the media.[5]

LeeRoy Yarbrough won the pole position with a qualifying speed of 140.058 miles per hour (225.402 km/h). Darel Dieringer won the race from Richard Petty in front of an audience of 28,000 people. There were 28 lead changes and 8 cautions for 80 laps, and the race lasted four hours and twenty-one minutes.[2] This race was scheduled for 364 laps on a paved oval track spanning 1.375 miles (2.213 km), for a total distance of 500.5 miles (805.5 km).[2] The average race speed was 114.830 miles per hour (184.801 km/h).[2] Twelve engine failures were recorded during the course of the race along with two terminal crashes along with several other reasons that drivers failed to finish the race.[2]

Junior Johnson was disqualified just prior to the race for cheating.[citation needed] Bob Derrington and Eddie MacDonald made their final NASCAR appearances.[6]

Finishing order

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

  1. Darel Dieringer
  2. Richard Petty
  3. David Pearson
  4. Marvin Panch
  5. Fred Lorenzen
  6. Jim Paschal†
  7. Dick Hutcherson†
  8. LeeRoy Yarbrough†
  9. Sam McQuagg†
  10. G.C. Spencer†
  11. Cale Yarborough
  12. Paul Lewis
  13. Ned Jarrett
  14. Curtis Turner*†
  15. James Hylton
  16. Paul Goldsmith*
  17. H. B. Bailey†
  18. Elmo Langley†
  19. J.T. Putney†
  20. John Sears†
  21. Larry Hess
  22. Henley Gray
  23. Neil Castles
  24. Wendell Scott†
  25. Bill Champion†
  26. Frank Warren
  27. Bunkie Blackburn†
  28. Tiny Lund*†
  29. Friday Hassler*†
  30. Earl Balmer*
  31. Blackie Watt*
  32. Earl Brooks*†
  33. Buddy Baker*†
  34. Eddie MacDonald*
  35. Stick Elliott*
  36. Bobby Allison*
  37. Bobby Johns*
  38. Bob Derrington*
  39. Buddy Arrington*
  40. Wayne Smith*
  41. Buck Baker*†
  42. Doug Cooper*
  43. Jerry Grant*†
  44. Jimmy Helms*

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ The Official NASCAR Trivia Book at Google Books
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Preceded by NASCAR Grand National Series season
1966		 Succeeded by
1966 Buddy Shuman 250
Preceded by Southern 500 races
1966		 Succeeded by
1967
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=1966_Southern_500&oldid=708772011"