1966 Southern 500

1966 Southern 500
Race details
Race 42 of 49 in the 1966 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date September 5, 1966 (1966-September-05)
Location Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina, USA)
Course Permanent racing facility
1.375 mi (2.212 km)
Distance 364 laps, 500.5 mi (805.4 km)
Avg Speed 114.830 miles per hour (184.801 km/h)
Pole position
Driver LeeRoy Yarbrough Jon Thorne
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 131
Winner
16
 Darel Dieringer
 Bud Moore
Television
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1966 Southern 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series race held on September 5, 1966, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States.[1]

Summary

A field of 44 drivers competed for a total purse of $67,960 ($459,918.6 in today's money).[2]

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.[1] 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).[1] The average race speed was 114.830 miles per hour (184.801 km/h).[1][2]

Junior Johnson was disqualified just prior to the race for cheating. Bob Derrington and Eddie MacDonald made their final NASCAR appearances.[3]

Finishing order

  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

References

  1. ^ a b c d "1966 Southern 500". Racing-Reference.info. http://racing-reference.info/race/1966_Southern_500/W. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b "1966 Official Race Results: Southern 500". NASCAR Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. http://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar/races/results/1966/darlington-raceway/southern-500/1003. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  3. ^ "1966 Southern 500". Race-Database.com. http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1966&race=42&series_id=2. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
Preceded by
1966 Myers Brothers 250		 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1966		 Succeeded by
1966 Buddy Shuman 250
Preceded by
1965		 Southern 500 races
1966		 Succeeded by
1967