1966 Southern 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 42 of 59 in the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 Map of the Darlington Raceway | |||
| Date | September 5, 1966 | ||
| 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) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speeds up to 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average 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 | |||
| No. 16 |
Darel Dieringer |
Bud Moore | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1966 Southern 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series, also formerly known as the Winston Cup Series and the Winston Cup Grand National Series) race held on September 5, 1966, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States.[2]
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.
Summary
A field of 44 drivers competed for a total purse of $67,960 ($493,982.07 when adjusted for inflation).[3]
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][3]
Junior Johnson was disqualified just prior to the race for cheating. Bob Derrington and Eddie MacDonald made their final NASCAR appearances.[4]
Finishing order
- Darel Dieringer
- Richard Petty
- David Pearson
- Marvin Panch
- Fred Lorenzen
- Jim Paschal†
- Dick Hutcherson†
- LeeRoy Yarbrough†
- Sam McQuagg†
- G.C. Spencer†
- Cale Yarborough
- Paul Lewis
- Ned Jarrett
- Curtis Turner*†
- James Hylton
- Paul Goldsmith*
- H. B. Bailey†
- Elmo Langley†
- J.T. Putney†
- John Sears†
- Larry Hess
- Henley Gray
- Neil Castles
- Wendell Scott†
- Bill Champion†
- Frank Warren
- Bunkie Blackburn†
- Tiny Lund*†
- Friday Hassler*†
- Earl Balmer*
- Blackie Watt*
- Earl Brooks*†
- Buddy Baker*
- Eddie MacDonald*
- Stick Elliott*
- Bobby Allison*
- Bobby Johns*
- Bob Derrington*
- Buddy Arrington*
- Wayne Smith*
- Buck Baker*†
- Doug Cooper*
- Jerry Grant*†
- Jimmy Helms*
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race
References
- ↑ "1966 Southern 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "1966 Southern 500". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "1966 Official Race Results: Southern 500". NASCAR Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
- ↑ "1966 Southern 500". Race-Database.com. 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 |
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