The 1966 Columbia 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 7, 1966, at Columbia Speedway in Columbia, South Carolina.

Background

Columbia Speedway was an oval racetrack located in Cayce, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. It was the site of

auto races Auto may refer to: * An automaton * An automobile * An autonomous car * An automatic transmission * An auto rickshaw * Short for automatic * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film * Auto (play), ...

for NASCAR's top series from 1951 through 1971.Columbia Speedway page of Racing-Reference websit

retrieved 8 May 2007. For most of its history, the racing surface was dirt. The races in April and August 1970 were two of the final three Grand National Series races ever held on a dirt track.Fielden, Greg, "NASCAR Cleans Up", ''Speedway Illustrated'', September 2004. The track was paved before hosting its last two Grand National races in 1971. While Columbia Speedway was shut down to cars in 1979, noise complaints, it reopened as a velodrome in 2001.

Race report

Two hundred laps were done on a dirt track racing, dirt track spanning . The race took an hour and thirty-one minutes to decide that

David Pearson David or Dave Pearson may refer to: * David Pearson (librarian) (born 1955), British librarian and scholar * David Pearson (racing driver) (1934–2018), American car racing champion * David Pearson (scientist) (born 1942), Canadian scientist, a ...

defeated Paul Goldsmith by a margin of one car length (less than one lap). Eleven thousand people attended this race which had eight cautions for 19 laps. All 24 competitors were born in the United States of America and were male. Buck Baker and Tiny Lund failed to collect any winnings from this race. This race was dominated by

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

and Ford entries. Speeds for the racing weekend reached in qualifying (achieved by Tom Pistone) and during the actual race. The speeds were equalized by the dirt surface; which slowed down the stock cars during the 1950s and 1960s but brought exciting racing for those who were not quite ready for the blistering fast pace of asphalt racing.

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 198 ...

was involved in the event's only crash at lap 95.

Frankie Scott Frankie may refer to: People *Frankie (musician), indie pop musician from Los Angeles, California *Frankie Abernathy (1981–2007), American MTV Real World cast member *Frankie Adams (born 1994), Samoan New Zealand actress * Frankie Avalon (born ...

and

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three de ...

were the two crew chiefs that were the most notable during the race. 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

Finishing order

# David Pearson (No. 6) # Paul Goldsmith (No. 02) # Tom Pistone (No. 59) # J.T. Putney (No. 19) # John Sears (No. 04) #

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

(No. 43) # Roy Tyner (No. 9) #

Toy Bolton Toy Bolton (November 22, 1926 – June 8, 2001) was a NASCAR Grand National Series driver and team owner from Gastonia, North Carolina, US. Career He competed in just four races in his two-year NASCAR career. Bolton's career accomplishments were ...

(No. 61) # Wendell Scott (No. 34) # Henley Gray (No. 97) # Wayne Woodward (No. 66) # Clyde Lynn (No. 20) # Gene Cline (No. 95) #

J.D. McDuffie John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 top-10 finishes during his career, despite never finishing on the lead ...

(No. 70) # Neil Castles (No. 86) #

Joel Davis Joel Clark Davis (born January 30, 1965) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played professionally for the Chicago White Sox from 1985 to 1988. Career Davis was born in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated from Sandalwood High School i ...

(No. 77) # Jim Tatum (No. 45) #

Stick Elliott Gene "Stick Elliott" Daves (July 27, 1934 – November 1, 1980) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He was a driver in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1962 to 1971. He was a 2009 inductee in the National Dirt Late Model Hall ...

* (No. 18) #

Jimmy Helms James D. Helms (born September 27, 1941) is an American soul singer, known as a member of Londonbeat but who also had solo hits such as " Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse". Early years James D. Helms was born in Florida, United States. ...

* (No. 53) #

* (No. 88) # Bill Seifert* (No. 74) # Elmo Langley* (No. 64) # Buck Baker* (No. 87) # Tiny Lund* (No. 55) ''* Driver failed to finish race''

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Tim Pistone started the race with the pole position. * Lap 13: Tiny Lund's overheating vehicle apparently sealed his last-place finish in this event. * Lap 16: The water pump on Buck Baker's vehicle developed problems, causing him to leave the race early. * Lap 54: David Pearson took over the lead from Tom Pistone. * Lap 63: Bill Seifert's brakes acted up; Elmo Langley managed to blow the engine of his vehicle. * Lap 85: J.T. Putney took over the lead from David Pearson. * Lap 86: Paul Goldsmith took over the lead from J.T. Putney. * Lap 95: Buddy Baker had a terminal crash, ending his hopes of winning the race. * Lap 102: David Pearson took over the lead from Paul Goldsmith. * Lap 123: Jimmy Helms' vehicle ended up overheating, causing him to withdraw from the event. * Lap 161: Stick Elliott's engine became problematic, forcing him to leave the race. * Finish: David Pearson was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

{{S-end

Columbia 200 Columbia Speedway was an oval racetrack located in Cayce, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. It was the site of auto races for NASCAR's top series from 1951 through 1971.Columbia Speedway page of Racing-Reference websit retrieved 8 May 2007. ...

NASCAR races at Columbia Speedway