Rene Charland (November 13, 1928 – September 30, 2013), nicknamed "The Champ", was an American
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver. He was a four-time champion of the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
National Sportsman Division, now known as the
Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
.
Career
Charland was born in
Chicopee, Massachusetts
Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. C ...
on November 13, 1928
[Remillard, Jason.]
Auto racing legend Rene Charland, of Agawam, dies at 84
. October 1, 2013. Springfield, MA: '' The Republican'' Accessed 2013-10-03. and made his home in
Agawam.
[Boggie, Tom.]
Four-time NASCAR champ Charland dies
. October 2, 2013. Schenectady, NY: ''The Daily Gazette
''The Daily Gazette'' is an independent, family-owned daily newspaper published in Schenectady, New York. ''The Daily Gazette'' also owns and operates ''The Amsterdam Recorder'', ''The Gloversville Leader-Herald'' and ''Your Niskayuna''.
Hist ...
''. Accessed 2013-10-03. His racing career began in 1949 at
Riverside Park Speedway
Riverside Park Speedway was a 1/4-mile oval paved race track, located at the present site of Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts, one mile north of the Massachusetts–Connecticut state line.
To capitalize on the nation's new attracti ...
in Massachusetts.
By the 1960s he was part of a group of Northeastern racers called "The Eastern Bandits" who moved to the Mid-Atlantic and South to compete in
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
competition.
In 1962 Charland won his first championship in the NASCAR National Sportsman Division, now the XFinity Series. He won the title again the following three years, and finished third in the series' 1966 standings despite missing half of the season due to an injury suffered at
Albany-Saratoga Speedway
Albany-Saratoga Speedway is a 0.36-mile dirt oval on U.S. Route 9 in Malta, New York. The track features racing on Friday nights, with five different weekly racing divisions, including DIRTcar modifieds, DIRTcar sportsman, limited sportsman, pro ...
.
His run of four straight championships gave Charland the nickname "The Champ",
a name he became better known by than his given name, which was pronounced "REE-nee".
Charland also competed in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series:
*National-level stock car series:
**NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Nation ...
,
running nine races between 1964 and 1971, including the
1966 Daytona 500
The 1966 Daytona 500, the 8th running of the event, was won by Richard Petty driving a 1966 Plymouth on February 27, 1966. Petty drove his number 43 to victory in just over three hours after starting the race on the pole. There were four cau ...
, posting a best career finish of third at
Fonda Speedway
Fonda Speedway is a half-mile (0.8 km) dirt oval track located in Fonda, New York. The track hosted NASCAR Cup Series races in 1955 and 1966 to 1968. It is home to the Fonda 200. The track hosts Saturday night races with Modified, Sportsman, Limit ...
in 1966.
Rene Charland - NASCAR Sprint Cup Results
''Racing-Reference''. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2013-10-03.
Charland was estimated as having won over 700 races during his career. He was an inductee into the New England Antique Racers Hall of Fame, the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame and the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame
The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to recognize individual achievements in the sport of stock car racing. It is located at 1 Speedway Dr., Weedsport, New York
Weedsport is a village in Cayuga County, New York, Un ...
. In his later years Charland suffered from dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
. He died on September 30, 2013, in a nursing home in Amsterdam, New York
Amsterdam is a city in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,219. The city is named after Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
The City of Amsterdam is surrounded on the northern, eastern ...
.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Grand National Series
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charland, Rene
1928 births
2013 deaths
People from Chicopee, Massachusetts
Racing drivers from Massachusetts
NASCAR drivers
NASCAR Xfinity Series champions
People from Agawam, Massachusetts