1966 Smoky Mountain 200

Auto race held at Smoky Mountain Raceway in 1966 February 2025 CUST Race 35 of 49 in the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season Smoky Mountain 200 Weather information for the 1966 Smoky Mountain 200 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1966 July 28 1966 35 49 Smoky Mountain 200 Smoky Mountain Raceway, Maryville, Tennessee 0.500 0.745 200 100 80 Extremely hot with temperatures of 93 F C; wind speeds of 8.9 mph km/h 69.822 mph on 6,000 Buddy Baker Emory Gilliam David Pearson Cotton Owens 100 1 Paul Lewis Paul Lewis untelevised none The 1966 Smoky Mountain 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on July 28, 1966, at Smoky Mountain Raceway in Maryville, Tennessee. 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. Race report This 200-lap race would last for nearly one and a half hours; six thousand spectators would watch an event where Richard Petty became the last-place finisher by virtue of steering problems on the 17th lap. Buddy Baker and David Pearson would dominate much of the race.Racing information for the 1966 Smoky Mountain 200 at Racing Reference Paul Lewis would go on to defeat Pearson by a time of two seconds; making it his only career victory in a car of his own ownership after starting two cars away from last in this unlikely triumph. Lewis would dominate the final 64 laps of this event and would never let go. Unfortunately, Lewis was never able to record another victory in his NASCAR Cup Series career after the end of this event. Out of the 29 drivers on the grid, there was only one foreigner in the event - Canadian-born Don Biederman. Buzz Gregory became the lowest-finishing driver to finish the race; he was 84 laps behind the lead lap drivers. The number of cautions for this event was never recorded. Throughout the race, the average speed of the vehicles was 69.822 mph km/h. Notable crew chiefs that would make an appearance at this race were Herman Beam, Bob Cooper, Clair Jackson, Frankie Scott, Dale Inman and Bud Hartje.1966 Smoky Mountain 200 crew chief information at Racing Reference 1975 & 1976 Late Model Sportsman Champion and longtime Sportsman and Busch Series Veteran L.D. Ottinger made his Grand National debut; he would not return to the Cup Series until 1973. Ottinger made his last Cup race in 1984, driving for Rod Benfield and the #98 Levi Garrett team, replacing the recently released Joe Ruttman for two races.L. D. Ottinger's career https://web.archive.org/web/20180819003141/http://www.legendsofnascar.com/LD_Ottinger.htm August 19, 2018 at Legends of NASCAR He finished 21st and 22nd at Charlotte and North Wilkesboro Speedway, respectively. Buddy Baker clinched the pole position for this racing event with his top speed of 77.821 mph km/h during solo qualifying sessions. Individual race earnings for each driver ranged from $1,000 ($ when adjusted for inflation) to $100 ($ when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse offered for this NASCAR event was $4,940 ($ when adjusted for inflation).Racing information for the 1966 Smoky Mountain 200 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 00 Buddy Baker '65 Dodge Emory Gilliam 2 19 J.T. Putney '66 Chevrolet J.T. Putney 3 6 David Pearson '65 Dodge Cotton Owens 4 48 James Hylton '65 Dodge Bud Hartje 5 64 Elmo Langley '64 Ford Elmo Langley / Henry Woodfield 6 20 Clyde Lynn '64 Ford Clyde Lynn 7 43 Richard Petty '66 Plymouth Petty Enterprises 8 4 John Sears '64 Ford L.G. DeWitt 9 18 Stick Elliott '66 Chevrolet Toy Bolton 10 93 Blackie Watt '64 Ford Harry Neal 11 02 Doug Cooper '65 Plymouth Bob Cooper 12 11 Ned Jarrett '64 Ford Bernard Alvarez 13 97 Henley Gray '66 Ford Henley Gray 14 87 Buck Baker '66 Oldsmobile Buck Baker 15 86 Darel Dieringer '64 Dodge Buck Baker 16 06 Jack Lawrence '64 Mercury John McCarthy 17 73 Buzz Gregory '64 Ford Joan Petre 18 2 Bobby Allison '64 Ford Donald Brackins 19 88 Neil Castles '66 Chevrolet Buck Baker 20 74 Earl Brooks '64 Ford Gene Black 21 35 L.T. Ottinger '65 Oldsmobile Ken Carpenter 22 70 J.D. McDuffie '64 Ford J. D. McDuffie 23 61 Joel Davis '66 Chevrolet Toy Bolton 24 3 Buddy Arrington '65 Dodge Ray Fox 25 25 Jabe Thomas '64 Ford Jeff Handy 26 53 Jimmy Helms '64 Ford David Warren 27 1 Paul Lewis '65 Plymouth Paul Lewis 28 34 Wendell Scott '65 Ford Wendell Scott 29 94 Don Biederman '64 Chevrolet Ron Stotten Top 20 finishers Pos No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Laps Number of laps completed Laps led Number of laps led Time/Status 11Paul LewisPlymouth20064 1:25:56 26David PearsonDodge200100 +2 seconds 319J.T. PutneyChevrolet1990 +1 lap 402Doug CooperPlymouth1950 +5 laps 52Bobby AllisonChevrolet1940 +6 laps 648James HyltonDodge1940 +6 laps 74John SearsFord1920 +8 laps 893Blackie WattFord1910 +9 laps 997Henley GrayFord1900 +10 laps 1006Jack LawrenceMercury1890 +11 laps 1187Buck BakerOldsmobile1880 +12 laps 1234Wendell ScottFord1880 +12 laps 1388Neil CastlesChevrolet1880 +12 laps 1418Stick ElliottChevrolet1830+17 laps 1574Earl BrooksFord1830 +17 laps 1653Jimmy HelmsFord1750 +25 laps 1761Joel DavisChevrolet1710 +29 laps 1820Clyde LynnFord1710 +29 laps 1970J.D. McDuffieFord1570 +43 laps 2094Don BiedermanChevrolet1550 +45 laps Timeline Section reference: Start of race: Buddy Baker started the race with the pole position. Lap 17: Richard Petty failed to control his steering in a safe manner. Lap 18: David Pearson takes over the lead from Buddy Baker. Lap 32: L.D. Ottinger noticed that his fender fell off his vehicle. Lap 34: Jabe Thomas developed engine problems, forcing him to exit from the race. Lap 78: Ned Jarrett overheated his race car, causing him to leave the race prematurely. Lap 87: Buddy Arrington's fuel pump stopped acting properly, bringing his day to an end with a 24th-place finish. Lap 116: Buddy Baker takes over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 134: Buddy Baker had a terminal crash, forcing him to withdraw from the event. Lap 135: David Pearson takes over the lead from Buddy Baker. Lap 137: Paul Lewis takes over the lead from David Pearson. Finish: Paul Lewis was officially declared the winner of the event. References 1966 Volunteer 500 1966 Nashville 400 NASCAR Grand National Series season 1966 Smoky Mountain 200 Smoky Mountain 200 Category:NASCAR races at Smoky Mountain Raceway