1966 American 500

{{Infobox NASCAR race report | Type = CUST | Description = Race 49 of 49 in the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season | Race Name = American 500 | Details ref = <ref name="weather-information">[http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/NC/Rockingham/1966-10-30 Weather information for the ''1966 American 500''] at The Old Farmers' Almanac</ref> | Fulldate = {{Start date|1966|10|30}} | Year = 1966 | Race_No = 49 | Season_No = 49 | Image = | Caption = | Official name = American 500 | Location = North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina | Course_mi = 1.000 | Course_km = 1.609 | Distance_laps = 500 | Distance_mi = 500 | Distance_km = 804.672 | Weather = Chilly with temperatures reaching up to {{convert|69.3|F|C}}; wind speeds up to {{convert|8|mph|km/h}} | Avg = {{convert|104.348|mi/h}} | Attendance = 35,000<ref name="1966a500">[http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1966_American_500/W ''1966 American 500''] racing information at Racing Reference. Accessed 2012-03-04. 2012-03-06.</ref> | Pole_Driver = Fred Lorenzen | Pole_Team = Holman Moody | Most_Driver = Fred Lorenzen | Most_Team = Holman Moody | Most_laps = 320 | Car = 28 | First_Driver = Fred Lorenzen | First_Team = Holman Moody | Network = untelevised | Announcers = none }}

The '''1966 American 500''' was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 30, 1966, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.

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.

==Background== North Carolina Motor Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fasttrackracing.com/ |title=Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc |publisher=Fasttrackracing.com |date= |accessdate=2012-07-16}}</ref>

==Summary== There were 43 American-born drivers on the grid along with Canadian-born driver Don Biederman.<ref name="1966a500"/> Tiny Lund would finish in last place due to a clutch issue on lap 2 out of the 500 laps that were raced that day.<ref name="1966a500"/><ref name="racedatabase"/> The race took nearly five hours to finish with Fred Lorenzen defeating Don White by more than four laps in front of a crowd of 35000 spectators.<ref name="1966a500"/><ref name="racedatabase"/> Lorenzen would clinch the pole position with qualifying speeds reaching {{convert|116|mph|km/h}}; with the average speed of the racing only being {{convert|11|mph|km/h}} slower.<ref name="1966a500"/><ref name="racedatabase"/> There were 20 different lead changes and NASCAR had to wave the caution flag four times for a total distance of 35 laps.<ref name="1966a500"/><ref name="racedatabase"/>

The other drivers in the top ten were: Ned Jarrett, Cale Yarborough, Junior Johnson, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Jim Paschal, Donnie Allison, and James Hylton.<ref name="1966a500"/><ref name="racedatabase"/> Notable crew chiefs who were in attendance for this race were Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Shorty Johns, and Ray Fox.<ref>[https://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1966-49/W/C 1966 American 500 crew chiefs information] at Racing Reference</ref>

While NASCAR promoters kept luring Junior Johnson back to the Grand National Series for the betterment of the fans, he promptly declared his retirement after this race. Ned Jarrett retired because he and Junior Johnson were involved in the crash that killed Fireball Roberts at the 1964 World 600. They both received severe burns pulling Roberts out of the wreckage. The risk was greater than the reward at the time; given the relatively unregulated nature of NASCAR racing during the late 1960s.

Bobby Johns finished in 38th place due to a carburetor problem;<ref name="1966a500"/><ref name="racedatabase"/> a practice discontinued since NASCAR adopted fuel injection in 2012. Tommy Bostick would make his only NASCAR appearance during this race.<ref name="racedatabase">[http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1966&race=49&series_id=2 ''1966 American 500''] racing information at Race Database. Accessed 2012-03-04. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140812215447/http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1966&race=49&series_id=2 Archived] 2012-03-06.</ref> The winner of the race would receive $14,550 of the total prize purse (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|14550|1966|r=2}}}} when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher went home with a mere $500 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|500|1966|r=2}}}} when adjusted for inflation).<ref>[http://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar/races/results/1966/north-carolina-speedway/american-500/1010 Prize information for the ''1966 American 500''] at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Accessed 2012-03-04. 2012-03-06.</ref>

===Qualifying=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Grid ! {{Tooltip|No.|Car number}} ! Driver ! Manufacturer |- ! 1 | 28 || Fred Lorenzen || '66 Ford |- ! 2 | 43 || Richard Petty || '66 Plymouth |- ! 3 | 26 || Gordon Johncock || '66 Ford |- ! 4 | 29 || Dick Hutcherson || '66 Ford |- ! 5 | 14 || Jim Paschal || '65 Plymouth |- ! 6 | 99 || Paul Goldsmith || '66 Plymouth |- ! 7 | 3 || Buddy Baker || '65 Dodge |- ! 8 | 31 || Don White || '66 Dodge |- ! 9 | 71 || Earl Balmer || '65 Dodge |- ! 10 | 13 || Curtis Turner || '66 Chevrolet |}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{succession box | before = 1966 National 500 | after = 1967 Augusta 300| title = NASCAR Grand National Series Season| years = 1966-67 | }} {{s-end}} {{s-start}} {{succession box |before = 1965 |after = 1967 |title = American 500 races |years = 1966 }} {{s-end}}

American 500 American 500 Category:NASCAR races at Rockingham Speedway American 500