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Drivers David Pearson and James Hylton proved best during the 49-race NASCAR Cup Series season of 1966. Pearson logged 15 victories and the championship, while Hylton challenged with 20 top-five finishes.
Having been in NASCAR’s premier division for only five seasons, Pearson, a native of Spar- tanburg, South Carolina, had one of his best rides with team owner Cotton Owens, also based in the same city. Pearson drove Owens’ white-and-red No. 6 Dodge in 42 of 49 races but managed to post enough top finishes to score his first-career championship. Ironically, all of his victories that year came on short tracks throughout the Southeast and New England. Pearson logged 25 top-five finishes and fell out of only nine events due to mechanical issues.
Pearson’s biggest victory of the season came at Vir- ginia’s Richmond Raceway in the Capital City 300 on Sept. 11, 1966, where he led 242 of 300 laps.
Hylton, his closest championship rival, had served as a crew chief for Rex White in 1960 before fielding and driving his own Dodge. The native of Inman, South Car- olina, was able to build his season on consistent top-five and top-10 finishes en route to his best championship finish to date. Hylton also finished second in points to Richard Petty in 1967.
Sadly, Hylton was killed in a highway accident earlier this year while traveling home form Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway, a track where he won in 1972.
Superstars Junior Johnson and Ned Jar- rett retired from driving at the end of the 1966 season, each having 50 wins to their credit. Johnson said years later, “Had I known we were tied, I would have raced a little longer so I could have gotten ahead of him.
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DAVID PEARSON, wheeling the No. 6 Dodge owned by Cotton Owens, logged a season-high 15 victories, double the amount of wins by any other driver. His smooth driving style allowed him to save his equipment until the final laps before making his charge to the front. Short tracks proved to be where Pearson shined. His strategy of laying back prompted media outlets to dub him “The Silver Fox” as his hair turned gray during later years.
ON AUG. 27, 1966, newcomer Bobby Allison battled veteran Curtis Turner in a crowd-stirring, car-smashing event at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Turner hooked Allison’s Chevrolet and spun him out on lap eight of 250. Allison returned the favor, spinning Turner on lap 98. Turner waited on Allison to come back by, but Allison crashed into Turner again. The two made contact twice more before being separated by NASCAR officials.
DAVID PEARSON drove Cotton Owens’ white-and-red No. 6 Dodge to 15 NASCAR Cup Series victories during the 1966 season. James Hylton’s No. 48 Hylton Racing Dodge had no victories but was a consistent second-place finish in NASCAR Cup Series points.
DATE | LOCATION | WINNER
Nov. 14 | Augusta Speedway | Richard Petty
Jan. 23 | Riverside International Raceway | Dan Gurney
Feb. 25 | Daytona International Speedway | Paul Goldsmith
Feb. 25 | Daytona International Speedway | Earl Balmer
Feb. 27 | Daytona International Speedway | Richard Petty
March 13 | Rockingham Speedway | Paul Goldsmith
March 20 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Dick Hutcherson
March 27 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Jim Hurtubise
April 3 | Hickory Motor Speedway | David Pearson
April 7 | Columbia Speedway | David Pearson
April 9 | Greenville-Pickens Speedway | David Pearson
April 11 | Bowman Gray Stadium | David Pearson
April 17 | North Wilkesboro Speedway | Jim Paschal
April 24 | Martinsville Speedway | Jim Paschal
April 30 | Darlington Raceway | Richard Petty
May 7 | Langley Field Speedway | Richard Petty
May 10 | Middle Georgia Raceway | Richard Petty
May 13 | Starlite Speedway | Darel Dieringer
May 15 | Richmond Raceway | David Pearson
May 22 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Marvin Panch
May 29 | Dog Track Speedway | David Pearson
June 2 | New Asheville Speedway | David Pearson
June 4 | Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds | Elmo Langley
June 9 | Smoky Mountain Raceway | David Pearson
June 12 | Asheville-Weaverville Speedway | Richard Petty
June 15 | Beltsville Speedway | Tiny Lund
June 25 | Greenville-Pickens Speedway | David Pearson
July 4 | Daytona International Speedway | Sam McQuagg
July 7 | Old Dominion Speedway | Elmo Langley
July 10 | Bridgehampton Raceway | David Pearson
July 12 | Oxford Plains Speedway | Bobby Allison
July 14 | Fonda Speedway | David Pearson
July 16 | Islip Speedway | Bobby Allison
July 24 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Paul Goldsmith
July 28 | Smoky Mountain Raceway | Paul Lewis
July 30 | Fairgrounds Speedway | Richard Petty
Aug. 7 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Richard Petty
Aug. 18 | Columbia Speedway | David Pearson
Aug. 21 | Asheville-Weaverville Speedway | Darel Dieringer
Aug. 24 | Beltsville Speedway | Bobby Allison
August 27 | Bowman Gray Stadium | David Pearson
Sept. 5 | Darlington Raceway | Darel Dieringer
Sept. 9 | Hickory Motor Speedway | David Pearson
Sept. 11 | Richmond Raceway | David Pearson
Sept. 18 | Orange Speedway | Dick Hutcherson
Sept. 25 | Martinsville Speedway | Fred Lorenzen
Oct. 2 | North Wilkesboro Speedway | Dick Hutcherson
Oct. 16 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | LeeRoy Yarbrough
Oct. 30 | Rockingham Speedway | Fred Lorenzen
