1966 Southeastern 500

1966 Southeastern 500

Race details
Race 7 of 49 in the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Layout of Bristol Motor Speedway
Date	March 20, 1966 (1966-March-20)
Official name	Southeastern 500
Location	Bristol International Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.800 km)
Distance	500 laps, 250.0 mi (400.0 km)
Weather	Temperatures of 69 °F (21 °C); wind speeds of 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)[1]
Average speed	69.952 miles per hour (112.577 km/h)
Attendance	25,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	David Pearson	Owens Racing
Time	20.870
Most laps led
Driver	David Pearson	Owens Racing
Laps	330
Winner
No. 29	Dick Hutcherson	Holman-Moody
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1966 Southeastern 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on March 20, 1966, at Bristol International Speedway in the Bristol, 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.

Five hundred laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km).^[2] The total time of the race was three hours, twenty-four minutes, and twenty-six seconds.^[2] There were seven cautions for 92 laps.^[2] Speeds were: 69.952 miles per hour or 112.577 kilometres per hour and 86.248 miles per hour or 138.803 kilometres per hour for the pole position speed (accomplished by David Pearson).^[2] Dick Hutcherson defeated Paul Lewis by outlapping him more than four times; resulting in Ford's 200th win.^[2] The Ray Nichels team had also used the #9 for Larry Frank's entry at Daytona earlier in the season. They also had Don White run multiple car numbers in the 1966 season, so they weren't always consistent with them.

Richard Petty had an injured finger and could not participate in this race; Jim Paschal had to take over as the relief driver.

Twenty-five thousand fans saw thirty-two drivers start a race that only seven would complete.^[2] Attrition levels were worse in this Bristol race than it is in the 2010 NASCAR Cup Series season; a rare instance where lower speeds on a track are more dangerous than faster speeds. By contrast, the 2010 Food City 500 would see an average speed of 79.618 miles per hour or 128.133 kilometres per hour and a pole position speed of 124.63 miles per hour or 200.57 kilometres per hour with only eight drivers not being able to complete the race.^[3]

The total winnings for the race were $21,735 in American dollars ($204,108 when inflation is taken into effect).^[2] Notable crew chiefs for this race were Bud Hartje, Frankie Scott, Jake Elder, Jack Sullivan and Herman Beam.^[4]

Section reference:^[2]

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Section reference:^[2]