|| *Comments on the 1966 American 500:* View the most recent comment <#17> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Brian Showers posted: 03.01.2006 - 9:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ned Jarrett finished 3rd in what was his last race in NASCAR competition. He retired at the age of 34. 2. Anonymous posted: 11.29.2006 - 12:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was also Junior Johnson's last race; 5th. 3. RaceFanX posted: 03.12.2008 - 1:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ned Jarrett is the only Cup driver to retire as reigning champion 4. Andrea Giachè posted: 04.10.2008 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ludovico Scarfiotti (former Ferrari F1 driver) practiced #14 Playmouth, a year before Jim Clark... 5. Mike posted: 06.24.2008 - 5:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Donnie Allison scores his 1st top 10 in only his 2nd career start. 6. Jim posted: 05.05.2010 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder why Jr. Johnson changed his number to 47. He ran # 26 all the previous races of 1966. 7. ARR94 posted: 05.10.2010 - 1:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Both Johnson and Jarret retired after this race, the reason had something to do with the 1964 season. 8. Anonymous posted: 11.02.2010 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "the reason had something to do with the 1964 season." Ned and Junior were involved in the crash that killed Fireball Roberts. They both received severe burns pulling Roberts out of the wreckage. I'm not sure about Johnson, but this is the reason that Jarrett retired when he did. The risk was greater than the reward at the time. 9. Walleyewhacker posted: 07.04.2011 - 11:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Had Ford developed the Fairlane earlier in the year, they would have won a lot more races! 10. Spen posted: 02.04.2013 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's '66 Ladfordized: 1. David Pearson 6625 2. John Sears 5901 (-724) (Sears was also a rookie, so he may have beaten Hylton for ROTY.) 3. James Hylton 5895 (-730) 4. Elmo Langley 5793 (-832) 5. Henley Gray 5602 (-1023) 6. Richard Petty 5529 (-1096) 7. Wendell Scott 5488 (-1137) 8. Neil Castles 5091 (-1534) 9. Clyde Lynn 4810 (-1815) 10. J.T. Putney 4518 (-2107) 11. Buddy Baker 4351 12. J.D. McDuffie 4243 13. Buck Baker 4236 14. Bobby Allison 4058 15. Tiny Lund 3451 16. Tom Pistone 3128 17. Darel Dieringer 3037 18. Jimmy Helms 2926 19. Paul Lewis 2862 20. Roy Tyner 2796 21. Paul Goldsmith 2780 22. Ned Jarrett 2437 23. Blackie Watt 2398 24. Jim Paschal 2377 25. Buddy Arrington 2360 26. Curtis Turner 2354 (Johnny Wynn appears to be points ineligable. He would have had 2338.) 27. G.C. Spencer 2228 28. Wayne Smith 2158 29. Joel Davis 2051 30. Doug Cooper 2003 31. Roy Mayne 1964 32. Stick Elliott 1963 33. Dick Hutcherson 1839 34. Sam McQuagg 1836 35. Cale Yarborough 1827 36. Hank Thomas 1785 37. Marvin Panch 1768 38. Bill Seifert 1701 39. Fred Lorenzen 1493 40. Don Biederman 1427 41. Larry Manning 1405 42. Gene Cline 1305 43. Gene Black 1206 44. Larry Hess 1165 45. Jabe Thomas 1162 (Don White, too. He'd have had 1097.) 46. Worth McMillion 1093 47. Frank Warren 1092 48. Sonny Lamphear 1055 49. Bob Derrington 1032 50. Lee Roy Yarbrough 1029 11. nascar_vd / racing-reference.info posted: 04.22.2014 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Note: Ned Jarrett finished third despite accidentally triggering a fire extinguisher Inside the cockpit that cost him three laps. "It was not only embarrassing, it was nauseating" said Jarrett. 12. nascar_vd / racing-reference.info posted: 04.22.2014 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry for the double post (it's a mistake) Note: Junior Johnson use the #47 and race a last time because promoters kept luring him back to help attract fans. He finished fifth in the race, and promptly declared he would never drive again. And he didn't. 13. kup posted: 11.13.2017 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 1966 UPS _ Driver = Miles / AF 1315 _ David Pearson = 8416 / 6.4 990 _ James Hylton = 8510 / 8.6 587 _ Richard Petty = 6458 / 11.0 557 _ Henley Gray = 7407 / 13.3 522 _ John Sears = 6632 / 12.7 487 _ Wendell Scott = 6914 / 14.2 414 _ Paul Goldsmith = 5382 / 13.0 & TOTAL: UPS! 18 years 1949-1966: Lee Petty 5 in: 1950, 1952, 1954, 1958, 1959. Buck Baker 2 in: 1956, 1957. Rex White 2 in: 1960, 1961. Richard Petty 2 in: 1963, 1964. Bill Blair 1 in: 1949. Fonty Flock 1 in: 1951. Herb Thomas 1 in: 1953. Tim Flock 1 in: 1955. Joe Weatherly 1 in: 1962. Ned Jarrett 1 in 1965. David Pearson 1 in 1966. 14. Brandon posted: 03.29.2018 - 7:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A total of 9 manufacturers raced in the 49 races in 1966, here is how many races each showed up to. Buick: 2 Chevrolet: 49 Dodge: 49 Ford: 49 Mercury: 30 Oldsmobile: 44 Plymouth: 46 Pontiac: 14 Rambler: 3 15. Scott B posted: 09.20.2018 - 12:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the first race in this series as a car owner for George Elliott (Bill's dad, Chase's grandfather). 16. Scott B posted: 09.20.2018 - 12:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) As for the action on the track, it was an epic duel between Fred Lorenzen and Richard Petty for the first half of the race, with the lead swapping back and forth between the two. Petty lost his engine on lap 320, ending the drama and leaving Lorenzen pretty much unchallenged at the end. Several other high profile Mopar teams also suffered reliability issue in this race, including Paul Lewis in a Petty team car, who's engine went just a few laps before Richard's. 17. JSPorts posted: 01.22.2021 - 11:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wins in the Gen-1 car (1949-1966): 1st: Lee Petty, 54 2nd: Ned Jarrett & Junior Johnson, 50 4th: Richard Petty & Herb Thomas, 48 6th: Buck Baker, 46 7th: Tim Flock, 39 8th: Fireball Roberts, 33 9th: David Pearson & Rex White, 28 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: