View source for 1966 Columbia 200

{{short description|Auto race held at Columbia Speedway in 1966}}
{{NASCAR race season infobox
| Type           = CUST
| Description    = Race 10 of 49 in the [[1966 in NASCAR|1966 NASCAR Grand National Series]] season
| Race Name      = Columbia 200
| Details ref    = <ref name="weather-information">{{cite web | url = http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/SC/Columbia/1966-04-07 | title = 1966 Columbia 200 weather information | publisher = The Old Farmers' Almanac | date = | accessdate = 2012-10-11}}</ref><ref name="ultimateracinghistory">{{cite web | url = http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=8885 | title = 1966 Columbia 200 information (third reference) | publisher = Ultimate Racing History | date = | accessdate = 2010-12-05}}</ref>
| Fulldate       = {{Start date and age|1966|April|7}}
| Year           = 1966
| Race_No        = 10
| Season_No      = 49
| Image          =
| Official name  = Columbia 200
| Location       = [[Columbia Speedway]], [[Columbia, South Carolina]]
| Course_mi      = 0.500
| Course_km      = 0.805
| Distance_laps  = 200
| Distance_mi    = 100
| Distance_km    = 160
| Weather        = Mild with temperatures of {{convert|70|F|C}}; wind speeds of {{convert|25.1|mph|km/h}}
| Avg            = {{convert|65.574|mi/h}}
| Attendance     = 11,000<ref name="1966c200">{{cite web | url = http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1966_Columbia_200/W | title = 1966 Columbia 200 information | publisher = Racing Reference | date = | accessdate = 2010-12-05}}</ref>
| Pole_Driver    = [[Tom Pistone]]
| Pole_Team      = Tom Pistone
| Pole_Time      =
| Most_Driver    = [[David Pearson (racing driver)|David Pearson]]
| Most_Team      = [[Cotton Owens]]
| Most_laps      = 130
| Car            = 6
| First_Driver   = David Pearson
| First_Team     = Cotton Owens
| Network        = untelevised
| Announcers     = none
}}

The '''1966 Columbia 200''' was a [[NASCAR]] [[Grand National Series]] event that was held on April 7, 1966, at [[Columbia Speedway]] in [[Columbia, South Carolina]].

==Background==
[[Columbia Speedway]] was an oval racetrack located in [[Cayce, South Carolina|Cayce]], a suburb of [[Columbia, South Carolina]]. It was the site of [[Auto racing|auto races]] for [[NASCAR]]'s top series from 1951 through 1971.<ref name="raceref">Columbia Speedway page of Racing-Reference website [http://racing-reference.info/tracks?id=130], retrieved 8 May 2007.</ref>  For most of its history, the racing surface was dirt.  The races in April and August 1970 were two of the final three [[Grand National Series]] races ever held on a dirt track.<ref name="Fielden_SI_Sep04">Fielden, Greg, "NASCAR Cleans Up", ''Speedway Illustrated'', September 2004.</ref>

The track was paved before hosting its last two Grand National races in 1971.

While Columbia Speedway was shut down to cars in 1979, noise complaints, it reopened as a velodrome in 2001.

==Race report==
Two hundred laps were done on a [[dirt track racing|dirt track]] spanning {{convert|0.500|mi|km}}.<ref name="ultimateracinghistory"/><ref name="1966c200"/> The race took an hour and thirty-one minutes to decide that [[David Pearson (racing driver)|David Pearson]] defeated [[Paul Goldsmith]] by a margin of one car length (less than one lap<ref name="ultimateracinghistory"/>).<ref name="1966c200"/> Eleven thousand people attended this race which had eight cautions for 19 laps.<ref name="1966c200"/>

All 24 competitors were born in the [[United States|United States of America]] and were male.<ref name="1966c200"/> [[Buck Baker]] and [[Tiny Lund]] failed to collect any winnings from this race.<ref name="1966c200"/> This race was dominated by [[Chevrolet]] and [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] entries.<ref name="1966c200"/> Speeds for the racing weekend reached {{convert|72.202|mph|km/h}} in qualifying (achieved by [[Tom Pistone]]) and {{convert|65.747|mph|km/h}} during the actual race.<ref name="1966c200"/> The speeds were equalized by the dirt surface; which slowed down the stock cars during the 1950s and 1960s but brought exciting racing for those who were not quite ready for the blistering fast pace of asphalt racing.

[[Buddy Baker]] was involved in the event's only crash at lap 95.<ref name="1966c200"/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.everythingstockcar.com/2298r-1966-columbia-200-nascar-race.html | title = 1966 Columbia 200 information (second reference) | publisher = Everything Stock Car | date =  | accessdate = 2010-12-05 | archive-date = 2011-07-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710210837/http://www.everythingstockcar.com/2298r-1966-columbia-200-nascar-race.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> [[Frankie Scott]] and [[Dale Inman]] were the two crew chiefs that were the most notable during the race.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1966-10/W/C | title = 1966 Columbia 200 crew chief information | publisher = Racing Reference | date = | accessdate = 2017-06-11}}</ref>

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.

===Qualifying===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Grid<ref name="1966c200"/>
! {{Tooltip|No.|Car number}}
! Driver
! Manufacturer
! Owner
|-
!  1
| 59 || Tom Pistone || '64 Ford || Tom Pistone
|-
!  2
| 19 || J.T. Putney || '66 Chevrolet || J.T. Putney
|-
! 3
| 88 || Buddy Baker || '66 Chevrolet || Buck Baker
|-
! 4
| 04 || John Sears || '64 Ford || L.G. DeWitt
|-
! 5
| 18 || Stick Elliott || '66 Chevrolet || Toy Bolton
|-
! 6
| 6 || David Pearson || '64 Dodge || Cotton Owens
|-
! 7
| 87 || Buck Baker || '66 Oldsmobile || Buck Baker
|-
! 8
| 97 || Henley Gray || '65 Ford || Henley Gray
|-
! 9
| 02 || Paul Goldsmith || '65 Plymouth || Bob Cooper
|-
! 10
| 55 || Tiny Lund || '64 Ford || Lyle Stelter
|-
! 11
| 70 || J.D. McDuffie || '64 Ford || J.D. McDuffie
|-
! 12
| 77 || Joel Davis || '65 Plymouth || Harold Mays
|-
! 13
| 64 || Elmo Langley || '64 Ford || Elmo Langley / Henry Woodfield
|-
! 14
| 66 || Wayne Woodward || '66 Chevrolet || Wayne Woodward
|-
! 15
| 61 || Toy Bolton || '66 Chevrolet || Toy Bolton
|}

==Finishing order==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
# David Pearson (No. 6)
# Paul Goldsmith (No. 02)
# [[Tom Pistone]] (No. 59)
# [[J.T. Putney]] (No. 19)
# [[John Sears (racing driver)|John Sears]] (No. 04)
# [[Richard Petty]] (No. 43)
# [[Roy Tyner]] (No. 9)
# [[Toy Bolton]] (No. 61)
# [[Wendell Scott]] (No. 34)
# [[Henley Gray]] (No. 97)
# [[Wayne Woodward (racing driver)|Wayne Woodward]] (No. 66)
# [[Clyde Lynn]] (No. 20)
# [[Gene Cline]] (No. 95)
# [[J.D. McDuffie]] (No. 70)
# [[Neil Castles]] (No. 86)
# [[Joel Davis (racing driver)|Joel Davis]] (No. 77)
# [[Jim Tatum (racing driver)|Jim Tatum]] (No. 45)
# [[Stick Elliott]]* (No. 18)
# [[Jimmy Helms (racing driver)|Jimmy Helms]]* (No. 53)
# [[Buddy Baker]]* (No. 88)
# [[Bill Seifert]]* (No. 74)
# [[Elmo Langley]]* (No. 64)
# [[Buck Baker]]* (No. 87)
# [[Tiny Lund]]* (No. 55)
{{div col end}}
''* Driver failed to finish race''

==Timeline==
<small>Section reference: <ref name="1966c200"/></small>
* Start of race: Tim Pistone started the race with the pole position.
* Lap 13: Tiny Lund's overheating vehicle apparently sealed his last-place finish in this event.
* Lap 16: The water pump on Buck Baker's vehicle developed problems, causing him to leave the race early.
* Lap 54: David Pearson took over the lead from Tom Pistone.
* Lap 63: Bill Seifert's brakes acted up; Elmo Langley managed to blow the engine of his vehicle.
* Lap 85: J.T. Putney took over the lead from David Pearson.
* Lap 86: Paul Goldsmith took over the lead from J.T. Putney.
* Lap 95: Buddy Baker had a terminal crash, ending his hopes of winning the race.
* Lap 102: David Pearson took over the lead from Paul Goldsmith.
* Lap 123: Jimmy Helms' vehicle ended up overheating, causing him to withdraw from the event.
* Lap 161: Stick Elliott's engine became problematic, forcing him to leave the race.
* Finish: David Pearson was officially declared the winner of the event.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{succession box |
  before = [[1966 Hickory 250]]|
  after = [[1966 Greenville 200]]|
  title = NASCAR Grand National Series Season|
  years = 1966 |
}}
{{S-end}}

[[Category:1966 NASCAR Grand National Series|Columbia 200]]
[[Category:1966 in sports in South Carolina|Columbia 200]]
[[Category:NASCAR races at Columbia Speedway]]