NASCAR
Winston Cup Career: 1950-64: Owens won more than 100 NASCAR
Featherlite Modified Tour races during the 1950s before making the
transition to the NASCAR Grand National competition. For six
straight years (1957-62), Owens captured at least one series win --
Owens claimed three wins in 1960, all of which were in his home state of
South Carolina. His most successful season was in 1959 when he won two
races, notched 22 top-10 finishes (through 37 starts) and ranked second
in the series season-long points chase to Lee Petty. "King of the Modifieds" Owens Joins Stripe Zone Line Up
Darlington, SC - Feb 19, 2007
Everett “Cotton” Owens has been added to the list of drivers scheduled to make appearances in the Darlington Stripe Zone on Saturday, May 12, 2007.
Owens, known as the “King of the Modifieds, ” began his NASCAR career in 1950, when he ran three races. He finished 13th in the point standings. Over the course of the next few seasons, he competed in several events, but remained winless.
His first win came on February 17th, 1957, at the series’ premier event – the road course at Daytona Beach, Owens drove a 1957 Pontiac to victory, beating runner-up Johnny Beauchamp by 55 seconds with the first-ever 100 mph (101.541) average race speed on the sand. The win was also Pontiac’s first NASCAR victory.
In 1959, Owens finished second to Lee Petty in the championship standings. His most productive season as a driver came in 1961, with 11 top five finishes and four wins in only 17 starts.
In 1964, Owens came out of retirement to prove that he could beat fellow Spartanburg, SC native David Pearson. He did beat Pearson at Richmond; it was his final career win. Two races later he finished second to Ned Jarrett in his final career race.
In 1965, the Chrysler Hemi engine was not allowed in NASCAR. Car owner Owens and driver Pearson boycotted the series that year, and ran a Hemi in the back of a Dodge Dart drag racer. In 1966 they returned to NASCAR and won the Grand National Championship. The pair parted ways early in 1967. During their six seasons together Owens and Pearson combined for 27 wins in 170 races.
As a car owner and driver, Owens’ combined career statistics include 41 wins and 38 poles in 487 races. He is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association’s Hall of Fame, and was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers during the 50th anniversary celebration in 1998.
As an owner, Owens had some of the biggest names in the sport drive his cars over the years, including, in addition to Pearson, Buddy Baker; Pete Hamilton; Ralph Earnhardt; Bobby Isaac; Junior Johnson; Benny Parsons; Fireball Roberts; Mario Andretti; and Al Unser.
Located in the Wachovia Hospitality Village outside Turn 3, the Darlington Stripe Zone gives fans an opportunity to eat, relax and interact with NASCAR personalities on race day. Stripe Zone admission is limited in number and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Darlington Stripe Zone admission includes food and beverages (including four beer tickets); live entertainment; a pre-race pit pass; a commemorative event souvenir; and question-and-answer sessions featuring current and former NASCAR superstars. In addition to Owens, Jeff Burton is scheduled to make an appearance.
The 2007 Dodge Avenger 500 weekend will include practice and qualifying for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series on Friday, May 11, followed by the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 NASCAR Busch Series race under the lights that evening. Denny Hamlin is the defending champion.
On Saturday, May 12, Darlington will host Cup Series racing for the 58th consecutive season as Greg Biffle attempts to join the short list of drivers to win three events in a row at NASCAR’s most historic venue. The 2007 Dodge Avenger 500 will be run under the lights in its entirety.
An
incident that took place on at Martinsville had long term
implications for Pontiac and General Motors involvement in NASCAR
racing. Billy Meyer’s tangled with Tom Pistone and lost control. His
car crashed through the guardrail, hurdled a fence and struck
several spectators including an eight-year boy who was gravely
injured. All of those hurt in the wreck were standing in an area
clearly
marked that it was off limits to spectators, but the wire services
picked up on the tragic story and soon
there were calls to outlaw automobile racing. In June of that year
the big three US automakers announced the AMA (Automobile
Manufacturing Association) would no longer participate in any form
of racing. 
Pete
Hamilton: A highly regarded driver who piloted Cotton Owens cars,
made 64 Grand National starts with impressive results. He scored 33 top
ten finishes, 26 top fives, and 4 wins along with 3 poles.
Unquestionably, Hamilton's greatest victory came into 1970 when he won
the Daytona 500 in the Petty Enterprises #40 Superbird. He won his
fourth and final superspeedway win at the July 1971 Daytona Firecracker
driving a Cotton Owens car. He also won a Daytona 125 qualifier in '71
for Owens.
Since
ancient times, people have raced: Greek Olympic runners, Roman chariot
drivers, American steamships, English thoroughbreds. Before there were
superspeedways, before multi-billion-dollar television contracts and
before hi-tech companies and foreign investment arrived in South
Carolina’s Piedmont region, folks were racing stock cars on the roads of
places like Spartanburg. “We’d run up Pine Street,” says racing legend
Jack Smith, “down past Cola company … under the overpass at the end of
it. Then up to Boiling Springs and turn right at U.S. Highway 9.” The
times and places, vehicles and stakes have varied, but racing is an
innate part of the human experience.
Racing
is as much a part of South Carolina as anywhere else in the South. But
the Palmetto state, and Spartanburg in particular, have something that
sets the region apart: a fascination with stock car racing. And that
fascination has always meant doing. At every step of the way––when cars
started racing on dirt tracks, when drivers decided to build a national
circuit, when technological changes opened the door for better safety
standards––South Carolina’s racing community was active in moving the
sport forward. Pioneers like Joe Littlejohn, Louise Smith, Bud Moore,
Cotton Owens, and David Pearson helped
create the sport of stock car racing. And now, as time threatens to
erase memories or destroy souvenirs and artifacts from their struggle,
South Carolina’s racing community is rallying again. South Carolina
Racing Museum will preserve the contributions of the South Carolina and
the Southern racing community––not only to save the past, but also to
educate and excite future generations of drivers, fans, mechanics, and
owners. 
