1966 World 600

The 1966 World 600, the 7th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series race held on May 22, 1966 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 20th race of the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series season.

Marvin Panch of Petty Enterprises would win his final NASCAR Grand National Series race while Gene Cline would resign from professional stock car racing after the race was over.^[1] When Buddy Baker suffered a blown engine during the 44th lap, he was setting a pace of 145.291 miles per hour or 233.823 kilometres per hour; speeds that were unprecedented during the late 1960s.

The surface was completely dry; with only 0.01 inches of rain reported in the local area on the day of the race.^[2]

Background

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States, 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious World 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the National 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI).

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