Cotton Owens
Encyclopedia
Everett "Cotton" Owens "the King of the Modifieds" (born May 21, 1924 at Union, South Carolina
) was a NASCAR
driver. For five straight years (1957–61), Owens captured at least one Grand National (now Sprint Cup) series win.
Whelen Modified Tour
. He earned over 100 feature wins. He was the 1953 and 1954 champion.
Cotton's first win came on February 17, 1957 at the series' premiere event: the Daytona Beach Road Course
). Cotton Owens drove a 1957 Pontiac to victory; beating runner-up Johnny Beauchamp
by 55 seconds with the first-ever 100 mph (101.541 mph) average race on the sand. The win was also Pontiac
's first NASCAR win.
He had his next trip to victory lane in 1958 at Monroe County Fairgrounds at Rochester, New York
.
In 1959, Owens finished second to Lee Petty
in the race for the championship. Though Cotton only won one race that season (at Richmond International Raceway
), Cotton was making a name for himself as a racer. He attempted 37 races that season, with 22 Top 10s and 13 Top 5s.
In 1961 he had his most productive season with 11 Top 5s and four wins in only 17 starts. He had a win at his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina
(Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds).
. He also started his relationship with fellow Spartanburg resident David Pearson.
He came out of retirement in 1964 to prove that he could beat Pearson. He beat Pearson in his final career win (at Richmond). Two races later he finished second in his final career race (to Ned Jarrett
).
In 1965, the Chrysler
Hemi engine was not allowed in NASCAR. Owens and Pearson boycotted NASCAR, and ran a Hemi in the back of a Dodge Dart
drag racing car. They ran nitro and alcohol in the Experimental class.
They returned to NASCAR in 1966, and they won the Grand National Championship. They parted ways early in the 1967 season. During their six seasons together Owens and Pearson combined for 27 wins in 170 races.
Cotton was fortunate to have some of the biggest names in the sport drive his cars over the years. Drivers for Cotton Owens included many legends: David Pearson, Buddy Baker
, Pete Hamilton
, Marty Robbins
, Ralph Earnhardt, Bobby Isaac
, Junior Johnson
, Benny Parsons
, Fireball Roberts
, Mario Andretti
, Charlie Glotzbach
, and Al Unser
. In all, a total of 25 drivers climbed behind the wheel of Owens' cars in 291 races, earning 32 victories and 29 pole positions.
In total, as a car owner and as a driver, Owens' career statistics include 41 wins and 38 poles in 487 races.
Union, South Carolina
Union is the county seat of Union County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,393 at the 2010 census.It is the principal city of the Union Micropolitan Statistical Area , an which includes all of Union County and which is further included in the greater...
) was a NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver. For five straight years (1957–61), Owens captured at least one Grand National (now Sprint Cup) series win.
Modified driving career
His career began in the 1950s in what is now known as the NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Whelen Modified Tour
Whelen Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is a stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified division. The Modified division is NASCAR's oldest division, and its one of two open-wheeled divisions...
. He earned over 100 feature wins. He was the 1953 and 1954 champion.
Grand National driving career
Cotton's NASCAR (Grand National) career began in 1950 when he ran three races. He finished 13th in the point standings. He'd enter a few races over the next several seasons without a win.Cotton's first win came on February 17, 1957 at the series' premiere event: the Daytona Beach Road Course
Daytona Beach Road Course
Daytona Beach Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR. It originally became famous as the location where fifteen world land speed records were set...
). Cotton Owens drove a 1957 Pontiac to victory; beating runner-up Johnny Beauchamp
Johnny Beauchamp
Johnny Beauchamp was an American NASCAR driver from Harlan, Iowa. He is best known for finishing second in the 1959 Daytona 500 in a photo finish after being declared the unofficial winner...
by 55 seconds with the first-ever 100 mph (101.541 mph) average race on the sand. The win was also Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
's first NASCAR win.
He had his next trip to victory lane in 1958 at Monroe County Fairgrounds at Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
.
In 1959, Owens finished second to Lee Petty
Lee Petty
Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. He was born near Randleman, North Carolina.-Career:...
in the race for the championship. Though Cotton only won one race that season (at Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...
), Cotton was making a name for himself as a racer. He attempted 37 races that season, with 22 Top 10s and 13 Top 5s.
In 1961 he had his most productive season with 11 Top 5s and four wins in only 17 starts. He had a win at his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
(Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds).
Car owner
In 1962 he hired legendary driver and car owner Junior JohnsonJunior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...
. He also started his relationship with fellow Spartanburg resident David Pearson.
He came out of retirement in 1964 to prove that he could beat Pearson. He beat Pearson in his final career win (at Richmond). Two races later he finished second in his final career race (to Ned Jarrett
Ned Jarrett
Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...
).
In 1965, the Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
Hemi engine was not allowed in NASCAR. Owens and Pearson boycotted NASCAR, and ran a Hemi in the back of a Dodge Dart
Dodge Dart
The Dodge Dart is an automobile built by the Dodge division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1960-1976 in North America, with production extended to later years in various other markets. The Dart was introduced as a lower-priced, shorter wheelbase, full-size Dodge in 1960 and 1961, became a...
drag racing car. They ran nitro and alcohol in the Experimental class.
They returned to NASCAR in 1966, and they won the Grand National Championship. They parted ways early in the 1967 season. During their six seasons together Owens and Pearson combined for 27 wins in 170 races.
Cotton was fortunate to have some of the biggest names in the sport drive his cars over the years. Drivers for Cotton Owens included many legends: David Pearson, Buddy Baker
Buddy Baker
Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...
, Pete Hamilton
Pete Hamilton
Pete Hamilton is a retired American NASCAR racer. He won four times in his career , three times driving for Petty Enterprises. His father was a Ph.D. from Harvard University....
, Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
, Ralph Earnhardt, Bobby Isaac
Bobby Isaac
Bobby Isaac is a former NASCAR Grand National champion.-Early life:Isaac grew up on a farm near Catawba, North Carolina, the second youngest of nine children...
, Junior Johnson
Junior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...
, Benny Parsons
Benny Parsons
Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...
, Fireball Roberts
Fireball Roberts
Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr. , nicknamed "Fireball", was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR.-Background:...
, Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
, Charlie Glotzbach
Charlie Glotzbach
Charles "Charlie: Glotzbach is a former ARCA and was a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver. Charlie holds one of the oldest race records in NASCAR. He was also known as "The Chargin' Comet" and "Chargin' Charlie"....
, and Al Unser
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
. In all, a total of 25 drivers climbed behind the wheel of Owens' cars in 291 races, earning 32 victories and 29 pole positions.
In total, as a car owner and as a driver, Owens' career statistics include 41 wins and 38 poles in 487 races.
Awards
- Inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
- Owens was announced as a 2008 inductee in the International Motorsports Hall of FameInternational Motorsports Hall of FameThe International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to auto racing either as a driver, owner, developer or engineer...
.
- In 1970, Owens was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame at Darlington Speedway.
- Cotton Owens was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest DriversNASCAR's 50 Greatest DriversNASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers is a list of NASCAR drivers.In 1998, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, NASCAR gathered a panel to select "The 50 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time." It was inspired in part by the NBA's decision to select the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History on its 50th...
during NASCAR's 50th Anniversary celebration in 1998.
- Recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the Governor of South Carolina, created in 1971 to recognize lifetime achievement and service to the State of South Carolina. September 16, 2006
- Member Darlington Records Club
- Member NASCAR Mechanics Hall of Fame
- Member NASCAR Legends
- Pioneer of Racing Award, Living Legends of Auto Racing, February 15, 2006
- Presented with the Smokey Yunick Award for “Lifetime Achievement in Auto Racing” on May 28, 2000
- Honored by the Vance County Tourism Dept., Henderson, NC with the “East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame Motorsports Pioneer Award” on October 16, 2005
- Recipient of the “Car Owner’s of the 1960s” award by the Old Timer’s Racing Club, 1996
Other notable achievements
- Prepared first car to run 200 mph in a NASCAR sanctioned event at Talladega 1970 with Buddy BakerBuddy BakerElzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...
at the wheel of his 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
- Won NASCAR's first live televised race
- Gave Dodge its last NASCAR victory in a wing car.
- Earned Pontiac its first NASCAR win when Cotton Owens won on the old beach course at DaytonaDaytona Beach Road CourseDaytona Beach Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR. It originally became famous as the location where fifteen world land speed records were set...
in 1957 driving a '57 Pontiac prepared by Ray Nichels.