1966 Cup Series Results

Complete race results with winners, margins, and laps led — 49 races. Data current through the 2025 season; 2026 results added as races complete.

NASCAR Cup Series results from 1949 through 2026 — 78 seasons of racing history, plus 44 seasons of O'Reilly Auto Parts Series results and 31 seasons of Craftsman Truck Series results. Every race on this page includes finishing order, stage points, laps led, and margin of victory.

Cup history splits into distinct eras: the strictly-stock and Grand National era (1949-1971) raced on dirt bullrings and new paved superspeedways with schedules as dense as 62 events; the Winston Cup modern era (1972-2003) standardized the schedule at 28-36 races per season; the Chase era (2004-2013) introduced a 10-race points-reset postseason; the elimination playoffs era (2014-2025) used four rounds of cuts to crown a Homestead-Phoenix winner-take-all champion; and the 2026+ Chase format brings back a cumulative-points Chase decided at Homestead-Miami. Modern races (2017+) have full stage breakdowns; historic races carry finishing order and laps led, since stages were not introduced until 2017.

Need the season opener? The Daytona 500 kicks off every modern Cup schedule. For postseason context, see The Chase.

Cup Series O'Reilly Series Craftsman Trucks

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2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

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1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990

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1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980

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1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970

1960s ▾

1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960

1950s ▾

1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950

1940s ▾

1949

#	Date	Race	Track	Winner	Margin	Team	Laps Led
1	Nov 14	Georgia Cracker 300	Augusta International Speedway	Richard Petty	—	Petty Enterprises	132
2	Jan 23	Motor Trend 500	Riverside International Raceway	Dan Gurney	—	Wood Brothers Racing	148
3	Feb 25	Daytona 500 Qualifer #1	Daytona International Speedway	Paul Goldsmith	—	Nichels Engineering	12
4	Feb 25	Daytona 500 Qualifer #2	Daytona International Speedway	Earl Balmer	—	Fox Racing	1
5	Feb 27	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	Richard Petty	—	Petty Enterprises	108
6	Mar 13	Peach Blossom 500	Rockingham Speedway	Paul Goldsmith	—	Nichels Engineering	159
7	Mar 20	Southeastern 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Dick Hutcherson	—	Holman Moody	124
8	Mar 27	Atlanta 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Jim Hurtubise	—	Norm Nelson (Owner)	139
9	Apr 3	Hickory 250	Hickory Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	73
10	Apr 7	Columbia 200	Columbia Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	130
11	Apr 9	Greenville 200	Greenville-Pickens Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	158
12	Apr 11	50 Miles at Bowman-Gray Stadium	Bowman Gray Stadium	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	194
13	Apr 17	Gwyn Staley 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Jim Paschal	—	Tom Friedkin (Owner)	308
14	Apr 24	Virginia 500	Martinsville Speedway	Jim Paschal	—	Tom Friedkin (Owner)	368
15	Apr 30	Rebel 500	Darlington Raceway	Richard Petty	—	Petty Enterprises	281
16	May 7	Tidewater 250	Langley Field Speedway	Richard Petty	—	Petty Enterprises	177
17	May 10	Speedy Morelock 200	Middle Georgia Raceway	Richard Petty	—	Petty Enterprises	159
18	May 13	Independent 250	Star Lite Speedway	Darel Dieringer	—	Reid Shaw (Owner)	178
19	May 15	Richmond 250	Richmond Raceway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	216
20	May 22	World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Marvin Panch	—	Petty Enterprises	99
21	May 29	100 Miles at Dog Track Speedway	Dog Track Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	217
22	Jun 3	Asheville 300	New Asheville Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	291
23	Jun 4	100 Miles at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds	Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds	Elmo Langley	—	Langley-Woodfield Racing	40
24	Jun 9	East Tennessee 200	Smokey Mountain Raceway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	128
25	Jun 12	Fireball 300	Asheville-Weaverville Speedway	Richard Petty	—	Petty Enterprises	176
26	Jun 15	Beltsville 200	Beltsville Speedway	Tiny Lund	—	Lyle Stelter (Owner)	129
27	Jun 25	Pickens 200	Greenville-Pickens Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	200
28	Jul 4	Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway	Sam McQuagg	—	Nichels Engineering	126
29	Jul 7	150 Miles at Old Dominion Speedway	Old Dominion Speedway	Elmo Langley	—	Langley-Woodfield Racing	231
30	Jul 10	148 Miles at Bridgehampton Race Circuit	Bridgehampton Race Circuit	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	46
31	Jul 12	100 Miles at Oxford Plains Speedway	Oxford Plains Speedway	Bobby Allison	—	J.D. Bracken (Owner)	238
32	Jul 14	100 Miles at Fonda Speedway	Fonda Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	114
33	Jul 16	60 Miles at Islip Speedway	Islip Speedway	Bobby Allison	—	J.D. Bracken (Owner)	8
34	Jul 24	Volunteer 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Paul Goldsmith	—	Nichels Engineering	84
35	Jul 28	Smokey Mountain 200	Smokey Mountain Raceway	Paul Lewis	—	Paul Lewis (Owner)	64
36	Jul 30	Nashville 400	Nashville Speedway	Richard Petty	—	Petty Enterprises	400
37	Aug 7	Dixie 400	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Richard Petty	—	Petty Enterprises	90
38	Aug 18	Sandlapper 200	Columbia Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	33
39	Aug 21	Western North Carolina 500	Asheville-Weaverville Speedway	Darel Dieringer	—	Bud Moore Engineering	179
40	Aug 24	Maryland 200	Beltsville Speedway	Bobby Allison	—	J.D. Bracken (Owner)	170
41	Aug 27	Myers Brothers 250	Bowman Gray Stadium	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	129
42	Sep 5	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	Darel Dieringer	—	Bud Moore Engineering	105
43	Sep 9	Buddy Shuman 250	Hickory Speedway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	195
44	Sep 11	Capital City 300	Richmond Raceway	David Pearson	—	Owens Racing	242
45	Sep 18	Joe Weatherly 150	Occoneechee Speedway	Dick Hutcherson	—	Bondy Long (Owner)	157
46	Sep 25	Old Dominion 500	Martinsville Speedway	Fred Lorenzen	—	Holman Moody	172
47	Oct 2	Wilkes 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Dick Hutcherson	—	Bondy Long (Owner)	94
48	Oct 16	National 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	LeeRoy Yarbrough	—	Jon Thorne (Owner)	301
49	Oct 30	American 500	Rockingham Speedway	Fred Lorenzen	—	Holman Moody	320

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the first NASCAR Cup Series race?

The first NASCAR Cup Series race — then called the Strictly Stock Division — was held on June 19, 1949 at the three-quarter mile Charlotte Speedway dirt oval in North Carolina. Jim Roper was declared the winner after Glenn Dunnaway was disqualified for illegal rear springs, making it the first of 200 sanctioned points races in Cup history's inaugural season of eight events.

How many NASCAR Cup races are there per season?

The modern NASCAR Cup Series runs 36 points-paying races per year plus 2 non-championship exhibition events (the Cook Out Clash and the All-Star Race). The regular season covers 26 races, followed by a 10-race Chase in 2026. Historic Cup schedules varied wildly — 1964 had 62 races, while 1949 had just 8.

What is a NASCAR stage?

Stages were introduced in 2017 to split each Cup race into three scoring segments. Drivers earn stage points (10 down to 1 for the top 10 at each stage break) plus a playoff point for winning a stage. Stage breaks also create competition cautions that reset strategy. Races before 2017 have no stage data — only finishing order, laps led, and margin of victory are available.

Who has the most NASCAR Cup Series wins?

Richard Petty holds the all-time Cup Series wins record with 200 victories across a career from 1958 to 1992. David Pearson is second with 105, followed by Jeff Gordon (93), Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip (84 each), and Cale Yarborough (83). No active driver has crossed 100 wins.

What was the first NASCAR race at Daytona?

The inaugural Daytona 500 was held on February 22, 1959 at the brand-new 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Lee Petty was declared the winner three days after the race in a photo-finish review over Johnny Beauchamp. The race has opened every Cup Series season since and is the most prestigious event on the schedule.

Where can I find historical NASCAR race results?

NASCAR Reference has complete race results from 1949 to 2026 for the Cup Series, 1982-2026 for the O'Reilly (Xfinity) Series, and 1995-2026 for the Craftsman Truck Series. Each result includes finishing order, laps led, margins of victory, and driver stats.

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