Cotton Owens

Everett "Cotton" Owens (May 21, 1924 – June 7, 2012) was a

Owens was born in Union, South Carolina. His career began after his tour in the U.S. Navy in 1946, in the Modified division that would eventually be organized by NASCAR and pre-dated their Stock Car (Grand National, later Cup) division. Owens earned the nickname "King of the Modifieds" by claiming over 200 feature wins, including the prestigious Gulf Coast championship race. In 1949 he entered 23 races and won 19 of them. In 1951 he sped to victories all over the South, racking up 54 wins. Cotton put together a string of 24 straight wins in 1950–51, a feat he repeated twice. Switching from Dodge to the Chrysler-powered Plymouth he continued to dominate the modified circuit, winning the big modified championship race at Daytona two years in succession in 1953 and 1954, and capturing the United States Modified Championship Race three times. He was the 1950, 1953, and 1954 Modified 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. Owens entered 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

).

Car owner career

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2016)

1960–1965

As Cotton transitioned to NASCAR's Grand National "Stock Car" division, he cemented his place among the sport's elite drivers building and driving Pontiacs wearing his now-signature red and white color scheme and infamous #6. What made Owens great was not only his driving ability but his mechanical aptitude and car preparation that made him a force to be reckoned with wherever he raced, on dirt or the pavement. Cotton captured 5 Grand National victories through 1960-62 as a driver, and also put several notable drivers behind the wheel, including Bobby Johns, Ralph Earnhardt, Marvin Panch, Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, and fellow Spartanburger David Pearson, who was making a name for himself as an up-and-coming driver. Cotton Owens Garage earned 6 victories during these years, as well as 31 Top Fives and 38 Top Ten finishes, and 5 Pole Positions. Owens put his Pontiac on Pole for the 1960 Daytona 500 and also shattered the qualifying record at Darlington with a 126.146 mph average speed.

In 1962 he hired the legendary driver and car owner

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.

1966–1967

With dwindling factory and fan support following NASCAR's ban of the Hemi from competition in 1965, NASCAR relented in 1966 and again changed the rules to allow the Hemi back on the track, with concessions made for Ford and General Motors to help even the competition. Chrysler was intent on picking up where they left off, putting full factory support and engineering resources at the disposal of the factory racing teams, with Cotton Owens Garage and the Pettys leading the charge.

1966 was the breakout year for the Cotton Owens Dodge team, now in their fourth year and hitting full stride on the NASCAR circuit. With David Pearson as his primary driver and Cotton now out of the driver's seat and working full-time under the hood, they claimed 15 victories on the Grand National tour and capture the NASCAR Championship, with 26 Top Fives and 33 Top Ten finishes, and 7 Pole Positions in 42 starts. Pearson won 15 times in 1966, including sweeping both races at Hickory, Winston-Salem, and Richmond. In 42 starts, he was running at the end 34 times. Of those 34, he finished out of the Top Ten just once. He was in the Top Five 26 times, including thirds in the Daytona 500 and Southern 500.

With Owens' mechanical aptitude and the Hemi engine powering the COG Dodges, their successful partnership made hometown Spartanburg proud. Other notable drivers who climbed behind the wheel for Owens in 1966–67 included Buddy Baker, Bobby Isaac, Bobby Allison, Darel Dieringer, Ray Hendrick, Sam McQuagg, and open-wheel Hotshoe Mario Andretti, who came South for the big race at Daytona and looked to Cotton to put him in a ride capable of winning, which was becoming commonplace at Cotton Owens Garage during its heyday of the mid-1960s.

1968–1970

The end of the 1960s saw the Cotton Owens Garage campaigning Dodges in a variety of form factors designed specifically for maximum performance at different tracks, including the Charger 500 and Charger Daytona that turned NASCAR racing on its head and forever changed the way aerodynamics would affect motorsports competition. Drivers of this era include "Leadfoot" Buddy Baker, Chargin' Charlie Glotzbach, Sam Posey, open-wheel star Al Unser, and fellow Spartanburg native James Hylton. Glotzbach served as the primary driver in 1968, with 19 starts and 1 victory at the Charlotte 500, as well as 9 Top Fives, 11 Top Tens, and 3 Pole Positions. Buddy Baker was the COG primary driver in 1969 and '70, with 29 starts, 1 Win, 13 Top Fives, 17 Top Tens, and 1 Pole Position.

Baker's lone win in a Cotton Owens Dodge was at the Darlington Southern 500 in 1970, a race which had eluded Cotton as a driver and owner for more than 20 years. On the Saturday night before the annual Labor Day classic, Owens was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the National Motorsports Press Association.

Buddy's all-out style would cost him several notable races, including the 1969 Texas 500, but it served him well as he piloted the Chrysler Engineering blue Daytona #88 to a new closed-course record of better than 200 mph at Talladega on March 24, 1970. When the side glass was removed in late March 1970, no stock car ever went over 200 in a NASCAR sanctioned race in 1970. The August 1970 issue of Stock Car Racing Magazine reported that Lee Roy Yarborough ran one race lap in April 1970 at 199.mph. It was the end of an era, as restrictor plates would control the top speeds.

1971–1974

The dawn of the 1970s saw the Cotton Owens Garage switch from Dodge to Plymouth, as Chrysler wanted to resurrect the marque by giving it more of a performance edge. The dominance of the Dodge Daytona and Hemi combination gave NASCAR no choice but to outlaw both the car and the engine, requiring new restrictor plates on the superspeedways. For the 1971 season, Cotton Owens teamed up with Pete Hamilton, who piloted his '71 Plymouth Roadrunner to victory lane at the 1971 Daytona 500 qualifier. Hamilton started a total of 20 races, with 1 Win, 11 Top Fives, 12 Top Tens, and 2 Pole Positions. Other drivers included Charlie Glotzbach, Peter Gregg, and another Spartanburg native, Dick Brooks. During this era, the same car was often re-bodied as either a Plymouth Roadrunner or a Dodge Charger, utilizing the same chassis and drivetrain but updated to keep up with NASCAR rule changes or factory dictates.

Another notable COG race car driver during this time was country Western musician Marty Robbins. Robbins loved NASCAR racing and raced occasionally. His cars were built and maintained by Cotton Owens up until he died in 1982, although he did drive Buicks for Junior Johnson shortly at the end of his career. Robbins always tried to race at the race tracks in Talladega and Daytona every year, and then a smattering of the smaller races when time permitted.

In addition to his recordings and performances, Robbins was an avid race car driver, competing in 35 career NASCAR races with 6 Top Ten finishes, including the 1973 Firecracker 400. In 1967, Robbins played himself in the car racing film