Cotton Owens
| Everett "Cotton" Owens | |||||||
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| Born |
May 21, 1924 Union, South Carolina, United States |
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| Died | June 7, 2012 (aged 88) Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States |
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| Achievements | 1953–1954 Modified Tour champion 1957 Daytona Beach Road Course winner 1966 Grand National championship car owner (David Pearson) |
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| Awards | National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame inductee (1970) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee (2008) South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame inductee (2009) NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee (2013) |
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| Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 160 races run over 15 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 2nd (1959) | ||||||
| First race | 1950 Daytona Beach Road Course | ||||||
| Last race | 1964 Orange Speedway race | ||||||
| First win | 1957 Daytona Beach Road Course | ||||||
| Last win | 1964 Capital City 300 (Richmond) | ||||||
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Everett "Cotton" Owens (May 21, 1924 – June 7, 2012) was a NASCAR driver. For five straight years (1957–61), Owens captured at least one Grand National (now Sprint Cup) series win. Owens was known as the "King of the Modifieds" for his successes in in the 1950s.
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 deservedly 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.
Cotton's NASCAR (Grand National) career began in 1950 when he ran three races. He finished 13th in the point standings. Owens would 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). Owens once 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, although he did not enter many Grand National races, as he preferred the Modified circuit which at this time had bigger crowds, faster cars and higher purses to be won. 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).
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