In the 1966 Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway on September 25, a 40-car field drew an estimated 15,000 fans. Junior Johnson earned the pole with a speed of 75.598 mph in his self-owned Ford. Fred Lorenzen, starting second in the Holman-Moody Ford, dominated much of the afternoon and won by five full laps over Darel Dieringer. Bobby Allison finished third (despite leading a race-high 218 laps before an engine failure), followed by Dick Hutcherson and James Hylton.
The race ran 500 laps with four cautions for 26 laps. Lorenzen averaged 69.177 mph, led 172 laps, and collected $4,350 for the victory—his 24th career win. Post-race drama erupted when NASCAR officials initially disqualified Lorenzen for an enlarged fuel tank and withheld the winner’s purse (with Dieringer poised to be declared the winner). NASCAR reversed the decision three days later and stated there was no evidence the fuel cell had been tampered with. Lorenzen was officially awarded him the win and prize money.
