On April 30, 1966, a sparse crowd of just 7,000 paying fans (plus another 5,000 Boy Scouts admitted for free) turned out at Darlington Raceway for the Rebel 400. The thin attendance was largely due to the ongoing Ford boycott of NASCAR. After NASCAR allowed Chrysler’s powerful Hemi engines back into competition, Ford withdrew factory support in protest, pulling many top teams and drivers and significantly hurting fan interest and field strength.
The 1.375-mile South Carolina oval hosted a reduced 36-car field. Richard Petty captured the pole with a qualifying speed of 140.815 mph in his Plymouth and completely dominated the afternoon. Petty led 271 of the 291 laps and cruised to victory by three full laps over Paul Goldsmith. David Pearson finished third, followed by Bunkie Blackburn in fourth and G.C. Spencer in fifth.
The race ran under mostly green-flag conditions with just a single caution for five laps. Petty’s winning average speed was a strong 131.993 mph, and he collected $12,115 for the win. This dominant performance further highlighted Petty’s superiority during the manufacturer turmoil of the 1966 season.
