On March 27, 1966, a crowd of 25,000 fans turned out at the .5-mile Bristol Motor Speedway for the Southeastern 500. The tight Tennessee short track hosted a 32-car field for the 500-lap event. David Pearson grabbed the pole with a qualifying speed of 86.248 mph and dominated early, leading 330 of the first 382 laps.
However, Pearson’s day ended abruptly due to a timing chain failure. In the end, Dick Hutcherson in the #29 Holman-Moody Ford dominated the latter stages to score a commanding victory, finishing four full laps ahead of second-place Paul Lewis. James Hylton took third, with Elmo Langley fourth and Sam McQuagg fifth. Only seven cars were still running at the finish after a brutal race that featured seven cautions for a total of 92 laps.
Hutcherson’s winning average speed was a slow 69.952 mph as attrition and frequent yellows took a heavy toll on the field. The race highlighted the punishing nature of Bristol and delivered a hard-fought win for Hutcherson.
