Firecracker 400 winner Sam McQuagg is interviewed by ABC's Chris Economaki.
Daytona Beach, Fla. (July 4, 1966) – Shaking loose from the pack on the 27th lap, Sam McQuagg of Columbus, Ga., charged to a storybook finish in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Monday afternoon.
To be trite, it was a “charger” in a Charger that won the 400-miler in the 90-degree heat of a sunny afternoon before an estimated crowd of 45,000 stock car fans.
Last year at this time, everyone was asking, “Who is Sam McQuagg?” He had turned a couple of quick laps to qualify fourth, the same position he started last year.
But he dropped out of the race, and it wasn’t until later in the year that he answered the question. He did it by winning rookie of the year honors on the NASCAR Grand National circuit even though he never won a race.
Actually, the Firecracker is the first race he’s ever won in Grand National. Ad he did it in grand style, leading the second place Darel Dieringer of Charlotte, N.C., by half a lap as they neared the 160-lap finish. Dieringer slowed to a roll on the back stretch but had enough of a lead over third place Jim Paschal of High Point, N.C., to coast across the finish line.
The victory was worth $15,000 to McQuagg, including lap money. Dieringer took home $8,870, including $1,500 as the first finisher among independent drivers. McQuagg also received a new car from Chrysler, a family car.
“The car just ran beautifully all day,” McQuagg said in a press box interview. He stood sweating in a crowd of newsmen, holding the hoses that hooked to his cooling suit rig in the car,
“Ray Nichels and the crew got the car running fast. We didn’t have a lot of plans. The boss said just go out there and play it by ear. I guess the plan was to go as fast as I could.”
He made four pit stops during the race, all but one under caution. In spite of the yellow flags, McQuagg set a new record for the race with an average speed of 153.88 miles per hour. The old record was 151.451 miles per hour set by A.J. Foyt in 1964.
The race was a dog fight for the first 10 laps, with five cars up front trading positions. Lee Roy Yarbrough of Columbia, S.C., took the first lap lead, lost it to McQuagg on the second lap, then David Pearson of Spartanburg, S.C., stole it in a dash after several caution flags later.
Curtis Turner of Charlotte, N.C., grabbed the lead on the next lap, then Yarbrough and McQuagg swapped it back and forth on the backstretch. There was a lot of trading during a series of caution flags of pit stops but McQuagg came back racing and took the lead to stay, except where there were swaps during subsequent pit stops.
The race favorite, Richard Petty of Randleman, N.C., blew his engine going into the first turn on lap 86. His car spun, smashed into Earl Balmer, and both of them were out of the race. Petty had made two pit stops earlier and was never in contention.
Yarbrough, who started on the pole, was with the leaders until he blew a right rear tire on lap 127. He drove into the pits and never returned.
Both of the Bakers, Father Buck, and son Buddy went out blown engines.
It was no surprise that a Dodge charger won the race, but it was a surprise that a Bud Moore-built and Dieringer-driven Mercury Comet finished second. And it was an equally pleasing surprise that a Smokey Yunick-built Chevelle driven by Curtis Turner, finished fourth.
Results –
1. Sam McQuagg, Columbia, S.C.
2. Darel Dieringer, Charlotte, N.C.
3. Jim Paschal. High Point, N.C.
4. Curtis Turner, Charlotte, N.C.
5. Jim Hurtubise, North Tonawanda, N.Y.
6. Don White, Keokuk, Iowa
7. Marvin Panch, Daytona Beach, Fla.
8. Tiny Lund, Cross, S.C.
9. James Hylton, Inman, S.C.
10.John Sears, Ellerbe, N.C.
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