Pete Hamilton

American racing driver

NASCAR driver

Pete Hamilton

Hamilton and his 1970 Plymouth race car

Born| Peter Goodwill Hamilton
(1942-07-20)July 20, 1942
Dedham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died| March 21, 2017(2017-03-21) (aged 74)
Johns Creek, Georgia, U.S.
Achievements| 1967 NASCAR Sportsman Division Champion
1970 Daytona 500 Winner
1974 Snowball Derby Winner
Awards| 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series Rookie of the Year
New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame (1998)
NASCAR Cup Series career
64 races run over 6 years
Best finish| 21st (1970)
First race| 1968 Fireball 300 (Weaverville)
Last race| 1973 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta)
First win| 1970 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last win| 1971 Daytona 500 Qualifier #1 (Daytona)
| Wins | Top tens | Poles

|
|

4 | 33 | 3
Statistics current as of October 29, 2013.

Peter Goodwill Hamilton (July 20, 1942 – March 21, 2017) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed in NASCAR for six years, where he won four times in his career (including the 1970 Daytona 500), three times driving for Petty Enterprises.

## Contents

* 1 Racing career
* 2 Car builder
* 3 Career award
* 4 Personal life
* 5 Death
* 6 Motorsports career results
* 6.1 NASCAR
* 6.1.1 Grand National Series
* 6.1.2 Winston Cup Series
* 6.1.2.1 Daytona 500
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## Racing career[edit]

A street replica of Pete Hamilton's Plymouth Superbird, with which he won the 1970 Daytona 500.

Hamilton began racing in the street division in 1962 at Norwood Arena Speedway in Massachusetts, where he quickly earned the nickname "The Dedham Flash".[1] In 1965, he was the Thompson World Series Twin 50s champion. He won the 1967 NASCAR national Sportsman division championship.[1]

After that season he moved south to race in NASCAR. He started racing in the NASCAR Grand National division in 1968, and was the series Rookie of the Year.[1] In 1969, he competed in NASCAR's Grand American division, a division of smaller pony cars.[1] He won 12 of 26 races that year.[1]

He had 3 wins in 1970 for Petty Enterprises in the No. 40 Plymouth Superbird with Maurice Petty as his crew-chief. He won the 1970 Daytona 500 and both races at Talladega Superspeedway.[1] Hamilton won his Twin 125 mile qualifying race for the 1971 Daytona 500 driving Cotton Owens' No. 6 Plymouth,[1] finishing the season with one pole and 11 top five finishes. He retired from full-time NASCAR racing after 1973 because of complications from a neck injury in a 1969 Grand American race.[1]

Hamilton continued to compete in short track races, and won the 1974 Snowball Derby in his late model racecar.

## Car builder[edit]

Pete helped Chrysler's Larry Rathgeb[2] develop their "Kit-Car", a weld-it-yourself Volare or Aspen late model stock car that any racer could order from Plymouth and Dodge dealers.[3] He moved to Norcross, Georgia, and worked as a car builder and mentor to many drivers on the 1980s southern dirt tracks, launching successful racing careers for Marvin Oliver and James Shepherd.

## Career award[edit]

He was inducted into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame in 1998 in its inaugural class.[1] Pete was named to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2012.[4]

## Personal life[edit]

Hamilton was born outside Boston in Dedham, and raised in nearby Newton, Massachusetts. He was the son of Roger S. Hamilton, once the Dean of Northeastern University. He graduated from Newton High School in 1960. He married his wife, Susan Huckstorf in 1970. After racing, he owned a warehouse in Atlanta. He spent his time between Duluth, Georgia and Acton, Maine.

## Death[edit]

Hamilton died on March 21, 2017, at the age of 74 due to complications of a stroke.[5] He was buried at Peachtree Memorial Park in Norcross, Georgia. He was survived by his wife of forty-seven years and a daughter.

## Motorsports career results[edit]

### NASCAR[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

#### Grand National Series[edit]

NASCAR Grand National Series results

Year  | Team  | No.  | Make  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15  | 16  | 17  | 18  | 19  | 20  | 21  | 22  | 23  | 24  | 25  | 26  | 27  | 28  | 29  | 30  | 31  | 32  | 33  | 34  | 35  | 36  | 37  | 38  | 39  | 40  | 41  | 42  | 43  | 44  | 45  | 46  | 47  | 48  | 49  | 50  | 51  | 52  | 53  | 54  | NGNC | Pts
1968 | Rocky Hinton | 5  | Ford | MGR | MGY | RSD | DAY | BRI | RCH | ATL | HCY | GPS | CLB | NWS | MAR | AUG | AWS
12 | DAR | BLV
19 | LGY
5 | CLT | ASH | MGR | SMR
2 | BIR | CAR
25 | GPS | DAY | ISP | OXF
7 | FDA | TRN
5 | BRI
21 | SMR
23 | NSV | ATL
28 | CLB | BGS |  | 32nd  | 919
King Enterprises | 1  | Dodge |  | AWS
10 | SBO | LGY | DAR
32 | HCY | RCH | BLV | HBO | MAR
34 | NWS
12 | AUG | CLT
7 | CAR
34 | JFC |
1969 | MGR | MGY | RSD | DAY
8 | DAY | DAY
44 | CAR | AUG | BRI |  | NA  | \-
Banjo Matthews | 27  | Ford |  | ATL
5 | CLB | HCY | GPS | RCH | NWS | MAR | AWS | DAR | BLV | LGY | CLT | MGR | SMR | MCH | KPT | GPS | NCF | DAY | DOV | TPN | TRN | BLV | BRI | NSV | SMR | ATL | MCH | SBO | BGS | AWS | DAR | HCY | RCH | TAL | CLB | MAR | NWS | CLT | SVH | AUG | CAR | JFC | MGR | TWS
1970 | Petty Enterprises | 40  | Plymouth | RSD | DAY
5 | DAY | DAY
1 | RCH | CAR
5 | SVH | ATL
3 | BRI | TAL
1 | NWS | CLB | DAR
19 | BLV | LGY | CLT
8 | SMR | MAR | MCH
2 | RSD | HCY | KPT | GPS | DAY
30 | AST | TPN | TRN | BRI | SMR | NSV | ATL
6 | CLB | ONA | MCH
5 | TAL
1* | BGS | SBO | DAR
3 | HCY | RCH | DOV | NCF | NWS | CLT
24* | MAR | MGR | CAR
15 |  | 21st  | 1819
Dick Brooks Racing | 32  | Plymouth |  | LGY
3 |
1971 | Cotton Owens | 6  | Plymouth | RSD | DAY
1 | DAY | DAY
28 | ONT
31 | RCH | CAR
24 | HCY | BRI | ATL
3 | CLB | GPS | SMR | NWS | MAR | DAR
35 | SBO | TAL
4 | ASH | KPT | CLT
3 | DOV
26 | MCH
3 | RSD | HOU | GPS | DAY
4 | BRI |  | TRN
5 | NSV | ATL
24 | BGS | ONA | MCH
31 | TAL
3 | CLB | HCY | DAR
30 | MAR | CLT
7 | DOV | CAR
4 | MGR | RCH
3 | NWS | TWS
4 |  | 24th  | 1739
Junior Fields | 91  | Chevy |  | AST
27 | ISP
23 |

#### Winston Cup Series[edit]

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results

Year  | Team  | No.  | Make  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15  | 16  | 17  | 18  | 19  | 20  | 21  | 22  | 23  | 24  | 25  | 26  | 27  | 28  | 29  | 30  | 31  | NWCC | Pts
1972 | Housby Racing | 9  | Plymouth | RSD | DAY | RCH | ONT | CAR | ATL | BRI | DAR | NWS | MAR | TAL | CLT | DOV | MCH
22 | RSD | TWS | DAY
33 | BRI | TRN | ATL | TAL
19 | MCH | NSV | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT
32 | CAR
5 | TWS | 48th  | 1083.25
1973 | RSD | DAY
40 | RCH | CAR | BRI |  | 114th  | \-
Crawford Brothers Racing | 22  | Plymouth |  | ATL
39 | NWS | DAR | MAR | TAL | NSV | CLT | DOV | TWS | RSD | MCH | DAY | BRI | ATL | TAL | NSV | DAR | RCH | DOV | NWS | MAR | CLT | CAR |

##### Daytona 500[edit]

Year  | Manufacturer  | Start  | Finish  | Team

|
|
|
|

1969 | Dodge | 17  | 44  | King Enterprises
1970 | Plymouth | 9  | 1 | Petty Enterprises
1971 | Plymouth | 3  | 28  | Cotton Owens
1973 | Plymouth | 2  | 40  | Housby Racing

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Biography Archived 2007-10-07 at the Wayback Machine at the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame, Retrieved October 3, 2007
2. ^ Lawrence James Rathgeb, b. ca. 1930, d. 22 March 2020 https://www.wymt.com/content/sports/NASCARs-Larry-Rathgeb-569056421.html
3. ^ Stock Car Racing magazine cover story
4. ^ "The late Pete Hamilton was one of NASCAR's nice guys".
5. ^ Pockrass, Bob (March 22, 2017). "Pete Hamilton, who won four NASCAR Cup races, dies at 74". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 22, 2017.

## External links[edit]

* Pete Hamilton driver statistics at Racing-Reference
* "2 Minutes With..." Interview video

Achievements

Preceded by

LeeRoy Yarbrough

|  Daytona 500 Winner
1970 | Succeeded by

Richard Petty

Preceded by

Dickie Davis

|  Snowball Derby Winner
1974  | Succeeded by

Donnie Allison

* v
* t
* e

Owens Racing

Years active|

1960–1974

Personnel|

* Cotton Owens

NASCAR Hall of Fame|

* Bobby Allison
* Buddy Baker
* Bobby Isaac
* Junior Johnson
* Cotton Owens
* Benny Parsons
* David Pearson
* Fireball Roberts

Former drivers|

* Bobby Allison
* Mario Andretti
* Buddy Baker
* Dick Brooks
* Darel Dieringer
* Ralph Earnhardt
* Charlie Glotzbach
* Peter Gregg
* Pete Hamilton
* Ray Hendrick
* James Hylton
* Bobby Isaac
* Junior Johnson
* Sam McQuagg
* Cotton Owens
* Benny Parsons
* Jim Paschal
* David Pearson
* Sam Posey
* Marty Robbins
* Fireball Roberts
* G. C. Spencer
* Al Unser
* Billy Wade

Grand National Series Championships|

* 1966 (Pearson)

Southern 500 wins|

* 1970 (Baker)

* v
* t
* e

Petty GMS Motorsports

Headquarters: Statesville, North Carolina

| Personnel|

* Richard Petty
* Maurice J. Gallagher Jr.
* Spencer Gallagher
* Mike Beam
* Brian Moffitt
* Joey Cohen

|

Former personnel|

* Robbie Loomis
* George N. Gillett Jr.
* Ray Evernham
* Douglas G. Bergeron
* Sammy Johns
* Philippe Lopez
* Bubba Wallace
* Andrew M. Murstein
* Lisa Brown
* Robert Miller

NASCAR Cup Series|

| Drivers|

* (42) Ty Dillon
* (43) Erik Jones

|

Crew chiefs|

* (42) Joey Cohen / Jerame Donley / Chad Norris
* (43) Dave Elenz / Danny Efland

Partnerships and affiliations|

* Richard Childress Racing

Predecessor teams|

* Petty Enterprises
* Gillett Evernham Motorsports
* Richard Petty Motorsports

Buyouts and mergers|

* Hall of Fame Racing
* Yates Racing

Related teams|

* GMS Racing

Former drivers

Richard Petty Motorsports|

* A. J. Allmendinger
* Aric Almirola
* Marcos Ambrose
* Michael Annett
* Dakoda Armstrong
* Jeb Burton
* Sam Hornish Jr.
* Billy Johnson
* Kasey Kahne
* Corey LaJoie
* Paul Menard
* Elliott Sadler
* Brian Scott
* Regan Smith
* Reed Sorenson
* Ryan Truex
* Bubba Wallace

Evernham Motorsports /
Gillett Evernham Motorsports|

* Casey Atwood
* Patrick Carpentier
* Erin Crocker
* Bill Elliott
* Kasey Kahne
* Jeremy Mayfield
* Deac McCaskill
* Chase Miller
* Hank Parker Jr.
* Scott Riggs
* Elliott Sadler
* Hermie Sadler
* Kevin Swindell
* Dick Trickle
* Mike Wallace
* Paul Wolfe

Petty Enterprises|

* John Andretti
* Buck Baker
* Buddy Baker
* Rich Bickle
* Greg Biffle
* Ken Bouchard
* Dick Brooks
* Rodney Combs
* Carlos Contreras
* Wally Dallenbach Jr.
* Darel Dieringer
* Christian Fittipaldi
* Jeff Green
* Mark Green
* Steve Grissom
* Bobby Hamilton
* Pete Hamilton
* Jimmy Hensley
* Shane Hmiel
* Junior Johnson
* Buckshot Jones
* Bobby Labonte
* Tiny Lund
* Chad McCumbee
* Ted Musgrave
* Jerry Nadeau
* Marvin Panch
* Jim Paschal
* Adam Petty
* Kyle Petty
* Lee Petty
* Maurice Petty
* Richard Petty
* Robert Pressley
* Joe Ruttman
* Morgan Shepherd
* G. C. Spencer
* Curtis Turner
* Joe Weatherly
* Rick Wilson

History

NASCAR Hall of Fame|

* Buck Baker
* Buddy Baker
* Bill Elliott
* Ray Evernham
* Dale Inman
* Junior Johnson
* Bobby Labonte
* Terry Labonte
* Lee Petty
* Maurice Petty
* Richard Petty
* Curtis Turner
* Joe Weatherly

NASCAR Cup Series Championships|

* 1954 (L. Petty)
* 1958 (L. Petty)
* 1959 (L. Petty)
* 1963 (Weatherly)
* 1964 (R. Petty)
* 1967 (R. Petty)
* 1971 (R. Petty)
* 1972 (R. Petty)
* 1974 (R. Petty)
* 1975 (R. Petty)
* 1979 (R. Petty)

Daytona 500 wins|

* 1959 (L. Petty)
* 1964 (R. Petty)
* 1966 (R. Petty)
* 1970 (P. Hamilton)
* 1971 (R. Petty)
* 1973 (R. Petty)
* 1974 (R. Petty)
* 1979 (R. Petty)
* 1981 (R. Petty)

Winston 500 wins|

* 1970 (P. Hamilton)
* 1983 (R. Petty)

Coca-Cola 600 wins|

* 1964 (Paschal)
* 1966 (Panch)
* 1972 (Baker)
* 1975 (R. Petty)
* 1977 (R. Petty)
* 2006 (Kahne)
* 2008 (Kahne)

Southern 500 wins|

* 1967 (R. Petty)
* 2022 (E. Jones)

Brickyard 400 wins|

* 2002 (B. Elliott)

All-Star Race wins|

* 2008 (Kahne)

Related articles|

* List of NASCAR race wins by Petty Enterprises

* v
* t
* e

Daytona 500 winners

Multiple|

| Seven-time|

* Richard Petty

|

Four-time|

* Cale Yarborough

Three-time|

* Bobby Allison
* Dale Jarrett
* Jeff Gordon
* Denny Hamlin

Two-time|

* Bill Elliott
* Sterling Marlin
* Michael Waltrip
* Matt Kenseth
* Jimmie Johnson
* Dale Earnhardt Jr.

One-time|

* Lee Petty
* Junior Johnson
* Marvin Panch
* Fireball Roberts
* Tiny Lund
* Fred Lorenzen
* Mario Andretti
* LeeRoy Yarbrough
* Pete Hamilton
* A. J. Foyt
* Benny Parsons
* David Pearson
* Buddy Baker
* Geoff Bodine
* Darrell Waltrip
* Derrike Cope
* Ernie Irvan
* Davey Allison
* Dale Earnhardt
* Ward Burton
* Kevin Harvick
* Ryan Newman
* Jamie McMurray
* Trevor Bayne
* Joey Logano
* Kurt Busch
* Austin Dillon
* Michael McDowell
* Austin Cindric

* v
* t
* e

NASCAR Rookies of the Year

NASCAR Cup Series|

* 1954: Pitt
* 1957: Rush
* 1958: Rollins
* 1959: R. Petty
* 1960: D. Pearson
* 1961: Wilson
* 1962: Cox
* 1963: Wade
* 1964: Cooper
* 1965: McQuagg
* 1966: Hylton
* 1967: Do. Allison
* 1968: P. Hamilton
* 1969: Brooks
* 1970: Dennis
* 1971: Ballard
* 1972: L. Smith
* 1973: Pond
* 1974: Ross
* 1975: B. Hill
* 1976: Manning
* 1977: Rudd
* 1978: Thomas
* 1979: Earnhardt
* 1980: Ridley
* 1981: R. Bouchard
* 1982: G. Bodine
* 1983: Marlin
* 1984: R. Wallace
* 1985: Schrader
* 1986: Kulwicki
* 1987: Da. Allison
* 1988: K. Bouchard
* 1989: Trickle
* 1990: Moroso
* 1991: B. Hamilton
* 1992: Hensley
* 1993: Gordon
* 1994: J. Burton
* 1995: Craven
* 1996: Benson
* 1997: Skinner
* 1998: Irwin
* 1999: Stewart
* 2000: Kenseth
* 2001: Harvick
* 2002: Newman
* 2003: McMurray
* 2004: Kahne
* 2005: Ky. Busch
* 2006: Hamlin
* 2007: Montoya
* 2008: R. Smith
* 2009: Logano
* 2010: Conway
* 2011: Lally
* 2012: Leicht
* 2013: Stenhouse Jr.
* 2014: K. Larson
* 2015: B. Moffitt
* 2016: C. Elliott
* 2017: E. Jones
* 2018: W. Byron
* 2019: Hemric
* 2020: Custer
* 2021: Briscoe

NASCAR Xfinity Series|

* 1989: K. Wallace
* 1990: Nemechek
* 1991: J. Gordon
* 1992: Craven
* 1993: H. Sadler
* 1994: Benson
* 1995: Fuller
* 1996: G. Allen Jr.
* 1997: Park
* 1998: Santerre
* 1999: Raines
* 2000: Harvick
* 2001: Biffle
* 2002: Riggs
* 2003: Stremme
* 2004: Ky. Busch
* 2005: C. Edwards
* 2006: O'Quinn Jr.
* 2007: Ragan
* 2008: Cassill
* 2009: Allgaier
* 2010: Stenhouse Jr.
* 2011: T. Hill
* 2012: A. Dillon
* 2013: K. Larson
* 2014: C. Elliott
* 2015: D. Suárez
* 2016: E. Jones
* 2017: W. Byron
* 2018: Reddick
* 2019: Briscoe
* 2020: H. Burton
* 2021: T. Gibbs

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series|

* 1996: Reffner
* 1997: Irwin
* 1998: Biffle
* 1999: Stefanik
* 2000: Ku. Busch
* 2001: Kvapil
* 2002: Gaughan
* 2003: C. Edwards
* 2004: Reutimann
* 2005: Kluever
* 2006: Darnell
* 2007: W. Allen
* 2008: Braun
* 2009: Jo. Sauter
* 2010: A. Dillon
* 2011: Coulter
* 2012: T. Dillon
* 2013: R. Blaney
* 2014: B. Kennedy
* 2015: E. Jones
* 2016: W. Byron
* 2017: Briscoe
* 2018: Snider
* 2019: Ankrum
* 2020: Z. Smith
* 2021: C. Smith

*[Best finish]: Best finish in the championship
*[NGNC]: NASCAR Grand National classification
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