Pete Hamilton
| Born: | July 20 1942 | |
| Birthplace: |  Dedham, Massachusetts |
|
| Awards: | 1968 NASCAR Rookie of the Year (Grand National)
1970 Daytona 500 winner 1998 New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame inductee |
|
| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
| 64 races run over 6 years. | ||
| Best Cup Position: | 21st - 1970 (Grand National) | |
| First Race: | 1968 Fireball 300 (Asheville) | |
| Last Race: | 1973 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta) | |
| First Win: | 1970 Daytona 500 | |
| Last Win: | 1971 Daytona 500 Qualifier #1 | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 4 | 33 | 3 |
Pete Hamilton (born July 20, 1942 in Dedham, Massachusetts) is a retired American NASCAR racer. He won four times in his career (including the 1970 Daytona 500), each time driving for Petty Enterprises. His father was a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Racing career
Hamilton began racing in the street division in 1962 at Norwood Arena.[1] In 1965 he was the Thompson World Series Twin 50s champion. He won the 1967 NASCAR National Sportsman division in 1967.[1]
After that season he moved south to race in NASCAR. He started racing in the NASCAR Grand National (now NEXTEL Cup) 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 #40 Superbird. He won the 1970 Daytona 500 and both races at Talladega Superspeedway.[1] He won his fourth race of the season at the July Daytona race in Cotton Owens' car.[1] Hamilton won his Twin 125 mile qualifying race for the 1971 Daytona 500.[1] He retired from full-time racing in 1971 because of a neck injury suffered in a Grand American race in 1969.[1]
Hamilton won the 1974 Snowball Derby in his late model racecar.
Car builder
After he retired, he became a successful car builder.[1]
Career award
He was inducted in the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame in 1998, its first class.[1]
References
| Preceded by LeeRoy Yarbrough |
Daytona 500 Winner 1970 |
Succeeded by Richard Petty |
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