Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Cotton Owens, recently elected to the NASCAR
Hall of Fame, has died. He was 88 years old.
According to the NASCAR website, Owens died Thursday morning.
Owens was elected to the 2013 Class of the Hall of Fame late last month. He is
set to be inducted with Rusty Wallace, Buck Baker, Herb Thomas and Leonard
Wood in the five-member class.
As a driver, Owens won nine times on NASCAR's premier circuit, including the
1957 Daytona Beach road course. He nearly won the 1959 championship, finishing
second to Hall of Famer Lee Petty.
Owens also won 38 races as an owner and had some of the top drivers in his
cars. Hall of Famers Junior Johnson and David Pearson each drove for Owens,
with Pearson capturing the premier circuit title in 1966 for Owens.
The Sports Network