Everett “Cotton” Owens — with help from family, friends and a team of highly qualified craftsmen from the Spartanburg, S.C., racing community — built this 1964 Dodge Polara to replicate his original Polara race car. The recreated race car was built to NASCAR standards of the period with a legendary 426 Hemi engine producing more than 650 hp. This very engine was vital in David Pearson’s 15 wins during the 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series Championship. The Polara became Owens’ last race car, and was exhibited at the NASCAR Hall of Fame during his 2013 induction. It is now displayed alongside Pearson’s final race car, a 1937 Ford, and a 1966 Dodge Charger built under Owens’ expert guidance as an exact replica of the car he raced in the mid 1960s.
Legendary man, legendary car
In the 1950s, Owens emerged as a leading figure in motorsports, winning numerous events in what would eventually become the Whelen Modified Tour. As a driver, he achieved nine wins in the premier division and finished as the runner-up in the 1959 points standings. After a successful period behind the wheel, Owens transitioned into team ownership, using his mechanical aptitude to build and refine highly competitive race cars for high-profile drivers, including Pearson.
Owens’ induction into the NASCAR Hall of Honor was commemorated with the display of his meticulously restored 1964 Dodge Polara, which closely replicates the vehicle that David Pearson piloted for Owens to eight victories and 29 top-five finishes during the 1964 season. This vehicle represented Owens in the “A Legendary Decade: The First 50 Inductees” exhibit, highlighting its historical importance.
The 1964 season also marked Chrysler’s introduction of the 426 Hemi engine, for which Owens played an instrumental role in its development. The Polara features one such X2 Hemi engine, an early variant of the NASCAR 426 Race Hemi that Owens helped develop, further underscoring its prominence in NASCAR history.
Two years after the Polara’s notable performance, Owens and Pearson formalized their partnership in 1966 to pursue NASCAR’s premier series championship, with Owens as team owner and Pearson as driver. Throughout the mid 1960s, white and red No. 6 Owens Dodges consistently proved to be strong contenders, solidifying Owens’ legacy as a NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.
The road to legendary status
Owens established his racing reputation early, progressing from backyard car builds to running a Spartanburg, S.C., shop producing high-performance Dodges. Starting as a substitute driver in 1946 after serving in the U.S. Navy, Owens quickly rose through racing’s ranks, securing 54 feature wins in 1950 — including 23 consecutive victories — with his Dodge. He continued to innovate into the 1960s and beyond, helping cars reach superspeedway speeds past the 175-mph mark and setting records at Daytona, notably averaging more than 100 mph in 1957 while driving a Pontiac and achieving 143 mph on the new track in 1959. Around this time, Owens became involved in NASCAR’s Grand National Stock Car division, but after an eye injury, he shifted focus from driving to preparing cars for younger drivers. However, he maintained his involvement as both driver and mechanic for Pontiac until 1961. It was while racing Pontiacs that the red-and-white color scheme and the number 6 became Owens’ signatures.
The promising young drivers that Owens put behind the wheel included Bobby Johns, Ralph Earnhardt, Marvin Panch, Fireball Roberts, David Pearson and Junior Johnson. Of them, it was Pearson who became eternally connected with Owens as Pearson quickly won major races in Owens’ cars, becoming NASCAR’s Rookie of the Year in 1960.
Despite early success, a lack of factory support hindered Owens’ team, especially after Pontiac left racing in 1961. Owens then partnered with Dodge dealers, teaming up with Pearson and Billy Wade to form a notable team. While their Dodges showed potential, only Wade managed a win in 1963 (tire issues kept Pearson from further victories). Both drivers achieved top-five finishes at Atlanta, with Wade earning Rookie of the Year before leaving the team. Owens remained optimistic about their competitive performance despite limited wins.
In 1962, Chrysler Corp. had sought the advice of Cotton Owens, Ray Nichels, Ray Fox and Maurice Petty regarding its future in stock car racing. Owens recommended that Chrysler modernize the Hemi engine to better suit the needs of contemporary racing, and Chrysler proceeded with the development of a new Hemi engine, contingent upon Owens’ direct involvement.
By 1963, Owens had officially partnered with Dodge as a factory-supported team manager, overseeing a roster of talented drivers that included Pearson, Wade, Bobby Isaac, Jim Paschal and G.C. Spencer. Pearson and Wade were the primary drivers, competing in 69 events that year. Owens had established a 20,000-sq.-ft. garage near his Spartanburg, S.C., home, which became the team’s operational hub. While the initial season with Dodge did not yield a win, the team achieved 17 top-five and 34 top-ten finishes, along with 2 pole positions.
Chrysler’s re-introduction of a hemispherical-combustion-chamber engine for 1964 marked a pivotal moment in stock car racing. Owens leveraged the power of the new 426 Hemi engine, guiding Pearson to 8 wins in the Grand National circuit, 29 top-five finishes, 42 top-ten results and 12 pole positions in 61 races. Owens even came out of driving retirement to assist Pearson at a USAC event in Richmond, where Owens won and Pearson finished second. Pearson ended the season ranked third in the Grand National Championship driving an Owens-built car, laying the foundation for future success.
The Hemi takes over
Just before the 1964 Daytona 500, Owens received two Dodge Polaras equipped with the new Hemi engines. Pearson’s Dodge showed superior speed compared to Ford competitors, but a blown tire ended his Daytona hopes. Nevertheless, Pearson’s 1964 season with the Hemi Dodge was successful, with 12 pole positions and 8 wins, earning him more than $40,000. Jim Paschal, who joined Owens’ team that year, consistently delivered strong finishes.
Owens and Pearson continued to refine their performance, with Owens returning to the track for short-track events, where he and Pearson traded wins. In 1964, the team secured eight victories in a Dodge.
Midway through the 1965 season, NASCAR banned the Hemi engine due to its overwhelming advantage, prompting Chrysler to withdraw from competition. Despite this setback, Pearson participated in 14 USAC late model circuit races, securing 2 wins, 8 top-five finishes, 11 top-ten results and 1 pole position. Owens additionally shifted his focus to drag racing, modifying a 1965 Dodge Dart station wagon he raced with a Hemi engine as “The Cotton Picker.” This Dart dominated the Southern drag racing circuit, frequently competing against other top NASCAR drivers and achieving impressive quarter-mile times — including a 10.41-second run at 140.63 mph — on notable tracks.
When the Hemi engine was reinstated, Owens and Pearson prepared for a 1966 championship run, again in a Hemi Dodge. The partnership reached its peak that year when they won the NASCAR Grand National Championship. Pearson achieved 15 victories and set 12 track records.
In the late 1960s, the Cotton Owens Garage continued to race Dodge models, including the Charger 500 and Daytona, helping shape NASCAR aerodynamics. Drivers at this time included Buddy Baker, Charlie Glotzbach, Sam Posey, Al Unser and James Hylton. Glotzbach led in 1968 with one win and multiple top finishes; Baker was top driver in 1969-1970, scoring a Darlington Southern 500 victory in 1970 and setting a closed-course record at faster than 200 mph at Talladega. After side glass removal that year, no stock car broke the 200 mph barrier in NASCAR races as restrictor plates were introduced, ending an era of speed.
In the early 1970s, the Cotton Owens Garage switched from Dodge to Plymouth. In 1971, Pete Hamilton drove for Owens in a Plymouth Road Runner, starting 20 races and achieving 1 win, 11 top-five finishes, 12 top-tens and 2 poles. Country-Western musician Marty Robbins was also a notable driver for Owens, racing Dodges and sometimes Buicks until his death in 1982. Robbins typically ran at Talladega, Daytona and select other tracks, finishing in the NASCAR top ten 6 times over 35 races, including the 1973 Firecracker 400. He played himself in the film “Hell on Wheels” (1967) and favored brightly colored Dodges.
Recreating a Legend
The 1964 Dodge Polara donor car that was used for the Owens race car project has a deep-rooted history dating back to 1964 when it was purchased new at Owens’ local Dodge dealership.
In 1964, Harlan Allen bought a Dodge Polara from Spartanburg Dodge as his first new car and used it daily, even proposing to his wife in it. The Polara became the family car, later serving his son, Chuck, throughout his college years at Clemson. It stayed with the Allens until the early 2000s, when Owens expressed interest in finding a 1964 Dodge Polara to build a replica of his past Grand National Series entry.
A local resident familiar with Owens and positioned in the racing community recognized that the vehicle originally acquired by Allen remained in his possession. This individual arranged a purchase agreement with Allen and subsequently presented the car to Owens as a possible donor vehicle for his 1964 Dodge Polara race car tribute project, and Owens agreed to purchase it. With its Spartanburg origins, the 1964 Dodge Polara was as an ideal donor car for Owens’ project.
By the fall of 2004, Allen’s local 1964 Polara had been turned into an accurate recreation of Cotton’s original 1964 Polara that famously appeared on the NASCAR circuit. The project involved the use of authentic racing parts collected from Owens’ years on the track. The project was completed with the help of Owens’ son, Donnie Owens, and Dean Yeargin, Howard Teague, Roger Mendeville and members of the racing community, who provided valuable expertise and support throughout the project. It would be Owens’ last race car.
In a 2005 interview, Owens stated that the recreation of his 1964 Dodge Polara race car adhered closely to the original racing specifications and was even fitted with the authentic 426 Hemi X2 engine originally supplied to him in 1964 by Chrysler Corp. According to Owens, this engine, run by Pearson, secured five consecutive victories on dirt tracks during the 1966 Grand National Series. Owens preserved the X2 Hemi engine and incorporated it into the reconstruction of his 1964 Polara.
Since Owens’s passing in 2012, the Polara remains a link to Owens’ past. His family was right there, in the thick of his career, and his daughter, Debbie Davis, recalls growing up in the racing community and the journey her father took to becoming a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. She fondly recalls the racing years, family road trips and how much her father loved racing as both a driver and team owner. But, she says, he always put his family first.
In sharing what the Polara means to her, she recalled that, “In 2008, we participated in the Fall Festival event at Darlington Raceway. I was secured in a specially installed seat within the Polara, prepared by my father for such occasions. Buddy Baker approached, paused, and inspected the vehicle, observing both my father and myself. With a smile, Baker commented humorously, ‘I expected you to be more cautious; I would not find myself seated there, ready to enter the track with that driver.’ After this exchange, he winked, my father accelerated, and we proceeded to complete our lap around the track.”
Debbie also recounted an experience with the car and her husband, Danny Davis, that occurred in August 2010. While preparing the 1964 Polara for a parade lap at the Hillsborough Race Track to support a fundraiser for track improvements, Danny inquired whether Cotton preferred him to drive. Cotton responded assertively, stating, “Dan, if there is one skill I retain, it is driving a race car, and I will be driving today.”
On August 10, 2010, Cotton Owens completed his final lap as a driver in his last race car. In 2012, at age 88, Owens succumbed to lung cancer, just prior to his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013.
This story would not have been possible without the valuable contributions of Debbie and Danny Davis. They generously shared their heartfelt and personal Cotton Owens stories, allowing me to present this special narrative to readers of Old Cars.
Interested in Cotton Owens related MoPar Nascar rides? Check out the Pearson 1966 Charger HERE!
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