Charlie Blanton

Charlie Blanton (December 29, 1935 – October 17, 2018) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race car driver who raced from 1973 to 1978.^[1]

Charlie Blanton
Born	(1935-12-29)December 29, 1935 Gaffney, South Carolina, United States
Died	October 17, 2018(2018-10-17) (aged 82)
NASCAR Cup Series career
3 races run over 3 years
Best finish	82nd - 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
First race	1973 World 600 (Charlotte Motor Speedway)
Last race	1978 American 500 (North Carolina Motor Speedway)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Career

This driver participated in 634 laps of racing action - the equivalent of 814.3 miles (1,310.5 km).^[1] He would earn a total of $3,135 in his total racing career ($15,113.58 when adjusted for inflation) while starting and finishing in 27th place on average.^[1] He appeared in the January 1970 issue of Popular Mechanics alongside Tiny Lund, Buck Baker, Randy Hutchison, Marty Robbins, and Jim Vandiver.^[2]

One of Blanton's more notable non-Winston Cup Series performances was at the 1971 Florida Citrus 250; a NASCAR Grand American Series event where Blanton finished in fourth place. The race took two hours and twenty-nine minutes to finish.^[3] While never winning at the Winston Cup Series level, Blanton did exceptionally well on dirt tracks in the other series; he managed to finish in second to David Pearson at the 1972 Bold City 200 in Jacksonville, Florida.^[4]

Blanton was the winner of the 1973 Daytona ARCA 300 race. His primary car in the NASCAR Cup Series would be the #59 Chevrolet sponsored by Mr. Danny Queen.^[5]