Rene Charland

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Rene Charland
Born(1928-11-13)November 13, 1928
Chicopee, Massachusetts
DiedSeptember 30, 2013(2013-09-30) (aged 84)
Amsterdam, New York
Achievements1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 Champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
9 races run over 4 years
Best finish77th (1966)
First race1964 Race No. 1 (Islip)
Last race1971 (Malta)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0

Rene Charland (November 13, 1928 ��� September 30, 2013), nicknamed "The Champ", was an American stock car racing driver. He was a four-time champion of the NASCAR National Sportsman Division, now known as the Xfinity Series.

Career[]

Charland was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts on November 13, 1928[1] and made his home in Agawam.[2] His racing career began in 1949 at Riverside Park Speedway in Massachusetts.[1] By the 1960s he was part of a group of Northeastern racers called "The Eastern Bandits" who moved to the Mid-Atlantic and South to compete in NASCAR competition.[1] In 1962 Charland won his first championship in the NASCAR National Sportsman Division, now the XFinity Series. He won the title again the following three years,[3] and finished third in the series' 1966 standings despite missing half of the season due to an injury suffered at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.[2] His run of four straight championships gave Charland the nickname "The Champ",[1] a name he became better known by than his given name, which was pronounced "REE-nee".[2]

Charland also competed in the NASCAR Grand National Series,[2] running nine races between 1964 and 1971, including the 1966 Daytona 500, posting a best career finish of third at Fonda Speedway in 1966.[4]

Charland was estimated as having won over 700 races during his career.[2] He was an inductee into the New England Antique Racers Hall of Fame and the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame.[1] In his later years Charland suffered from dementia.[1] He died on September 30, 2013, in a nursing home in Amsterdam, New York.[1]

Motorsports career results[]

NASCAR[]

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

Grand National Series[]

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 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 NGNC Pts Ref
1964 Bernard Alvarez 10 Ford CON JSP RSD DAY DAY DAY RCH BRI GPS BGS ATL AWS PIF CLB NWS MAR SVH DAR SBO CLT GPS ASH ATL CON NSV BIR PIF DAY BRR ISP
16 		GLN LIN BRI NSV MBS AWS CLB DAR HCY RCH ODS HBO MAR NWS JAC 119th 160 [5]
1965 Julian Buesink 03 Ford RSD DAY DAY DAY
DNQ 		PIF ASW RCH HBO ATL GPS NWS MAR CLB BRI DAR BGS CLT ASH NSV ATL GPS MBS DAY ODS ISP GLN BRI AWS PIF AUG CLB DTS DAR HCY LIN ODS RCH MAR NWS 108th 192 [6]
10 Ford
38 		HBO
Herman Beam 1 Ford CAR
39
1966 03 Ford RSD DAY DAY
33 		DAY
50 		CAR BRI ATL CLB GPS BGS NWS MAR DAR RCH CLT DTS PIF AWS GPS DAY ODS BRR OXF
15 		FON
3 		ISP
24 		BRI SMR NSV ATL CLB AWS BLV BGS DAR HCY RCH MAR NWS CLT CAR 77th 794 [7]
1971 62 Dodge RSD DAY DAY DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL CLB GPS NWS MAR DAR TAL CLT DOV MCH HOU GPS DAY BRI
31 		TRN NSV ATL BGS MCH TAL CLB DAR MAR CLT DOV CAR MGR RCH NWS TWS NA - [8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Remillard, Jason. "Auto racing legend Rene Charland, of Agawam, dies at 84". October 1, 2013. Springfield, MA: The Republican Accessed 2013-10-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e Boggie, Tom. "Four-time NASCAR champ Charland dies". October 2, 2013. Schenectady, NY: The Daily Gazette. Accessed 2013-10-03.
  3. ^ "Past Sportsman Champions". February 25, 1968. Daytona Beach, FL: Daytona Beach Morning Journal, page 8C. Accessed 2013-10-03.
  4. ^ Rene Charland - NASCAR Sprint Cup Results. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2013-10-03.
  5. ^ "Rene Charland – 1964 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  6. ^ "Rene Charland – 1965 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  7. ^ "Rene Charland – 1966 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Rene Charland – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 14, 2020.

External links[]

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