Lennie Pond
| Lennie Pond | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1985 racecar | |||||||
| Born |
Lennie Wayne Pond August 11, 1940 Ettrick, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||
| Died |
February 10, 2016 (aged 75) Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||
| Cause of death | Cancer | ||||||
| Awards | 1973 Rookie of the Year | ||||||
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career | |||||||
| 234 races run over 17 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 5th (1976) | ||||||
| First race | 1969 American 500 (Rockingham) | ||||||
| Last race | 1989 Miller High Life 400 (Richmond) | ||||||
| First win | 1978 Talladega 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
| |||||||
Lennie Wayne Pond (August 11, 1940 – February 10, 2016) was an American NASCAR driver. He won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1973, and won his only race at Talladega Superspeedway in 1978 for Ronnie Elder and Harry Ranier. Pond set a then world record speed of 174.700 miles per hour (281.152 km/h) in winning the caution free 500-mile race.
Career
Lennie W. Pond grew up in the Village of Ettrick, Virginia racing on his parents' farm, which Ettrick was home to Pond all his life. In the mid-1950s. Pond started racing modifieds on dirt tracks, then went to asphalt tracks, then to late-model tracks. In 1973, Pond started to run Winston Cup races; his last race with Winston Cup was in 1989 at Richmond International Raceway for Junie Donlavey. Pond got to run all three tracks here—dirt, asphalt and the new track.
His career totals include 234 career starts, one win, 39 top fives, 88 top tens, five poles, and a best championship finish of 5th in 1976. He beat out Darrell Waltrip for rookie of the year honors in 1973. Five years later, Pond won his first career race at Talladega Superspeedway.[1] Before retiring Pond raced his last race on September 10, 1989 at Richmond International Raceway in the Miller High Life 400 where he finished in 11th place.
Pond later became a car salesman at Heritage Chevrolet in Chester, Virginia.
Pond died February 10, 2016 from complications of cancer.[2]
References
- ↑ Caraviello, David (April 30, 2014). "TOP 10 SHOCKERS AT TALLADEGA". NASCAR. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
- ↑ Hallman, Randy (February 10, 2016). "Former racing star Lennie Pond dies at 75". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
External links
- Pond Interview with John Sealy
- Heritage Chevrolet, Chester, Virginia
- Lennie Pond driver statistics at Racing-Reference