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| - Rene Charland (November 13, 1928 - Sept. 30, 2013) was a NASCAR racing champion from Agawam, MA, competing from 1949 to 1984. His career began on the dirt tracks of the northeast in 1949. Rene won the Utica-Rome Speedway championship in 1961, 62 and 64. Charland primarily raced in NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman (LMS) division, now the Nationwide Series. After finishing fifth nationally in 1961, Rene (pronounced REE-nee) aimed for the championship and went on a streak. Rene also competed in nine Sprint Cup Series events in his career, earning one top-five finish.
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| - Rene Charland (November 13, 1928 - Sept. 30, 2013) was a NASCAR racing champion from Agawam, MA, competing from 1949 to 1984. His career began on the dirt tracks of the northeast in 1949. Rene won the Utica-Rome Speedway championship in 1961, 62 and 64. Charland primarily raced in NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman (LMS) division, now the Nationwide Series. After finishing fifth nationally in 1961, Rene (pronounced REE-nee) aimed for the championship and went on a streak. Charland's #3 with crew chief Fred Rosner, won the division's national championship in 1962 with 21 race victories. Champions again in 1963, they won 37 races in 109 starts, scoring nearly 1.5 times as many points as the runner-up. Charland continued, winning the NASCAR LMS national crown in 1964 and 1965, again by wide margins, for a total of FOUR consecutive NASCAR national championships. While chasing a fifth straight title in 1966, Charland's car burned to the ground at Malta, NY on Memorial Day weekend in what he later termed "the French barbecue". Rene rebounded to finish the year third in NASCAR standings. Rene also competed in nine Sprint Cup Series events in his career, earning one top-five finish. Charland's Cup debut came in 1964 at Islip, completing nine laps before brake issues sidelined him to 16th. Charland qualified twice in 1965, only completing eight laps at Charlotte, before oil pressure issues dumped him to 38th. He fared no better at Rockingham, when oiling issues left him 39th. Charland, undeterred, stepped up to a five-race program during 1966. Despite a last (33rd) place finish in the Daytona 500 Qualifying race, Charland transferred into the prestigious 500 as the 1965 LMS champ. He finished (50th) there before DNFing 15th at Oxford Plains and 24th at Islip. Charland did have one great race in NASCAR's premier division, at his home track, the dirt half-mile at Fonda, NY. Starting 26th in the #03 Gene White Firestone 1964 Ford, Charland completed all but one lap to pull out a career-best third place finish behind NASCAR Hall of Famers David Pearson and Richard Petty.. Charland prolonged his Cup career until 1971, making his swan song at Malta. He lost his brakes just 33 laps into the race and finished a disappointing 31st. He returned to dirt track modified racing, the track championship at Fonda in 1970, and scoring an upset win in the Lebanon Valley 200 in 1974. The cigar-chomping prankster enjoyed a long life in racing as a speed shop owner and radio host. Springfield, Mass. listeners enjoyed his weekly racing news and results show. In his uniquely central Mass/French Canadian accent, he called it "Der Ree-nee Charland Racing Program, hosted by der Champ". Rene won over 250 feature events, some sources say the total is 600 or more. Charland has been voted into several auto racing Halls of Fame including the New York State Stock Car Association (1989), DIRT Motorsports (1996) and a charter membership in the New England Auto Racers (1998).
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