Lennie Wayne Pond (August 11, 1940 – February 10, 2016) was an American

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver. He won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1973, and won his only race at

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...

in 1978 for Ronnie Elder and Harry Ranier. Pond set a then world record speed of in winning the 500-mile race.

Career

Lennie W. Pond grew up in the Village of

Ettrick, Virginia Ettrick is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,241. The town is home to Virginia State University and the Petersburg Amtrak train station. Most of Ettrick ...

, 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 Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It currently hosts one NASCAR Cup Series race weekend and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It formerly h ...

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 Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...

for rookie of the year honors in 1973. Five years later, Pond won his first career race at

. 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.

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

Winston Cup Series

=Daytona 500

References

External links

Pond Interview with John Sealy

Heritage Chevrolet, Chester, Virginia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pond, Lennie W. 1940 births 2016 deaths NASCAR drivers People from Ettrick, Virginia Racing drivers from Virginia