more than 20 years. On the Saturday night before the annual Labor Day classic, Owens was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the National Motorsports Press Association. Buddy's all-out style would cost him several notable races that he would just as soon rather forget about, including the 1969 Texas 500, but it would also serve him well as he would pilot the Chrysler Engineering blue Daytona #88 to a new closed-course record of better than 200 mph at Talladega on March 24, 1970. When the side glass was removed in late March 1970, no stock car ever went over 200 in a NASCAR sanctioned race in 1970. The August 1970 issue of Stock Car Racing magazine reported that Lee Roy Yarborough ran one race lap in April 1970, at 199.mph. It was the end of an era, as restrictor plates would control the top speeds 1971–1974 The dawn of the 70s would see the Cotton Owens Garage switch from Dodge to Plymouth, as Chrysler wanted to resurrect the marque by giving it more of a performance edge. The dominance of the Dodge Daytona and Hemi combination had given no choice to NASCAR but to outlaw both the car and the engine, requiring new restrictor plates on the superspeedways. For the 1971 season, Cotton Owens teamed up with Pete Hamilton, who would pilot his '71 Plymouth Roadrunner to victory lane at the 1971 Daytona 500 qualifier. Hamilton would start a total of 20 races, with 1 Win, 11 Top Fives, 12 Top Tens, and 2 Pole Positions. Other drivers included Charlie Glotzbach, Peter Gregg, and yet another Spartanburg native named Dick Brooks. During this era, the same car would often be re-bodied as either a Plymouth Roadrunner or a Dodge Charger, utilizing the same chassis and drivetrain but updated to keep up with NASCAR rule changes or factory dictates. Another notable fellow to climb behind the wheel of a COG race car during this time was none other than legendary country-western musician Marty Robbins. Marty loved NASCAR racing and as he had the funds to do so, he raced occasionally. His cars were built and maintained by Cotton Owens up until he died in 1982, although he did drive Buicks for Junior Johnson shortly at the end of his career. Marty always tried to race at the big race tracks (Talladega and Daytona) every year, and then a smattering of