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Richard Charles Bown Jr. (born February 22, 1954) is an American former race car driver who competed in various levels inNASCAR. He won two NASCAR championships; the 1976 NASCAR Winston West Series championship and the 1990 NASCAR Busch Series championship. His last ride came in 1999. He lives with his wife inAsheboro, North Carolina. He is the older brother of former fellow NASCAR competitorJim Bown.

Bown made his NASCAR debut in 1972 in theWinston Cup Series. At the age of seventeen, he ran theWinston Western 500 atRiverside International Raceway the No. 27Plymouth owned by his father Dick. Bown started 22nd but finished 32nd that day after crashing on lap 88. Bown made two more starts in the No. 27 that year, with his best finish being fourteenth at the second Riverside race.

In 1973, Bown returned to the Winston Cup Series driving his father's No. 03 Dodge, finishing in the top-ten for the first time in his career at theTuborg 400 at Riverside. In 1974, Bown again competed in the three California races on the Winston Cup Series schedule, the two events at Riverside as well as atOntario Motor Speedway. His best finish was 20th. In 1976, Bown began driving for Gerald Cracker, driving the No. 01 Chevrolet in four races, and the No. 03 at Riverside, where he had his best finish. Bown was named the Most Popular Driver of the Year in theNASCAR Winston West Series in 1977. In 1979, Bown drove Jim Testa's No. 68Buick andChevrolet in seven Winston Cup events. He scored a seventh place finish in theDaytona 500 and a sixth place finish in theFirecracker 400. He drove eleven races for the next two years for different owners, but did not reach the top-ten.

In 1986, Bown returned to NASCAR, running in theBusch Series. His first start came at theGoody's 300, where he started 28th but finished 40th after wrecking his No. 67 Buick early in the race. He made his only other start of the year at theOxford 250 atOxford Plains Speedway, where he's started thirteenth and won his first career Busch race. The following season, Bown ran three races in the No. 7/56Pontiac, but did not finish a race.

In 1989, Bown ran his first full season in Busch driving the No. 63 Pontiac atLanier Speedway and atSouth Boston Speedway. He finished the season with five top-fives and twelve top-tens wound up ninth in the championship standings. The following year, Bown won six races and four poles. He had a total of thirteen top-fives and won the Busch Series championship overJimmy Hensley by two-hundred points. That same season, he returned to the Cup series, running three races in the No. 97 Pontiac for Tex Powell, his best finish 23rd at theAtlanta Journal 500.

In 1991, Bown won three times and garnered four poles, but dropped fourth in the Busch Series points. He made one Winston Cup start driving Cale Yarborough's No. 66 Pontiac atNorth Wilkesboro Speedway where he finished 26th. The following season, Bown failed to win a race and had only five top-five finishes, and dropped to eleventh in the standings. In 1993, Bown won his final career pole atRichmond International Raceway and won his final race atMartinsville Speedway. He recorded five top-fives and thirteen top-tens en route to a fourth-place points finish. He made one Winston Cup start driving theRoulo Brothers' No. 39 Chevrolet at Phoenix, finishing 24th.

In 1994, Bown moved back up to the Cup Series, driving the No. 12Ford Thunderbird forBobby Allison. He won the pole for theFood City 500, setting a new track record. He was seriously injured in a wreck atPocono Raceway which sidelined him for the season.

Bown returned to racing in 1995 in four Busch races, finishing ninth atCharlotte Motor Speedway in the No. 05Key Motorsports Ford. He competed in nine Cup races in the No. 32Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Active Motorsports, his best finish a 21st at Charlotte. In 1996, Bown drove for a variety of teams in the Busch Series, his best finish 21st atDarlington Raceway. He drove theSadler Brothers Racing' No. 95 Ford in three Winston Cup Series events but only finished one race.

In 1997, Bown began racing in theCraftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 99Ford F-150 forRoush Racing. Despite not winning a race, he had four top-fives and finished ninth in the standings. The next season, Bown qualified on the pole at the season opener atWalt Disney World Speedway, but finished 25th. After that race, he was released from Roush due to downsizing. He moved to the No. 57 CSG Motorsports Ford driving in six events before being released. He ended the season driving the No. 67Chevrolet Silverado in a pair of races, finishing seventeenth at Phoenix.

In 1999, Bown returned to Hensley to drive their No. 63 Chevrolet. Despite a seventh-place finish at Charlotte, Bown was released from the team halfway into the season, and soon retired.

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

Bown was inducted in theWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2009 along with Wayne Spears,Doug George, andRick Carelli.^[32]

• Chuck Bown driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Speedway Media profile

• Living people
• 1954 births
• Racing drivers from Portland, Oregon
• NASCAR drivers
• CARS Tour drivers
• NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champions
• RFK Racing drivers
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• Southern 500 drivers

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