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Richard Charles Bown Jr. (born February 22, 1954) is an American former NASCAR champion. His last ride came in 1999. He lives with his wife in Asheboro, North Carolina. He is the older brother of former fellow NASCAR competitor Jim Bown.
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 the Tuborg 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 at Ontario 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 the NASCAR Winston West Series in 1977. In 1979, Bown drove Jim Testa's No. 68 Buick and Chevrolet in 7 Winston Cup events. He scored a seventh place finish in the Daytona 500 and a sixth place finish in the Firecracker 400. He drove eleven races for the next two years for different owners, but did not reach the top-ten.
In 1989, Bown ran his first full season in Busch driving the No. 63 Pontiac at Lanier Speedway and at South 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 over Jimmy 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 the Atlanta 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 at North 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 at Richmond International Raceway and won his final race at Martinsville 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 the Roulo Brothers' No. 39 Chevrolet at Phoenix, finishing 24th.
Bown returned to racing in 1995 in four Busch races, finishing ninth at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the No. 05 Key Motorsports Ford. He competed in nine Cup races in the No. 32 Chevrolet 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 at Darlington Raceway. He drove the Sadler Brothers Racing' No. 95 Ford in three Winston Cup Series events but only finished one race.
In 1997, Bown began racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 99 Ford F-150 for Roush 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 at Walt 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. 67 Chevrolet 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.
| 1979 | Testa Racing | Buick | 28 | 7 |
| 1980 | Oldsmobile | 15 | 35 | |
| 1991 | Tex Racing | Chevrolet | DNQ | |
| 1994 | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 37 | 23 |
| 1996 | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | DNQ | |
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