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1956 Virginia 500

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Auto race held at Martinsville Speedway in 1956
1956 Virginia 500
Race details
Race 18 of 56 in the 1956 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1965 Virginia 500 program cover1965 Virginia 500 program cover
Date April 25, 1956 (1956-April-25)
Official name Virginia 500
Location Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.525 mi (0.844 km)
Distance 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km)
Weather Temperatures of 67.7 °F (19.8 °C); wind speeds of 11.16 miles per hour (17.96 km/h)
Average speed 60.824 miles per hour (97.887 km/h)
Attendance 20,000
Pole position
Driver Carl Kiekhaefer
Most laps led
Driver Speedy Thompson Carl Kiekhaefer
Laps 259
Winner
No. 502 Buck Baker Carl Kiekhaefer
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none
Motor car race

The 1956 Virginia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 20, 1956, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. As the inaugural event for the NASCAR Grand National Series in Martinsville, this race would set a precedent for all other 500-lap races to follow on this newly paved short track.

Background

A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long. The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.

Race report

Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) for a grand total of 250 miles (400 km). The time of the race was four hours and three minutes while there were seven cautions for twenty laps. The average speed was 60.824 miles per hour (97.887 km/h) while the pole position speed was 66.103 miles per hour (106.382 km/h).

Compared to the top speed of today's passenger vehicles which is considered to be 99 miles per hour (159 km/h) in most makes and models, these stock cars were considered to be slow. Buck Baker defeated Speedy Thompson by half a lap. Other notable drivers who participated in the race included Arden Mounts, Cotton Owens, Fireball Roberts, Tiny Lund, Paul Goldsmith, and Lee Petty. The winning vehicle was a 1956 Dodge Coronet. Thirty-five American drivers dueled each other with no foreign-born competitors either in qualifying or the race itself. It would be the first time that a driver with the number 502 would win a race. Joe Bill O'Dell took quite a spill in this race; with his lap 37 crash causing his vehicle to have all four wheels off the ground.

Most of the stock car owners were independent and had no formal ties to the multi-car teams that would start to form in the 1960s and 1970s. A vehicle made by the Packard Motor Car Company even qualified for the race; eventually finishing in 34th place due to a tire problem. Years later, the Packard Motor Company would be victimized by the "Big Three" automobile manufacturers and would close due to lack of sales.

Shorty Johns and Carl Kiekhaefer were the two most notable crew chiefs to attend this race.

Twenty thousands fans were on hand to watch the race live. The total winnings of the race was $10,275 ($115,150 when considering inflation). Buck Baker received most of the day's earnings with a grand total of $3,100 ($34,741 when considering inflation).

A race lineup sheet for the 1956 Virginia 500.

Qualifying

According to the official lineup sheet from the official program, the first 20 cars would qualify based on speed. Then, positions 21-30 would be based on their positions on a 10 lap qualifying race. Positions 31-40, those who would DNQ on Saturday, would be decided on who got to the track first, i.e. the first driver would get 31st, the second would get 32nd, etc. Buck Baker would win the pole with a 27.230.

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Owner Time Avg. Speed
1 502 Buck Baker '56 Dodge Carl Kiekhaefer 27.230 66.125
2 500 Speedy Thompson '56 Dodge Carl Kiekhaefer 27.290 65.930
3 92 Herb Thomas '56 Chevrolet Herb Thomas 27.540 65.450
4 75 Jim Paschal '56 Mercury Frank Hayworth 27.550 65.115
5 42 Lee Petty '56 Dodge Petty Enterprises 27.590 65.103
6 7A Bobby Johns '56 Chevrolet Shorty Johns 27.840 64.745
7 X Rex White '56 Chevrolet Max Welborn 27.890 64.515
8 3 Paul Goldsmith '56 Chevrolet Smokey Yunick 28.040 64.285
9 2 Gwyn Staley '56 Chevrolet Hubert Westmoreland 28.090 64.055
10 285 Don Carr '56 Pontiac Jim Stephens 28.110 64.053
11 286 Cotton Owens '56 Pontiac Jim Stephens 28.220 63.825
12 1 Bobby Myers '55 Chevrolet unknown 28.360 63.600
13 14 Billy Myers '56 Mercury Bill Stroppe 28.380 63.380
14 150 Fred Lorenzen '56 Chevrolet Fred Lorenzen 28.410 63.371
15 12 Ralph Moody '56 Ford Pete DePaolo 28.420 63.368
16 11 Tim Flock '56 Chevrolet Mauri Rose 28.480 63.255
17 6 Ralph Liguori '56 Dodge Ralph Liguori 28.490 63.201
18 22 Fireball Roberts '56 Ford Pete DePaolo 28.560 62.935
19 418 Sherman Utsman '56 Chevrolet unknown 28.670 62.715
20 95 Bob Duell '56 Ford Julian Buesink 28.680 62.712
21 91 Jack Smith '56 Chevrolet Ted Chester 29.180 61.640
22 55 Tiny Lund '56 Pontiac A.L. Bumgarner 28.910 62.265
23 204 Darvin Randahl '56 Ford Darvin Randahl 29.330 61.143
24 32 Ted Cannady '56 Chevrolet Ted Cannady 29.010 62.065
25 9 Pee Wee Jones '56 Ford unknown 29.010 62.065
26 264 Johnny Allen '55 Plymouth Spook Crawford 29.710 60.605
27 195 Jim Rhoades '55 Packard Jim Rhoades 33.420 53.890
28 18 Arden Mounts '56 Pontiac Arden Mounts 34.470 52.170
29 209 Pete Stewart '56 Plymouth Pete Stewart 30.600 58.820
30 16 Ray Chaike '56 Chevrolet Gus Holzmueller 0.000 0.000
31 59 Blackie Pitt '56 Plymouth Fury Brownie Pitt 0.000 0.000
32 211 George Cork '55 Plymouth unknown 0.000 0.000
33 19 Harvey Henderson '56 Ford Harvey Henderson 0.000 0.000
34 240 Reitzel Darner '56 Ford Rat Garner 0.000 0.000
35 35 Joe Bill O'Dell '55 Rambler Joe Gilliam 0.000 0.000

Timeline

Section reference:

  • Start of race: Speedy Thompson started the race with the pole position.
  • Lap 8: Piston issues caused Ralph Liguori to become the last-place finisher.
  • Lap 25: Jim Rhoades' "road to success" came to a dead end with tire problems.
  • Lap 29: Bob Duell had a terminal crash, forcing him out of the race.
  • Lap 37: Joe Bill O'Dell had a terminal crash, he was forced to exit the race.
  • Lap 69: Tim Flock had a terminal crash, forcing him to exit the race.
  • Lap 149: A non-functioning piston crushed Darvin Randahl's hopes of winning the race.
  • Lap 156: Transmission issues brought down Ted Cannady.
  • Lap 216: Buck Baker took over the lead from Speedy Thompson.
  • Lap 222: Herb Thomas takes over the lead from Buck Baker.
  • Lap 243: Cotton Owen's race weekend was devastated by a troublesome right front hub.
  • Lap 252: Blackie Pitt's vehicle had a faulty right front hub.
  • Lap 293: Bearing issues caused Jim Paschal to exit the event early.
  • Lap 304: Lug bolt problems ended Don Carr's weekend on the track.
  • Lap 338: Speedy Thompson took over the lead from Herb Thomas.
  • Lap 356: Pete Stewart's vehicle had a faulty right rear axle.
  • Lap 377: Herb Thomas's vehicle had a problematic engine that kept him from finishing the race.
  • Lap 382: Buck Baker takes over the lead from Speedy Thompson.
  • Lap 436: Bobby Myers developed a faulty right front hub in his vehicle.
  • Lap 441: Reitzel Darner developed a faulty right front hub in his vehicle.
  • Finish: Buck Baker was officially declared the winner of the event.

Finishing order

Section reference:

Fin St # Driver Make Team/Owner Sponsor Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 1 502 Buck Baker '56 Dodge Carl Kiekhaefer 500 125 running $3,100
2 2 500 Speedy Thompson '56 Dodge Carl Kiekhaefer 500 259 running $1,500
3 5 42 Lee Petty '56 Dodge Petty Enterprises 497 0 running $1,025
4 8 3 Paul Goldsmith '56 Chevrolet Smokey Yunick 496 0 running $750
5 9 2 Gwyn Staley '56 Chevrolet Hubert Westmoreland 491 0 running $600
6 7 X Rex White '56 Chevrolet Max Welborn 483 0 running $450
7 19 418 Sherman Utsman '56 Chevrolet unknown 477 0 running $350
8 13 14 Billy Myers '56 Mercury Bill Stroppe 475 0 running $300
9 21 91 Jack Smith '56 Chevrolet Ted Chester 475 0 running $200
10 15 12 Ralph Moody '56 Ford Pete DePaolo Southeastern Dealers 467 0 running $175
11 33 19 Harvey Henderson '56 Ford Harvey Henderson 464 0 running $150
12 22 55 Tiny Lund '56 Pontiac A. L. Bumgartner 463 0 running $100
13 6 7A Bobby Johns '56 Chevrolet Shorty Johns 458 0 running $100
14 34 240 Reitzel Darner '56 Ford Rat Garner 441 0 rf hub $100
15 12 1 Bobby Myers '55 Chevrolet unknown 436 0 rf hub $100
16 18 22 Fireball Roberts '56 Ford Pete DePaolo DePaolo Engineering 435 0 running $75
17 30 16 Ray Chaike '56 Chevrolet 430 0 running $75
18 25 9 Pee Wee Jones '56 Ford unknown 419 0 running $75
19 32 211 George Cork '55 Plymouth unknown 405 0 running $75
20 3 92 Herb Thomas '56 Chevrolet Herb Thomas 377 116 engine $75
21 29 209 Pete Stewart '56 Plymouth Pete Stewart 356 0 rr axle $60
22 28 18 Arden Mounts '56 Pontiac Arden Mounts 338 0 running $60
23 10 285 Don Carr '56 Pontiac Jim Stephens 304 0 lug bolt $60
24 14 150 Fred Lorenzen '56 Chevrolet Fred Lorenzen 293 0 running $60
25 4 75 Jim Paschal '56 Mercury Frank Hayworth C U Later Alligator 293 0 bearing $60
26 31 59 Blackie Pitt '56 Buick Brownie Pitt 252 0 rf hub $60
27 7 286 Cotton Owens '56 Pontiac Jim Stephens 243 0 rf hub $60
28 24 32 Ted Cannady '56 Chevrolet Ted Cannady 156 0 transmission $60
29 23 204 Darvin Randahl '56 Ford Darvin Randahl 149 0 piston $60
30 16 11 Tim Flock '56 Chevrolet Mauri Rose Mauri Rose Engineering 69 0 crash $60
31 26 264 Johnny Allen '55 Plymouth Spook Crawford 37 0 transmission $60
32 35 35 Joe Bill O'Dell '55 Rambler Joe Gilliam 37 0 crash $60
33 20 95 Bob Duell '56 Ford Julian Buesink 29 0 crash $60
34 27 195 Jim Rhoades '55 Packard Jim Rhoades 25 0 tire $60
35 17 6 Ralph Liguori '56 Dodge Ralph Liguori 8 0 piston $60

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

References

  1. "1956 Virginia 500 information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  2. ^ "1956 Virginia 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  3. "Martinsville Speedway History". Visit Martinsville. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  4. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  5. ^ "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  6. ^ "1956 Virginia 500 information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  7. "Packard Motor Car Company at the 1956 Virginia 500". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  8. "1956 Virginia 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  9. "1956 Virginia 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
Preceded by1955 Virginia 500 races
1956 		Succeeded by1957
1956 NASCAR Grand National Series
Points races
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