1956 Virginia 500

The 1956 Virginia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 20, 1956, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.[2] 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.[3]

1956 Virginia 500

Race details[1]
Race 18 of 56 in the 1956 NASCAR Grand National Series season
A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway
Date	April 25, 1956
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[2]
Pole position
Driver	Buck Baker	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

Background

Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.[4] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.[5] 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.[5]

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).[2] The time of the race was four hours and three minutes while there were seven cautions for twenty laps.[2] 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).[2][6]

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.[2] Other notable drivers who participated in the race included Arden Mounts, Cotton Owens, Fireball Roberts, Tiny Lund, Paul Goldsmith, and Lee Petty.[2] 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.[2] 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.[2]

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.[7] 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.[8]

Twenty thousands fans were on hand to watch the race live.[2] The total winnings of the race was $10,275 ($96,625 when considering inflation).[6] Buck Baker received most of the day's earnings with a grand total of $3,100 ($29,152 when considering inflation).[2][6]

Qualifying

Grid[2]	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Owner
1	502	Buck Baker	'56 Dodge	Carl Kiekhaefer
2	500	Speedy Thompson	'56 Dodge	Carl Kiekhaefer
3	92	Herb Thomas	'56 Chevrolet	Herb Thomas
4	75	Jim Paschal	'56 Mercury	Frank Hayworth
5	42	Lee Petty	'56 Dodge	Petty Enterprises
6	7A	Bobby Johns	'56 Chevrolet	Shorty Johns
7	286	Cotton Owens	'56 Pontiac	Jim Stephens
7	X	Rex White	'56 Chevrolet	Max Welborn
8	3	Paul Goldsmith	'56 Chevrolet	Smokey Yunick
9	2	Gwyn Staley	'56 Chevrolet	Hubert Westmoreland
10	285	Don Carr	'56 Pontiac	Jim Stephens
12	1	Bobby Myers	'55 Chevrolet	unknown
13	14	Billy Myers	'56 Mercury	Bill Stroppe
14	150	Fred Lorenzen	'56 Chevrolet	Fred Lorenzen
15	12	Ralph Moody	'56 Ford	Pete DePaolo
16	11	Tim Flock	'56 Chevrolet	Mauri Rose
17	6	Ralph Liguori	'56 Dodge	Ralph Liguori
18	22	Fireball Roberts	'56 Ford	Pete DePaolo
19	418	Sherman Utsman	'56 Chevrolet	unknown
20	95	Bob Duell	'56 Ford	Julian Buesink
21	91	Jack Smith	'56 Chevrolet	Ted Chester
22	55	Tiny Lund	'56 Pontiac	A.L. Bumgarner
23	204	Darvin Randahl	'56 Ford	Darvin Randahl
24	32	Ted Cannady	'56 Chevrolet	Ted Cannady
25	9	Pee Wee Jones	'56 Ford	unknown
26	264	Johnny Allen	'55 Plymouth	Spook Crawford
27	195	Jim Rhoades	'55 Packard	Jim Rhoades
28	18	Arden Mounts	'56 Pontiac	Arden Mounts
29	209	Pete Stewart	'56 Plymouth	Pete Stewart
30	16	Ray Chaike	'56 Chevrolet	Gus Holzmueller
31	59	Blackie Pitt	'56 Buick	Brownie Pitt
32	211	George Cork	'55 Plymouth	unknown
33	19	Harvey Henderson	'56 Ford	Harvey Henderson
34	240	Reitzel Darner	'56 Ford	Rat Garner
35	35	Joe Bill O'Dell	'55 Rambler	Joe Gilliam

Timeline

Section reference:[2]

• 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:[2]

1. Buck Baker† (No. 502)
2. Speedy Thompson† (No. 500)
3. Lee Petty† (No. 42)
4. Paul Goldsmith (No. 3)
5. Gwyn Staley† (No. 2)
6. Rex White (No. X)
7. Sherman Utsman (No. 418)
8. Billy Myers (No. 14)
9. Jack Smith† (No. 91)
10. Ralph Moody† (No. 12)
11. Harvey Henderson (No. 19)
12. Tiny Lund† (No. 55)
13. Bobby Johns† (No. 7A)
14. Reitzel Darner* (No. 240)
15. Bobby Myers*† (No. 1)
16. Fireball Roberts† (No. 22)
17. Ray Chaike (No. 16)
18. Pee Wee Jones (No. 9)
19. George Cork (No. 211)
20. Herb Thomas*† (No. 92)
21. Pete Stewart* (No. 209)
22. Arden Mounts† (No. 18)
23. Don Carr* (No. 285)
24. Fred Lorenzen (No. 150)
25. Jim Paschal*† (No. 75)
26. Blackie Pitt*† (No. 59)
27. Cotton Owens*† (No. 286)
28. Ted Cannady* (No. 32)
29. Darvin Randahl* (No. 204)
30. Tim Flock*† (No. 11)
31. Johnny Allen* (No. 264)
32. Joe Bill O'Dell* (No. 35)
33. Bob Duell* (No. 95)
34. Jim Rhoades* (No. 195)
35. Ralph Liguori*† (No. 6)

† 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. 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.