The 1956 Old Dominion 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 28, 1956, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. As a NASCAR-sanctioned "Sweepstakes" race, sedan vehicles from the Grand National Series and stock convertibles from the NASCAR Convertible division raced side-by-side with other for the same amount of money and championship points.[2]
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 54 of 56 in the 1956 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway | |||
| Date | October 28, 1956 | ||
| Official name | Old Dominion 400 | ||
| Location | Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.804 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 200 mi (321 km) | ||
| Weather | Cold with temperatures of 60.1 °F (15.6 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 61.136 miles per hour (98.389 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 9,500[1] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Carl Kiekhaefer | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jack Smith | Carl Kiekhaefer | |
| Laps | 185 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 402 | Jack Smith | Carl Kiekhaefer | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
Background
editMartinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.[3] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short oval track that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.[4] 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.[4]
Race report
editFour hundred laps were completed on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) for a grand total of 200.0 miles (321.9 km).[1] The race took three hours, sixteen minutes, and seventeen seconds to complete with four caution flags.[1] Forty vehicles would qualify to start this race; a large amount for the NASCAR Cup Series in its formative years.[5]
Nine thousand and five hundred fans attended to see Jack Smith win the race in his 1956 Dodge vehicle (beating thirty-nine other drivers in the process).[1] A Canadian named Norman Schihl participated in the race and finished 23rd; making his only Grand National appearance.[1] Notable speeds were: 61.136 miles per hour (98.389 km/h) for the average speed and 67.643 miles per hour (108.861 km/h) for the pole position speed.[1] Bun Emery makes his only Cup start and comes home with a top-20 finish although he 36 laps down at the checkered flag.[1]
While some multi-car teams were present in the race, the majority of drivers had an owner that wasn't incorporated into a team.[6] Jack Smith officially became the fiftieth different driver to win what is now known as a Cup Series race. Total winnings for this race were $11,739 ($131,557 when considering inflation). The winner (Jack Smith) would receive $2,264 ($25,372 when considering inflation) being awarded to him while last place finisher Jimmie Lewallen would walk away with $100 ($1,121 when considering inflation).[1]
Larry Frank, Bill Lutz, Larry Odo, and Bill Poor would make their NASCAR debut in this race.[7] Carl Kiekhaefer was one of the notable crew chiefs for this race.[8]
Qualifying
edit| Grid[1] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Buck Baker | '56 Chrysler |
| 2 | 82 | Joe Eubanks | '56 Ford |
| 3 | 300 | Speedy Thompson | '56 Chrysler |
| 4 | 26 | Curtis Turner | '56 Ford |
| 5 | 97 | Bill Amick | '56 Ford |
| 6 | 21 | Glen Wood | '56 Ford |
| 7 | 42 | Lee Petty | '56 Dodge |
| 8 | 86 | Don Oldenberg | '55 Buick |
| 9 | 95 | Don Duell | '56 Ford |
| 10 | 2 | Bill Lutz | '56 Ford |
| 11 | 12 | Ralph Moody | '56 Ford |
| 12 | 72 | Joe Weatherly | '56 Ford |
| 13 | 64 | Johnny Allen | '56 Plymouth |
| 14 | 49 | Bob Welborn | '56 Chevrolet |
| 15 | 4 | Billy Myers | '56 Mercury |
| 16 | 34 | Gwyn Staley | '56 Chevrolet |
| 17 | X | Rex White | '56 Ford |
| 18 | 7 | Larry Odo | '56 Chevrolet |
| 19 | 22 | Fireball Roberts | '56 Ford |
| 20 | 33 | Jimmy Massey | '56 Chevrolet |
| 21 | 98 | Marvin Panch | '56 Ford |
| 22 | 48 | Jimmie Lewallen | '56 Ford |
| 23 | 502 | Jack Smith | '56 Dodge |
| 24 | 15 | Tom Pistone | '56 Chevrolet |
| 25 | 29 | Billy Carden | '56 Ford |
| 26 | 76 | Larry Frank | '56 Chevrolet |
| 27 | 83 | Johnny Dodson | '56 Chevrolet |
| 28 | 55 | Mel Larson | '56 Ford |
| 29 | 50 | Frank Mundy | '56 Dodge |
| 30 | 71 | Bill Poor | '56 Chevrolet |
Finishing order
editSection reference:[1]
- Jack Smith† (No. 502)
- Marvin Panch (No. 98)
- Bill Amick† (No. 97)
- Speedy Thompson† (No. 300)
- Fireball Roberts† (No. 22)
- Joe Weatherly† (No. 72)
- Buck Baker† (No. 00)
- Bunk Moore (No. 35)
- Frank Mundy† (No. 50)
- Gwyn Staley† (No. 34)
- Jimmy Massey (No. 33)
- Paul Goldsmith (No. 3)
- Billy Myers (No. 4)
- Johnny Allen (No. 64)
- Bob Welborn† (No. 49)
- Don Oldenberg (No. 86)
- Bill Poor (No. 71)
- Bun Emery (No. 99)
- Larry Odo (No. 7)
- Tiny Lund† (No. 16)
- Lee Petty† (No. 42)
- Bobby Keck† (No. 14)
- Norman Schihl (No. 23)
- Art Brinkley (No. 44)
- Johnny Dodson (No. 83)
- Billy Rafter (No. 41)
- Bill Champion† (No. 31)
- Curtis Turner*† (No. 26)
- Bob Duell* (No. 95)
- Ralph Moody*† (No. 12)
- Jim Paschal*† (No. 75)
- Rex White* (No. X)
- Glen Wood*† (No. 21)
- Tom Pistone* (No. 15)
- Joe Eubanks*† (No. 82)
- Billy Carden*† (No. 29)
- Mel Carson* (No. 55)
- Larry Frank*† (No. 76)
- Bill Lutz* (No. 2)
- Jimmie Lewallen*† (No. 48)
* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
Timeline
editSection reference:[1]
- Start of race: Joe Eubanks had the pole position to start the race.
- Lap 11: Fuel pump issues forced Jimmie Lewallen to become the last-place finisher.
- Lap 62: Bill Lutz managed to blow his engine while racing.
- Lap 77: Oil pressure issues forced Larry Frank out of the race, Mel Larson had to deal with a troublesome piston.
- Lap 87: The RF hub on Billy Carden's vehicle had problems that were terminal enough to knock him out of the race.
- Lap 103: The RF lugs were acting problematically on Joe Eubanks' car, forcing his exit from the race.
- Lap 104: Speedy Thompson took over the lead from Joe Eubanks.
- Lap 106: Tom Pistone had some problems with his connecting rod and had to leave the event.
- Lap 110: Glen Wood managed to blow his engine while racing.
- Lap 143: Rex White managed to blow his engine while racing.
- Lap 163: Jim Paschal managed to blow his engine while racing.
- Lap 179: Jack Smith took over the lead from Speedy Thompson.
- Lap 183: The rear end of Ralph Moody's vehicle came off in an unsafe manner to continue racing.
- Lap 189: Fireball Roberts took over the lead from Jack Smith.
- Lap 201: Bill Amick took over the lead from Fireball Roberts.
- Lap 210: Marvin Panch took over the lead from Bill Amick.
- Lap 226: Jack Smith took over the lead from Marvin Panch.
- Lap 245: Bob Duell managed to overheat his vehicle.
- Lap 299: Curtis Turner managed to blow his engine while racing.
- Finish: Jack Smith was officially declared the winner of the event.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Racing results at Racing Reference
- ^ Additional information about the 1956 Old Dominion 400 at Ultimate Racing History
- ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- ^ a b "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- ^ Fantasy NASCAR Racing at Yolasite
- ^ NASCAR stats for the 1956 Old Dominion 400 Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
- ^ NASCAR Cup Series debuts at the 1956 Old Dominion 400 at Race-Database
- ^ Crew chief information at Racing Reference