The 1956 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on October 28, 1956 at Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, near Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved...

 in the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 community of Martinsville

Martinsville, Virginia

Martinsville is an independent city which is surrounded by Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,821 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

.

Summary

Four hundred laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) for a grand total of 200 miles (321.9 km). The race took three hours, sixteen minutes, and seventeen seconds to complete thanks to four caution flags. Nine thousand and five hundred stock car racing fans attended the live race to see Jack Smith win the race in his 1956 Dodge

Dodge

Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

 vehicle (beating thirty-nine other drivers in the process). A Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 named Norman Schihl participated in the race and finished in 23rd place. Notable speeds were: 61.136 mi/h for the average speed and 67.643 mi/h for the pole position speed. Larry Frank officially became the fiftieth different driver to win what is now known as a Sprint Cup Series race.

Total winnings for this race were $11,739 ($ in today's money). The winner of the race (Jack Smith) would receive the lion's share

Lion's Share

The lion's share is an idiomatic expression which develops from a number of fables ascribed to Aesop and is now used as their generic title, although they exist in several different versions...

 of the winnings with $2,264 ($ in today's money) being awarded to him while last place finisher Jimmie Lewallen would walk away with only $100 ($ in today's money).

Finishers

1. Jack Smith†
2. Marvin Panch
   Marvin Panch
   Marvin Panch Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (born May 28, 1926, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver.-Early career:He started his racing career as a car owner in Oakland, California. One week, his driver did not show up, and he raced the car to a third place finish...
   
   
3. Bill Amick
   Bill Amick
   Bill Amick was a NASCAR Grand National and West Coast driver from Portland, Oregon. He has one win, nineteen top 5's, twenty-seven top 10's, and five poles in Grand National.-Driving career:...
   
   †
4. Speedy Thompson
   Speedy Thompson
   Alfred Bruce "Speedy" Thompson was a NASCAR pioneer and driver in the Grand National series from 1950 to 1971; capturing 20 wins along the way.-Racing career:...
   
   †
5. Fireball Roberts
   Fireball Roberts
   Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr. , nicknamed "Fireball", was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR.-Background:...
   
   †
6. Joe Weatherly
   Joe Weatherly
   Joseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...
   
   †
7. Buck Baker
   Buck Baker
   Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. , better known as Buck Baker, was an American race car driver.-Racing career:...
   
   †
8. Bunk Moore
9. Frank Mundy
   Frank Mundy
   Frank "Rebel" Mundy was an American stock car racer. He competed in the American Automobile Association stock cars, winning the 1955 national championship, before the series changed to United States Auto Club sanction...
   
   †
10. Gwyn Staley
    Gwyn Staley
    Gwyn Staley was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Burlington, North Carolina, USA.-Career:...
    
    †
11. Jimmy Massey
    Jimmy Massey
    Jimmy Massey is a retired NASCAR Grand National driver who has competed in 51 races . Out of these 51 races, there has been twelve finishes in the top-five and twenty-eight finishes in the top ten. Massey's total career earnings was considered to be $14,974...
    
    
12. Paul Goldsmith
    Paul Goldsmith
    Paul Goldsmith is a motorcycle Hall of Famer, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee and former USAC and NASCAR driver.- Motorcycle career :...
    
    
13. Billy Myers
    Billy Myers
    William Harrison Myers was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1935 through 1941 for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs . Listed at 5' 8", 168 lb., Myers batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Enola, Pennsylvania...
    
    
14. Johnny Allen
15. Bob Welborn
    Bob Welborn
    Robert "Bob" Joe Welborn of Denton, North Carolina, USA is a former NASCAR Grand National driver. He was named to NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers list in 1998...
    
    †
16. Don Oldenberg
17. Bill Poor
18. Bun Emery
19. Larry Odo
20. Tiny Lund
    Tiny Lund
    DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund was a NASCAR driver. He was ironically nicknamed "Tiny" due to his rather large and imposing size.-Background:...
    
    †
21. Lee Petty
    Lee Petty
    Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. He was born near Randleman, North Carolina.-Career:...
    
    †
22. Bobby Keck
23. Norman Schihl
24. Art Brinkley
25. Johnny Dodson
26. Billy Rafter
27. Bill Champion
    Bill Champion
    Buford Billy Champion , is a retired American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who played in 202 games in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies.-External links:...
    
    
28. Curtis Turner
    Curtis Turner
    Curtis Turner was an early NASCAR driver. In addition to his success in racing, he made a fortune, lost it, and remade it buying and selling timberlands. Throughout his life he developed a reputation for drinking and partying...
    
    *†
29. Bob Duell*
30. Ralph Moody
    Ralph Moody
    Ralph Moody was one of early drivers of NASCAR. However, he eventually became the most famous as team co-owner of Holman Moody.-Background:...
    
    *†
31. Jim Paschal
    Jim Paschal
    James Roy "Jim" Paschal, Jr. was a NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup driver. He won twenty-five races and twelve poles over his career. Elected to the "Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame" in 1977, he won the World 600 in 1964 and the 1967 Charlotte Motor Speedway...
    
    *†
32. Rex White
    Rex White
    Rex White is a retired American auto racer and NASCAR champion. White was one of the drivers who competed for the original Chevrolet racing team. He began racing in 1956, grabbing fourteen top-ten finishes. After a part-time run in 1957, White won twice in 1958...
    
    *
33. Glen Wood
    Glen Wood
    Glen Wood is a former NASCAR driver from Stuart, Virginia. He founded the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953, and won four races over an eleven year racing career. In 1998, he was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers. On June 14, 2011, it was announced that Wood will be inducted in...
    
    *
34. Tom Pistone
    Tom Pistone
    "Tiger" Tom Pistone is a former NASCAR Grand National driver from Chicago. He made his Grand National debut in 1955. He won two races and finished 6th in championship points in the 1959 season for Carl Rupert, his best season statistically...
    
    *
35. Joe Eubanks
    Joe Eubanks
    Joe Eubanks was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. Eubanks raced from 1950 to 1961 collecting one win, thirty-seven finishes in the top five, and eighty-one finishes in the top ten along the way. His total career earnings were $35,338 and he successfully...
    
    *†
36. Billy Carden
    Billy Carden
    Billy Carden was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Mableton, Georgia, USA. He was a stock car racing pioneer and an early NASCAR competitor.-History:...
    
    *†
37. Mel Carson*
38. Larry Frank
    Larry Frank
    Larry Frank was an American NASCAR Grand National driver. He is best known for winning the 1962 Southern 500.-Career:...
    
    *†
39. Bill Lutz*
40. Jimmie Lewallen
    Jimmie Lewallen
    Jimmie Lewallen was an American racecar driver from High Point, North Carolina, USA. He competed in NASCAR's Strictly Stock/Grand National division from its first race at Charlotte Speedway in 1949 until 1960.-Racing career:Lewallen began his racing career in motorcycles in 1934...
    
    *†

* Driver failed to finish race

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased