1956 Wilkes County 160
Encyclopedia
The 1956 Wilkes County 160 was a 160-lap race in the NASCAR
Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) that was held on April 8, 1956 at North Wilkesboro Speedway
in the American
community of North Wilkesboro
, North Carolina
.
, Billy Myers
, Jim Paschal
, Herb Thomas
, Ralph Moody
, Dink Widenhouse
, Allen Adkins, Lee Petty
, Bill Blair, and Whitey Norman. Other notable racers included: Fireball Roberts
, Buck Baker
, Gwyn Staley
, Junior Johnson
, and Tiny Lund
. Dick Beaty (who finished twelfth place in the race) would go on to become the "top cop" in NASCAR decades later; passing a rule requiring vehicles to "pass to the right" on the restart.
The three major corporate sponsors of that time were: C U Later Alligator, Southeastern Dealers, and Satcher Motors. Out of the twenty-nine competitors for this race, there were thirteen race car drivers that failed to finish – leaving sixteen drivers that ended up competing the entire 160 laps (100 miles) of the race. The most common problem was the piston
(which occurred in two different drivers). After racing, the top prize was $1,100 ($ in today's money) and the prize for last place was $0. Due to the niche status of the sport at that time, this event was completely untelevised and could only be seen either live or through local radio
. NASCAR's then-current prize structure only gave out monetary rewards from first place to twentieth place; all other finishers did not receive any prize winnings at all. This is in complete contrast to today where everybody gets more than $100,000 just because they qualified for race day. It is believe that the high prize winnings in addition to rising gasoline and electricity prices are to blame for today's NASCAR events being too expensive for most people to watch other than through live television coverage.
Several models of automobile participated in the race including: Ford
(active), Chevrolet
(active), Pontiac
(defunct), Dodge
(active), Mercury
(active but not participating in racing), and Plymouth
(defunct). This was the only race for North Wilkesboro Speedway in the entire 1956 season. Racing numbers in this era were not limited to double-digit numbers. There were a couple drivers with triple digit numbers and even a driver using the letter "X" as his race car number. Fortunately, this practice was discarded by NASCAR after the 1963 Sandlapper 200
where Frank Warren
would take his single-lettered car to a 13th place finish (after starting in 18th).
* Driver failed to finish race
† Driver is deceased.
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 Series (now Sprint Cup Series) that was held on April 8, 1956 at North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway was a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996...
in the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
community of North Wilkesboro
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was approximately 4,116 at the 2000 census and is now 4,245 as of the 2010 census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's Home Improvement, which continues to have a major presence in...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
Summary
The attendance at the race reached 7500 people and the race was held in a matter of one hour, twenty-four minutes, and twenty-eight seconds. There were 160 laps done on a 0.625 miles (1 km) mile dirt track with the total distance of the race being 100 miles (160.9 km) miles. The average speed being 71.034 mi/h and the pole position speed was considered to be 78.37 mi/h. Top ten finishers of the race were: Tim FlockTim Flock
Julius Timothy Flock was one of NASCAR's early pioneers, and a two time series champion. He was a brother to NASCAR's second female driver Ethel Mobley and NASCAR pioneers Bob Flock and Fonty Flock.- NASCAR career :...
, 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...
, 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...
, Herb Thomas
Herb Thomas
Herbert Watson Thomas was a NASCAR pioneer who was one of the series' most successful drivers in the 1950s.-Background:...
, 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:...
, Dink Widenhouse
Dink Widenhouse
David "Dink" Widenhouse is a retired NASCAR Grand National Series driver. From the age of 22 to the age of 24, Widenhouse has competed in and 3097 laps of racing...
, Allen Adkins, 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:...
, Bill Blair, and Whitey Norman. Other notable racers included: Fireball Roberts
Fireball Roberts
Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr. , nicknamed "Fireball", was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR.-Background:...
, Buck Baker
Buck Baker
Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. , better known as Buck Baker, was an American race car driver.-Racing career:...
, Gwyn Staley
Gwyn Staley
Gwyn Staley was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Burlington, North Carolina, USA.-Career:...
, Junior Johnson
Junior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...
, and 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:...
. Dick Beaty (who finished twelfth place in the race) would go on to become the "top cop" in NASCAR decades later; passing a rule requiring vehicles to "pass to the right" on the restart.
The three major corporate sponsors of that time were: C U Later Alligator, Southeastern Dealers, and Satcher Motors. Out of the twenty-nine competitors for this race, there were thirteen race car drivers that failed to finish – leaving sixteen drivers that ended up competing the entire 160 laps (100 miles) of the race. The most common problem was the piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
(which occurred in two different drivers). After racing, the top prize was $1,100 ($ in today's money) and the prize for last place was $0. Due to the niche status of the sport at that time, this event was completely untelevised and could only be seen either live or through local radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
. NASCAR's then-current prize structure only gave out monetary rewards from first place to twentieth place; all other finishers did not receive any prize winnings at all. This is in complete contrast to today where everybody gets more than $100,000 just because they qualified for race day. It is believe that the high prize winnings in addition to rising gasoline and electricity prices are to blame for today's NASCAR events being too expensive for most people to watch other than through live television coverage.
Several models of automobile participated in the race including: Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
(active), Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
(active), Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
(defunct), 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....
(active), Mercury
Mercury (automobile)
Mercury was an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company launched in 1938 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand, and Chrysler's namesake brand...
(active but not participating in racing), and Plymouth
Plymouth (automobile)
Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...
(defunct). This was the only race for North Wilkesboro Speedway in the entire 1956 season. Racing numbers in this era were not limited to double-digit numbers. There were a couple drivers with triple digit numbers and even a driver using the letter "X" as his race car number. Fortunately, this practice was discarded by NASCAR after the 1963 Sandlapper 200
1963 Sandlapper 200
The 1963 Sandlapper 200 was the official site of Richard Petty's 25th NASCAR Grand National win for Petty Enterprises .-Summary:...
where Frank Warren
Frank Warren (NASCAR driver)
Frank Warren is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1963 to 1980.Out of 88863 laps finished in his career, Warren had led 72 of them. Warren's total career earnings were $625,886 and while his average finish was 20th place in his entire career. The total amount of miles...
would take his single-lettered car to a 13th place finish (after starting in 18th).
Results
- Tim Flock† (first victory for Chrysler at this track)
- Billy Myers† (less than 1 lap behind – highest winning Mercury)
- Jim Paschal† (less than 1 lap behind)
- Herb Thomas† (less than 1 lap behind – highest winning Chevrolet)
- Ralph Moody† (1 lap behind – highest winning Ford)
- Dink Widenhouse (2 laps behind)
- Allen Adkins (2 laps behind)
- Lee Petty† (2 laps behind – highest finishing Dodge)
- Bill Blair (9 laps behind)
- Whitey Norman (10 laps behind)
- Buck Baker† (12 laps behind)
- Dick Beaty (13 laps behind)
- Ed ColeEd ColeEdward Nicholas Cole was an American automotive executive for General Motors.- Career :Cole was the son of a dairy farmer. In his youth, he designed, built, and sold homemade radio sets, and as a teenager became a field representative for a tractor manufacturer...
(15 laps behind) - Tiny Lund (18 laps behind – highest finishing Pontiac)
- Gwyn Staley*† (26 laps behind)
- Ken Milligan (26 laps behind)
- Joe EubanksJoe EubanksJoe 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...
*† (27 laps behind) - Speedy ThompsonSpeedy ThompsonAlfred 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:...
*† (33 laps behind – also led the most laps) - Rex WhiteRex WhiteRex 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...
* (48 laps behind) - John McVittyJohn McVittyJohn McVitty was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Mamaroneck, New York, USA. During his two-year NASCAR career, McVitty had raced in eleven races with three finished in the top ten and 1382 laps of experience under his belt - the equivalent of . McVitty's total earning were considered to be $800...
*† (58 laps behind) - Dick Blackwell (58 laps behind)
- Jimmie LewallenJimmie LewallenJimmie 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...
*† (67 laps behind) - Lou SpearsLou SpearsLou Spears is a retired NASCAR Grand National driver from Ardmore, Pennsylvania, USA. He competed in a two-year career that spanned from 1955 to 1957. Spears scored one position in the top ten and finished the race in 20th place on average. His average starts were in 31st place and spent in a...
* (77 laps behind) - Ralph LiguoriRalph LiguoriRalph Liguori is a former American racing driver from New York City.-Indycar career:He competed in the USAC Championship Car series from 1957 to 1971 making 61 starts. His best finish was 2nd place at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway in 1970. 1966 was his most active year, when he made 7...
* (115 laps behind) - Fireball Roberts*† (122 laps behind)
- Johnny Allen* (138 laps behind)
- Bobby Keck* (138 laps behind)
- Junior Johnson* (143 laps behind)
- Harvey Henderson* (147 laps behind)
* Driver failed to finish race
† Driver is deceased.