1956 Wilkes County 160

Last updated
1956 Wilkes County 160
Race details [1]
Race 10 of 56 in the 1956 NASCAR Grand National Series season
NorthWilkesboroSpeedwayMap.svg
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Date April 8, 1956 (1956-April-08)
Official name Wilkes County 160
Location North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.625 mi (1.00 km)
Distance 160 laps, 100 mi (160 km)
Weather Cold with temperatures of 51.1 °F (10.6 °C); wind speeds of 19 miles per hour (31 km/h)
Average speed 71.034 mph (114.318 km/h)
Attendance 7,500 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 A.L. Bumgarner
Most laps led
Driver Speedy Thompson Carl Kiekhaefer
Laps 97
Winner
No. 300ATim FlockCarl Kiekhaefer
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1956 Wilkes County 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 8, 1956, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, United States.

Contents

Background

North Wilkesboro carried a reputation as one of the fastest short-tracks in auto racing in the late 1940s and 1950s. In 1950, speeds reached 73 mph at the track, compared to the next fastest short-track, Charlotte Speedway, where top speeds only reached 66 mph. Most of the fans in the early years of the sport saw the track as notorious for being a great venue to watch races between the legendary racers of the time. Racing at North Wilkesboro was intense and physical.

The 1950 Wilkes 200 was the second Grand National Series race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Twenty-six cars entered the race. Twenty-one-year-old Fireball Roberts qualified with a lap speed of 73.266 mph on the dirt track for his first-ever Grand National pole, but engine problems dropped him out of the running. Fonty Flock started in the third position and led the most laps in the race with 104, but engine troubles also ended his day. Ultimately, Leon Sales led eight of the 200 laps to become the victor, the fourth NASCAR driver to win an event in his debut race. Jack Smith finished second after leading 55 laps in the race.

After hosting only one NASCAR event in 1949 and one in 1950, the track began running two Grand National Series events per year in 1951 (with the except for1956, when only one race was held; the track was being prepared for pavement). One race was held in the spring, normally in late March or early April, and another was held in the fall, normally in late September or early October. In 1957, owner Enoch Stanley had the 5/8-mile track paved.

The Wilkes 200 in 1952 turned into a battle between brothers. Two sets of brothers competed in the race, and they took the top four spots at the finish. The Flock Brothers (Fonty Flock and Tim Flock) were strong, but the Thomas brothers (Herb Thomas and Donald Thomas) had a better outcome. Herb Thomas, driving his 1952 "Fabulous" Hudson Hornet, won the pole, led 192 of the 200 laps, and grabbed the victory. Fonty Flock led the first eight laps and finished the race second. Donald Thomas, also in a 1952 "Fabulous" Hudson Hornet, finished third, and Tim Flock finished fourth. Eleven of the 27 cars entered in the race finished. Six of the top nine positions were driving Hudson Hornets.

Herb Thomas started on the pole for the 1953 Wilkes 200 with his record-setting qualifying speed of 78.424 mph on the dirt surface. Outside pole sitter Tim Flock led the first 100 laps before experiencing engine problems. Curtis Turner took the lead on Lap 101 and continued the lead until his car also succumbed to engine troubles nine laps later. Thomas in his Number 92 Hudson Hornet only lead 18 laps in the race but ended the race by taking his third consecutive win at North Wilkesboro. Starting from the third spot, Dick Rathmann led 70 laps and finished behind Herb Thomas. Fonty Flock managed to work his way up from the fourth starting position to the front and led three laps before dropping back and finishing third.

Pole sitter Buck Baker ran 78.288 mph to gap the pole for the 1953 Wilkes 160. Baker ran strong and led the most laps in the race with 80 out front before falling back into the sixth position at the finish. Speedy Thompson led 25 laps, and Fonty Flock led 37. Curtis Turner led a total of 18 laps. At the end of the race, Thompson finished two laps ahead of second-place Flock. Thompson's win ended Herb Thomas and his Hudson Hornet's three-race winning streak at North Wilkesboro.

At the 1954 Wilkes County 160, Gober Sosebee won the pole with a lap speed of 78.698 mph. Sosebee led a race-high 112 laps but finished in 12th position, eight laps down. The only other leader was Dick Rathmann, who led 48 laps. Rathmann blew a tire while leading, with three laps to go, and still managed to finish and win the race. Herb Thomas finished some 20 seconds behind in second place.

In the 1954 Wilkes 160, Hershel McGriff won the pole with a qualifying speed of 77.612 mph. He and Dick Rathman were the only leaders of the race; McGriff led 74 laps, and Rathman led 83. The race was called three laps early because of a serious crash involving Lou Figaro; his car flipped, and the roof caved in. Figaro was transported to a hospital in Winston-Salem, but he died the following day from a skull fracture and brain damage suffered in the crash. McGriff was declared the winner. It was his final victory and his last Grand National race for 17 years.

Dink Widenhouse won his only career Grand National Series pole at the 1955 Wilkes County 160. But engine problems forced him out of the race. Outside pole sitter Buck Baker led all 160 laps, but by the last lap, Dick Rathmann was glued to Baker's bumper, still charging. Rathmann's final charge off of Turn Four came up three feet short of stealing the victory. It was the closest finish in series history up to that time. Local native Junior Johnson ran in his first Grand National race at North Wilkesboro.

Race report

The attendance at the race was 7500 people, [2] and the race was held in one hour, twenty-four minutes, and twenty-eight seconds. [2] There were 160 laps on the .625-mile (1.006 km) dirt track, with the total distance being 100 miles (160 km). [2] The average speed was 71.034 miles per hour (114.318 km/h), [2] and the pole position speed was 78.37 miles per hour (126.12 km/h). [2] The top three qualifiers were the only drivers who lead the race. [2]

The top ten finishers of the race were Tim Flock, [2] Billy Myers, [2] Jim Paschal, [2] Herb Thomas, [2] Ralph Moody, [2] Dink Widenhouse, [2] Allen Adkins, [2] Lee Petty, [2] Bill Blair, [2] and Whitey Norman. [2] Some other notable racers were Fireball Roberts, [2] Buck Baker, [2] Gwyn Staley, [2] Junior Johnson, [2] and Tiny Lund. [2]

Dick Beaty (who finished twelfth 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. [3] This race would be John McVitty's last start. [4] He was killed during qualifying at Langhorne before the next race.

Out of the twenty-nine competitors for this race, thirteen failed to finish, leaving sixteen drivers that completed the entire 160 laps (100 miles) of the race. [2] The most common problem was the piston (which occurred in two different cars). [2] The top prize was $1,100 ($10,964 when considering inflation) and the prize for last place was $0. [2] 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. [2] Several models of automobile participated in the race including: Ford (active), Chevrolet (active), Pontiac (defunct), Dodge (active), Mercury (defunct), and Plymouth (defunct). [2]

This was the only race for North Wilkesboro Speedway in the 1956 season. [3] Carl Kiekhaefer was a notable crew chief to attend this race; he was also the owner of the #300C Chrysler vehicle driven by Buck Baker. [5]

Racing numbers in this era were not limited to double-digit numbers. There were a couple of 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).

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
155Junior Johnson'56 Pontiac A.L. Bumgarner
2501Speedy Thompson'56 Dodge Carl Kiekhaefer
3300ATim Flock'56 ChryslerCarl Kiekhaefer
4XRex White'56 Chevrolet Max Welborn
512Ralph Moody'56 Ford Pete DePaolo
622Fireball Roberts'56 FordPete DePaolo
792Herb Thomas'56 Chevrolet Herb Thomas
875Jim Paschal'56 Mercury Frank Hayworth
92Gwyn Staley'56 Chevrolet Hubert Westmoreland
1098Allen Adkins'56 Ford Tom Harbison
11100Ken Milligan'56 Chevrolet Dave Everett
12B29Dink Widenhouse'56 Ford Dink Widenhouse
1327John McVitty'55 Chevrolet John McVitty
145Bill Blair'56 Dodge Joe Blair
1537Tiny Lund'56 Pontiac Gus Holzmueller
1682Joe Eubanks'56 Ford James Satcher
1714Billy Myers'56 Mercury Bill Stroppe
1842Lee Petty'56 Dodge Petty Enterprises
19300CBuck Baker'56 Chrysler Carl Kiekhaefer
20271Dick Blackwell'56 Mercuryunknown
216Ralph Liguori'56 Dodge Ralph Liguori
2225Jimmie Lewallen'55 Chevrolet Sam McCuthen
2394Ed Cole'55 Mercury Ed Cole
241Whitey Norman'55 Chevrolet Whitey Norman
2534Dick Beaty'56 Ford Ike Kiser
26264Johnny Allen'55 Plymouth Spook Crawford
2796Bobby Keck'55 Chevrolet Bobby Keck
2819Harvey Henderson'55 Chevrolet Harvey Henderson
2954Lou Spears'55 Ford Nace Mattingly

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. Tim Flock† (first victory for Chrysler at this track [3] )
  2. Billy Myers† (finished in the lead lap under green flag – highest winning Mercury)
  3. Jim Paschal† (finished in the lead lap under green flag)
  4. Herb Thomas† (finished in the lead lap under green flag – highest winning Chevrolet)
  5. Ralph Moody† (1 lap down – highest winning Ford)
  6. Dink Widenhouse (2 laps down)
  7. Allen Adkins (2 laps down)
  8. Lee Petty† (2 laps down – highest finishing Dodge)
  9. Bill Blair (9 laps down)
  10. Whitey Norman (10 laps down)
  11. Buck Baker† (12 laps down)
  12. Dick Beaty (13 laps down)
  13. Ed Cole (15 laps down)
  14. Tiny Lund (18 laps down – highest finishing Pontiac)
  15. Gwyn Staley*† (26 laps down)
  16. Ken Milligan (26 laps down)
  17. Joe Eubanks*† (27 laps down)
  18. Speedy Thompson*† (33 laps down – also led the most laps)
  19. Rex White* (48 laps down)
  20. John McVitty*† (58 laps down)
  21. Dick Blackwell (58 laps down)
  22. Jimmie Lewallen*† (67 laps down)
  23. Lou Spears* (77 laps down)
  24. Ralph Liguori*† (115 laps down)
  25. Fireball Roberts*† (122 laps down)
  26. Johnny Allen* (138 laps down)
  27. Bobby Keck*† (138 laps down)
  28. Junior Johnson* (143 laps down)
  29. Harvey Henderson* (147 laps down)

* Driver failed to finish race
† Driver is deceased.

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Wilkesboro Speedway</span> Motorsport track in the United States

North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short oval racetrack located on U.S. Route 421, about 5 mi (8.0 km) east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, or 80 miles north of Charlotte. It measures 0.625 mi (1.006 km) and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill frontstretch. It has previously held races in NASCAR's top three series, including 93 Winston Cup Series races. The track, a NASCAR original, operated from 1949, NASCAR's inception, until the track's original closure in 1996. The speedway briefly reopened in 2010 and hosted several stock car series races, including the now-defunct ASA Late Model Series, USARacing Pro Cup Series, and PASS super late models, before closing again in the spring of 2011. It was re-opened in August 2022 for grassroots racing and will host the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race and a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, with further renovations planned after the events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock Series</span> 1st season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock season was the inaugural season of professional stock car racing in the United States. Beginning at Charlotte Speedway on June 19, 1949, the season included eight races and two exhibition races. The season concluded with the Wilkes 200 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on October 16. Raymond Parks won the Owners' Championship, while Red Byron won the Drivers' Championship with a 16th-place finish at the final race of the season.

The 1950 NASCAR Grand National season was the second season of professional stock car racing in the United States. Beginning at the Daytona Beach Road Course on February 5, 1950, the season included 19 races. The season concluded at Occoneechee Speedway on October 29. Bill Rexford won the Drivers' Championship with a 26th-place finish at the final race of the season, racing for Julian Buesink.

The 1951 NASCAR Grand National season was the third season of professional stock car racing in the United States. Beginning at the Daytona Beach Road Course on February 5, 1951, the season included forty-one races. The season concluded at New Mobile Speedway on November 25. Herb Thomas won the Drivers' Championship with a 21st-place finish at the final race of the season.

The 1953 NASCAR Grand National Series began on February 1 and ended on November 1. Future NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Herb Thomas, driving his own No. 92 Hudson Hornet, won the championship and became the first repeat champion of the series. It is also the season with the most one-off races. 9 of the 37 races took place on racetracks that only held a cup race in the 1953 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Southern 500</span> Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1955

The 1955 Southern 500, the sixth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event. The event was held on September 5, 1955, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. This race spanned 500 miles on a paved oval track. An unofficial 30-minute highlight film of this race would appear on the collector's set of Stock Cars of 50s & 60s – Stock Car Memories: Darlington-Southern 500; which was released in 2008.

The 1955 NASCAR Grand National season began on November 7, 1954, and ended on October 30, 1955. Even though the season was resolved in the course of two different years, all NASCAR personnel were allowed to have their traditional two-month silly season that traditionally comes between mid-November and mid-February. Tim Flock won the 1955 championship by a margin of 1508 over top of Buck Baker. This season was unusual because of its 11-month season. As the ninth season of the series now known as the Cup Series, most of the drivers involved were still the first-generation race car drivers. They did not have any ties to the stock car racing world through their parents or grandparents although some of them served in World War II prior to their NASCAR careers. However, the generation that would gain notoriety and fame through nepotism would emerge about ten years later. The average horsepower of a stock car competing the 1955 NASCAR Grand National season would be 230 horsepower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 Southern 500</span> Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1956

The 1956 Southern 500, the seventh running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 3rd, 1956, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Wilkes County 160</span> Auto race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1955

The 1955 Wilkes County 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 3, 1955, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 Wilkes County 200</span> Auto race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1952

The 1952 Wilkes County 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on March 30, 1952, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Wilkes 160</span> Former NASCAR race

The 1955 Wilkes 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 23, 1955, at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 Southern 500</span> Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1952

The 1952 Southern 500, the third running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 1, 1952, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1954 Wilkes County 160</span> Auto race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1954

The 1954 Wilkes County 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event held on April 4, 1954, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Until the 1957 running of the Wilkes 160, North Wilkesboro Speedway was a dirt oval track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 Wilkes 400</span> American NASCAR auto race in 1967

The 1967 Wilkes 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 1, 1967, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1953 Wilkes 160</span> Auto race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1953

The 1953 Wilkes 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 11, 1953, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 Wilkes 160</span> Auto race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1958

The 1958 Wilkes 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 19, 1958, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 Northwestern Bank 400</span> Auto race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1979

The 1979 Northwestern Bank 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on March 25, 1979, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1953 Southern 500</span> Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1953

The 1953 Southern 500, the fourth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 7, 1953, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

The 1954 NASCAR Grand National season consisted of 37 races from February 1, 1954, and to November 1. Lee Petty, driving for Petty Enterprises, won the championship, his first of three in the series.

The 1956 NASCAR Grand National Season began on November 13, 1955, and ended on November 18, 1956, lasting slightly longer than a full year. Driver Tim Flock was the defending champion, and started off with a win at the opening Hickory Speedway, but it was Buck Baker who captured the championship. Along with the trophies, Baker also collected $34,076.35 in prize money, and finished more than 400 points ahead of his closest competitor. Baker competed in 48 races throughout the 1956 season as Speedy Thompson and Herb Thomas rounded out the top three in points by the final race. Even though auto manufactures Chevrolet and Ford both contributed millions of dollars into their cars during the season, it was Carl Kiekhaefer's Chryslers and Dodges that dominated the season including a 16 win stretch through the summer months.

References

  1. ↑ "1956 Wilkes County 160 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 "1956 Wilkes County 160 information". Racing Reference. Archived from the original on 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  3. 1 2 3 "Additional 1956 Wilkes County 160 information". Save the Speedway. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  4. ↑ Driver John McVitty Career Statistics at Racing Reference
  5. ↑ "1956 Wilkes County 160 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
Listen to this article (13 minutes)
noicon
Sound-icon.svg
This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 12 September 2019 (2019-09-12), and does not reflect subsequent edits.
(Audio help  · More spoken articles)
Preceded by Wilkes County 160 races
1955		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.