1959 Western North Carolina 500

Last updated
1959 Western North Carolina 500
Race details [1]
Race 32 of 44 in the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date August 16, 1959;61 years ago (1959-08-16)
Official name Western North Carolina 500
Location Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, Weaverville, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance 500 laps, 250 mi (310 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 87.1 °F (30.6 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 71.633 miles per hour (115.282 km/h)
Pole position
DriverRex White
Most laps led
Driver Bob Welborn Bob Welborn
Laps 1
Winner
No. 49Bob WelbornBob Welborn
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1959 Western North Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 16, 1959, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina. This event took place after the 1959 Nashville 300; which was set at Nashville Speedway (now Fairgrounds Speedway) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Contents

From 1949 to 1972, Richard and Lee Petty were the most dominant drivers on any circuit in NASCAR. David Pearson was easily the third most dominant NASCAR driver. Buck Baker and Rex White were considered to be the middle-of-the road competitors in NASCAR from 1949 to 1972. Fonty and Tim Flock along with Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, Ned Jarrett, and Bobby Isaac were considered to be below-average performers during the early years of NASCAR.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.

Race report

There were 42 American-born drivers who competed at this event; all of them were Caucasian males since Wendell Scott didn't make his introduction into NASCAR until the next decade. There were 500 laps on this race that took almost three and a half hours to resolve. Brownie King was the last-place finisher in this race due to trouble with his fan belt on lap 44.

A lot of engine problems emerged within the first 100 laps in addition to faulty spindles, decaying axles, and one crash involving Richard Petty on the 281st lap. While Rex White would zoom into the pole position driving at speeds up to 77.687 miles per hour (125.025 km/h) during solo qualifying runs, Bob Welborn in a 1959 Chevrolet convertible would defeat Lee Petty in a 1959 Plymouth hardtop vehicle by three laps averaging speeds up to 71.633 miles per hour (115.282 km/h). [2] Welborn would go winless after this race until he retired after the running of the 1964 Pennsylvania 200 in New Oxford, Pennsylvania.

A lot of Chevrolets, Thunderbirds, and Ford vehicles participated in this race. These vehicles were considered to be the quintessential vehicles own during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The only problems with fuel occurred when G.C. Spencer ran out of gas on lap 463. Bill Scott and Dominic Persicketti were the typical example of maverick stock car drivers who drove during the days when it was affordable for the daring to go without a sponsor. [2] All the inside starters were hardtops while all the outside starters were convertibles.

Benny Rakestraw would make his grand exit from top-level NASCAR racing after this event while Chuck Tombs and Layman Utsman would make their introductions here. [3]

Notable crew chiefs for this race were Shorty Johns, Mario Rossi and Jess Potter. Potter was also the owner of Brownie King's vehicle while Rossi took care of Tom Pistone's vehicle while in the pits. Shorty Johns was also listed as the owner of Bobby Johns' vehicle. [4]

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturer
14Rex White'59 Chevrolet
221Glen Wood'58 Ford
372Bobby Johns'57 Chevrolet
449Bob Welborn'59 Chevrolet
547Jack Smith'59 Chevrolet
677Joe Lee Johnson'57 Chevrolet
736Tommy Irwin'59 Ford Thunderbird
810Elmo Langley'59 Buick
942Lee Petty'59 Plymouth
1093Banjo Matthews'59 Ford Thunderbird
1188Buck Baker'59 Chevrolet
1276Larry Frank'57 Chevrolet
135Tiny Lund'57 Chevrolet
1441Joe Weatherly'59 Ford Thunderbird
1592Speedy Thompson'59 Ford Thunderbird
1617Fred Harb'57 Ford Thunderbird
1740Dave White'58 Chevrolet
189Roy Tyner'57 Chevrolet
196Cotton Owens'59 Ford Thunderbird
2025Gene White'57 Chevrolet

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. Bob Welborn
  2. Lee Petty
  3. Jack Smith
  4. Joe Lee Johnson
  5. Rex White
  6. Larry Frank
  7. Cotton Owens
  8. Buck Baker
  9. Marvin Porter
  10. Bobby Johns
  11. Bob Duell
  12. G.C. Spencer
  13. Shep Langdon
  14. Tiny Lund
  15. L.D. Austin
  16. George Green
  17. Ned Jarrett
  18. Dominic Persicketti
  19. George Alsobrook
  20. Benny Rakestraw
  21. Herman Berman
  22. Roy Tyner
  23. Elmo Langley
  24. Harlan Richardson
  25. Whitey Norman
  26. Richard Petty
  27. Bud Crothers
  28. Glen Wood
  29. Dave White
  30. Earl Balmer
  31. Tommy Irwin
  32. Gene White
  33. Neil Castles
  34. Tom Pistone
  35. Banjo Matthews
  36. Fred Harb
  37. Speedy Thompson
  38. Bill Scott
  39. Freddy Fryar
  40. Joe Weatherly
  41. Brownie King

Related Research Articles

Lee Petty 20th-century American racecar driver

Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He is also the father of Richard Petty, who went on to become one of the most successful stock car racing drivers of all time.

1959 Daytona 500 Auto race held at Daytona International Speedway in 1959

The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators. It was the first race held at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.

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.

1960 Daytona 500 Auto race run in Florida in 1960

The 1960 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on February 14, 1960, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It was the 5th race of the 1960 season, and was won by Junior Johnson in a 1959 Chevrolet.

The 1968 Fireball 300 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 5, 1968, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina.

Bobby Harris Myers was an American NASCAR driver. He ran 15 Grand National Series races from 1951 until his death in a crash during the 1957 Southern 500.

1961 World 600 Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1961

The 1961 World 600, the second running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that took place on May 28, 1961, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Chris Economaki called the race in one of the few televised NASCAR races of the 1960s. A series of two qualifying events took place on May 21 to determine the starting grid for this event.

The 1961 NASCAR Grand National season was the 13th season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and contested over 52 events from November 6, 1960, to October 29, 1961. Ned Jarrett captured the championship which was run on 20 dirt tracks, 31 paved tracks, and one road course. Seventeen events were considered short tracks, and 14 events were held at super speedways. Joe Weatherly won the season opening's event at Charlotte, and Jarrett went on to capture the championship with 27,272 points; 830 more than second-place finisher Rex White. Emanuel Zervakis finished third in points, with Joe Weatherly fourth and Fireball Roberts fifth.

1956 Old Dominion 400 Auto race held at Martinsville Speedway in 1956

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.

1959 Southern 500 Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1959

The 1959 Southern 500, the 10th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 7, 1959, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

The 1968 Western North Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 18, 1968, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina.

The 1963 Western North Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 11, 1963, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina.

The 1958 Jim Mideon 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on Saturday, July 18, 1958, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

1957 Southern 500 Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1957

The 1957 Southern 500, the eighth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 2, 1957, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

1960 Atlanta 500 Auto race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1960

The 1960 Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 30, 1960, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.

The 1964 Pennsylvania 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on July 21, 1964, at Lincoln Speedway in New Oxford, Pennsylvania.

The 1959 Hickory 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 2, 1959, at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.

1961 National 400 Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1961

The 1961 National 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 15, 1961, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

1957 Virginia 500 Auto race held at Martinsville Speedway in 1957

The 1957 Virginia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 19, 1957, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.

1960 World 600 Auto race run in North Carolina in 1960

The 1960 World 600 was the inaugural running of the World 600, a NASCAR Grand National Series event. It was run on June 19, 1960 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It was NASCAR's first 600-mile race and it was the longest NASCAR race distance. Joe Lee Johnson was the winner of the inaugural race.

References

Preceded by
1958
Western North Carolina 500 races
1959
Succeeded by
1960