McCormick Field Raceway was a quarter-mile

oval track Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost univ ...

constructed in 1956 built around the

McCormick Field Lewis McCormick Field is a baseball stadium in Asheville, North Carolina. It is the home field of the Asheville Tourists team of Minor League Baseball. As befits the hilly city of Asheville, the ballpark sits on a section of level ground partway ...

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

after the town had lost its

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

team. The track hosted weekly

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southe ...

races, a pair of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Convertible Series (now

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

), and one Grand National (now

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

) race.

History

Grand National

NASCAR's top series only raced once at McCormick Field. A likely reason for the abbreviated run was that it was built around the tight confines of a baseball field, and drivers had to pay particularly close attention.

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its f ...

was running near the front during a heat race at the track when a bump from Cotton Owens sent him into the first-base dugout. The team repaired Petty's car in time for the main event and he finished one lap down in fourth place.

Jim Paschal James Roy Paschal, Jr. (December 5, 1926 – July 5, 2004) was a NASCAR Grand National Series and Winston Cup Series driver. Career summary Paschal won twenty-five races and twelve poles over his career. Elected to the "Stock Car Racing Hal ...

won driving a car owned by Julien Petty, Lee's brother.

Convertible Division

Curtis Turner Curtis Morton Turner (April 12, 1924 – October 4, 1970) was an American stock car racer who won 17 NASCAR Grand National Division races and 38 NASCAR Convertible Division races. Throughout his life, he developed a reputation for drinking and ...

won the 1956 and 1957

NASCAR Convertible Division The NASCAR Convertible Division was a division of convertible cars early in NASCAR's history, from 1956 until 1959, although the signature race for convertibles remained a Convertible Division race until 1962. Two remnants of the Convertible Divi ...

races which were the only two races held at the track.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures completed in 1957 NASCAR tracks