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1956 Southern 500
The 1956 Southern 500, the seventh running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 3, 1956, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. This race was considered to be the "Labor Day Classic" for 1956; complete with a pre-race beauty pageant with a judging panel led by Fonty Flock for the title of Ms. Southern 500 (won by 19 year old Robin Williamson of South Carolina) and a parade down the front stretch of the race track. Background Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1956 NASCAR Grand National Series
The 1956 NASCAR Grand National (now NASCAR Cup Series) 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 ultimately captured the top-ranking at the end of the season. Along with 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. Season summary The season started on a somber note; as former driver Buddy Shuman died the night be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern 500
The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is and consists of 367 laps. From 1950 to 2003, and again since 2015, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. The Southern 500 is largely considered one of the Crown Jewels of the NASCAR calendar, and has been nicknamed NASCAR's "oldest superspeedway race." For decades, the race has been considered by competitors and media as one of the more difficult and challenging races on the NASCAR schedule, owing much to the track's unusual, asymmetrical egg-shape, rough pavement, and overall unforgiving nature. Darlington Raceway itself has a long and storied reputation as the "Track Too Tough to Tame." The Southern 500 has a storied history, including Bill Elliott famously winning the Winston Million in 1985, and Jeff Gordon doing the same in 1997. It is also the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Weatherly
Joseph Herbert Weatherly (May 29, 1922 – January 19, 1964) was an American stock car racing driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National Series championships in 1962 and 1963, three AMA Grand National Championships, and two NASCAR Modified championships. Personality Weatherly enjoyed behaving outrageously. He once took practice laps wearing a Peter Pan suit. Moreover, he frequently stayed out partying until the early hours, usually with fellow driver and friend Curtis Turner. This behavior earned him the nickname the "Clown Prince of Racing". In 1956 at Raleigh, while racing in the convertible series, Weatherly's engine blew. With the help of Ralph Liguori pushing from behind, he displayed showmanship to the fullest extent by crossing the finish line while standing in a "chariot of fire". Motorcycle career He won three American Motorcycle Association (AMA) nationals between 1946 and 1950, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buick
Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobile brands and was the company that established General Motors in 1908. Before the establishment of General Motors, GM founder William C. Durant had served as Buick's general manager and major investor. With the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, Buick became the oldest surviving American carmaker. Buick is positioned as a premium automobile brand, selling vehicles positioned below the flagship luxury Cadillac division. History Early years Buick is one of the oldest automobile brands in the world and is currently the oldest in the United States still active today. Autocar Company, Autocar, founded in 1897, is the oldest motor vehicle manufacturer in the western hemisphere; while originally an automobile maker, Autocar now builds heavy trucks. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontiac (automobile)
Pontiac, formally the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, was an American automobile brand owned, manufactured, and commercialized by General Motors. It was introduced in 1926 as a General Motors companion make program, companion make for GM's more expensive line of Oakland Motor Car Company, Oakland automobiles. Pontiac quickly overtook Oakland in popularity and supplanted its parent entirely by 1933, establishing its position as one of GM's dominant divisions. Sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by GM, Pontiac came to represent affordable, practical transportation emphasizing performance. The division’s name stems from the Odawa chieftain Pontiac (Odawa leader), Pontiac, who led an Pontiac's War, indigenous uprising from 1763 until 1766 around Detroit, Michigan. In the hierarchy of GM's five divisions, it slotted above Chevrolet but below Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. Starting with the 1959 models, marketing was focused on selling the lifestyle that the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysler
FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotive company Stellantis. Stellantis North America sells vehicles worldwide under the Chrysler (brand), Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Trucks nameplates. It also includes Mopar, its automotive parts and accessories division, and Street and Racing Technology, SRT, its performance automobile division. The division also distributes Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Maserati vehicles in North America. The original Chrysler Corporation was founded in 1925 by Walter Chrysler from the remains of the Maxwell Motor Company. In 1998, it merged with Daimler AG, Daimler-Benz, which renamed itself DaimlerChrysler but in 2007 sold off its Chrysler stake. The company operated as Chrysler LLC thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plymouth (automobile)
Plymouth was a brand of automobiles produced by Chrysler, Chrysler Corporation and its successor Mercedes-Benz Group, DaimlerChrysler. The brand was launched in 1928 to compete in what was then described as the "low-priced" market segment that was dominated by Chevrolet and Ford Motor Company, Ford. It became a high-volume seller for the automaker until the late 1990s. Plymouth cars were marketed primarily in the United States. The brand was withdrawn from the marketplace in 2001. The Plymouth models that were produced up until then were either discontinued or rebranded as Chrysler or Dodge. History Origins The Plymouth automobile was introduced at Madison Square Garden (1925), Madison Square Garden on July 7, 1928. It was Chrysler Corporation's first entry in the low-priced field previously dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. Plymouths were initially priced higher than the competition, but offered standard features such as internal expanding hydraulic brakes that Ford and Chevr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury (automobile)
Mercury was a brand of medium-priced Car, automobiles that was produced by American manufacturer Ford Motor Company between the 1939 and 2011 motor years. Created by Edsel Ford in 1938, Mercury was established to bridge the gap between the Ford and Lincoln Motor Company, Lincoln model lines within Ford Motor Company. From 1945 until its closure, it formed half of the Lincoln-Mercury Division of the company. In addition to serving as a combined sales network for Ford's two premium automotive brands, Lincoln-Mercury also represented the Lincoln Motor Company#Continental Division (1956–1959), Continental (1956–1960), Edsel (1958–1960, formally designated Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division), Comet (marque), Comet (1960–1961), Mercury Capri, Capri (1970-1978), De Tomaso Pantera, De Tomaso (1972-1975), and Merkur (1985–1989, forming Lincoln-Mercury-Merkur). Through the use of platform sharing and manufacturing commonality, Mercury vehicles often shared components and engineerin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Plymouth. Founded as the Dodge Brothers Company machine shop by brothers Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge in the early 1900s, Dodge was originally a supplier of parts and assemblies to Detroit-based automakers like Ford. They began building complete automobiles under the "Dodge Brothers" brand in 1914, predating the founding of the Chrysler Corporation. The factory located in Hamtramck, Michigan, was the Dodge main factory from 1910 until it closed in January 1980. John Dodge died from the Spanish flu in January 1920, having lungs weakened by tuberculosis 20 years earlier. Horace died in December of the same year, perhaps weakened by the Spanish flu, but the cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver. Their company was sold b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the List of Ford vehicles, Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln Motor Company, Lincoln brand. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the single-letter ticker symbol F and is controlled by the Ford family (Michigan), Ford family. They have minority ownership but a plurality of the voting power. Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. By 1914, these methods were known around the world as Fordism. Ford's former British subsidiaries Jaguar Cars, Jaguar and Land Rover, acquired in 1989 and 2000, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the prominence and name recognition of Chevrolet as one of General Motors' global marques, "Chevrolet" or its affectionate nickname 'Chevy' or is used at times as a synonym for General Motors or its products, one example being the GM LS1 engine, commonly known by the name or a variant thereof of its progenitor, the Chevrolet small-block engine. Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941), Arthur Chevrolet (1884–1946) and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant (1861–1947) started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918, and propelled himself back to the GM presidency. After Durant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herb Thomas
Herbert Watson Thomas (April 6, 1923 – August 9, 2000) was a stock car racing, stock car racer who was one of NASCAR's most successful drivers in the 1950s. Thomas was NASCAR's first multi-time Cup Champion. Background Born in the small town of Olivia, North Carolina, Thomas worked as a farmer and worked in a sawmill in the 1940s before his interest turned to auto racing. NASCAR career In 1949, Thomas took part in NASCAR's first Strictly Stock (the forerunner to the NASCAR Grand National, Grand National and ultimately the modern NASCAR Cup Series) race and made four starts in the series' first year. The following year, he made thirteen appearances in the series, now renamed the Grand National division. He scored his first career win at Martinsville Speedway in a privateer (motorsport), privateer Plymouth (automobile), Plymouth. He started the 1951 season with moderate success in his Plymouth (plus one win in an Oldsmobile) before switching to a Hudson Hornet, at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
