The 1956 Old Dominion 400 was a

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 ...

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...

event that was held on October 28, 1956, at

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States, a community of Martinsville, Virginia. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1947, primarily events sanctione ...

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an Political subdivisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13, ...

. 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.

Background

is one of five short tracks to hold

races. The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short

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 ...

that is long. The track's turns are banked at eleven

degrees Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.

Race report

Four hundred laps were completed on a paved

spanning for a grand total of . The race took three hours, sixteen minutes, and seventeen seconds to complete with four caution flags. Forty vehicles would qualify to start this race; a large amount for the NASCAR Cup Series in its formative years. Nine thousand and five hundred fans attended to see Jack Smith win the race in his 1956

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 P ...

vehicle (beating thirty-nine other drivers in the process). A

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

named Norman Schihl participated in the race and finished 23rd; making his only Grand National appearance. Notable speeds were: for the average speed and for the pole position speed. Bun Emery makes his only Cup start and comes home with a top-20 finish although he 36 laps down at the checkered flag. While some multi-car teams were present in the race, the majority of drivers had an owner that wasn't incorporated into a team. Jack Smith officially became the fiftieth different driver to win what is now known as a Cup Series race. Total winnings for this race were $11,739 ($ when considering inflation). The winner (Jack Smith) would receive $2,264 ($ when considering inflation) being awarded to him while last place finisher Jimmie Lewallen would walk away with $100 ($ when considering inflation).

Larry Frank Larry Frank (April 29, 1929 – January 5, 2010)http://racing-reference.info/driver/Larry_Frank Larry Frank Racing Reference Stats was an American NASCAR Grand National Series driver. He is best known for winning the 1962 Southern 500. Larry Fra ...

, Bill Lutz, Larry Odo, and Bill Poor would make their NASCAR debut in this race. Carl Kiekhaefer was one of the notable crew chiefs for this race.Crew chief information
at Racing Reference

Qualifying

Finishing order

Section reference: # Jack Smith† (No. 502) #

Marvin Panch Marvin Emil Panch (May 28, 1926December 31, 2015) was an American stock car racing driver. Winner of the 1961 Daytona 500 and 1966 World 600, he won seventeen NASCAR Grand National Series events during a 17-year career. Early career Born in ...

(No. 98) #

Bill Amick Bill Amick (November 16, 1925 – July 15, 1995) was an American professional stock car racing driver from Portland, Oregon. In the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, he had one win, nineteen top-fives, twenty-seven top 10s, and five poles. Amick also c ...

† (No. 97) #

Speedy Thompson Alfred Bruce "Speedy" Thompson (April 3, 1926, in Monroe, North Carolina – April 2, 1972, in Charlotte, North Carolina) was an American stock car racer in the NASCAR Grand National series from 1950 to 1971, capturing 20 wins along the way. R ...

† (No. 300) #

Fireball Roberts Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (January 20, 1929July 2, 1964) was an American stock car racer. Background Roberts was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida, where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. ...

† (No. 22) #

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 i ...

† (No. 72) #

Buck Baker Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. (March 4, 1919 – April 14, 2002), better known as Buck Baker, was an American stock car racing, stock car racer. Born in Richburg, South Carolina, Richburg, South Carolina, Baker began his NASCAR career in 1949 and won his ...

† (No. 00) # Bunk Moore (No. 35) #

Frank Mundy Frank "Rebel" Mundy (June 18, 1918 in Atlanta, Georgia, as Francisco Eduardo Menendez – May 15, 2009) was an American stock car racer. He competed in the American Automobile Association (AAA) stock cars, winning the 1955 national championship, ...

† (No. 50) #

Gwyn Staley Gwyn Edward Staley (July 6, 1927 – March 23, 1958) was an American NASCAR Grand National driver from Burlington, North Carolina. Career As a Grand National driver, Staley had three wins in addition to twenty-three finishes in the "top 5" a ...

† (No. 34) # Jimmy Massey (No. 33) #

Paul Goldsmith Paul Edward Goldsmith (October 2, 1925 – September 6, 2024) was an American racing driver. During his career he raced A.M.A. Grand National Championship, motorcycles, Stock car racing, stock cars, and American open-wheel car racing, Indianapol ...

(No. 3) #

Billy Myers William Harrison Myers (August 14, 1910 – April 10, 1995) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1935 through 1941 for the Cincinnati Reds (1935–1940) and Chicago Cubs (1941). Listed at 5' 8", 168 lb., Myers batte ...

(No. 4) # Johnny Allen (No. 64) #

Bob Welborn Robert "Bob" Joe Welborn (May 5, 1928 – August 10, 1997) of Denton, North Carolina, Denton was a NASCAR Grand National Series driver. He was named to NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers list in 1998. He won the final three NASCAR Convertible Division ...

† (No. 49) # Don Oldenberg (No. 86) # Bill Poor (No. 71) # Bun Emery (No. 99) # Larry Odo (No. 7) #

Tiny Lund DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund (November 14, 1929 – August 17, 1975) was an American stock car racer. He was a journeyman racer-for-hire in the top level NASCAR Grand National Series, running partial seasons for a number of years, including a vict ...

† (No. 16) #

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 ...

† (No. 42) # Bobby Keck† (No. 14) # Norman Schihl (No. 23) # Art Brinkley (No. 44) # Johnny Dodson (No. 83) # Billy Rafter (No. 41) # Bill Champion† (No. 31) #

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 ...

*† (No. 26) # Bob Duell* (No. 95) #

Ralph Moody Ralph Moody may refer to: * Ralph Moody (racing driver) (1917–2004), American racing driver and team owner *Ralph Moody (actor) Ralph Moody (November 5, 1886 – September 6, 1971 ) was an American actor with over 50 movie and over 100 televi ...

*† (No. 12) #

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 ...

*† (No. 75) #

Rex White Rex Allen White (born August 17, 1929) is a retired 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 ...

* (No. X) #

Glen Wood Glenn Alexandria Wood (July 18, 1925 – January 18, 2019) was an American NASCAR driver from Stuart, Virginia. Early life He and brother Leonard Wood co-founded the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953, and won four races over an el ...

*† (No. 21) #

Tom Pistone "Tiger" Tom Pistone (born March 17, 1929) is an American former NASCAR Grand National driver from Chicago. He made his Grand National debut in 1955. He won two races and finished 6th in championship points in the 1959 season for Carl Rupert, his ...

* (No. 15) #

Joe Eubanks ''Joseph "Joe" Eubanks'' (August 9, 1925 – June 21, 1971) was a ''NASCAR Grand National'' driver from Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.

*† (No. 82) #

Billy Carden Billy Carden (April 1, 1924 – October 25, 2004) was an American racing driver from Mableton, Georgia. He was a stock car racing pioneer and an early NASCAR competitor. He made over 50 NASCAR Grand National (now Cup) starts and also dabbled in t ...

*† (No. 29) # Mel Carson* (No. 55) # Larry Frank*† (No. 76) # Bill Lutz* (No. 2) #

Jimmie Lewallen Jimmie Lewallen (August 22, 1919 – October 16, 1995) was an American stock car racing driver from High Point, North Carolina, United States. He competed in NASCAR's Strictly Stock/Grand National division (now called the NASCAR Cup Series) fr ...

*† (No. 48) ''* Driver failed to finish race''
''† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased''

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Joe Eubanks had the pole position to start the race. * Lap 11: Fuel pump issues forced Jimmie Lewallen to become the last-place finisher. * Lap 62: Bill Lutz managed to blow his engine while racing. * Lap 77: Oil pressure issues forced Larry Frank out of the race, Mel Larson had to deal with a troublesome piston. * Lap 87: The RF hub on Billy Carden's vehicle had problems that were terminal enough to knock him out of the race. * Lap 103: The RF lugs were acting problematically on Joe Eubanks' car, forcing his exit from the race. * Lap 104: Speedy Thompson took over the lead from Joe Eubanks. * Lap 106: Tom Pistone had some problems with his connecting rod and had to leave the event. * Lap 110: Glen Wood managed to blow his engine while racing. * Lap 143: Rex White managed to blow his engine while racing. * Lap 163: Jim Paschal managed to blow his engine while racing. * Lap 179: Jack Smith took over the lead from Speedy Thompson. * Lap 183: The rear end of Ralph Moody's vehicle came off in an unsafe manner to continue racing. * Lap 189: Fireball Roberts took over the lead from Jack Smith. * Lap 201: Bill Amick took over the lead from Fireball Roberts. * Lap 210: Marvin Panch took over the lead from Bill Amick. * Lap 226: Jack Smith took over the lead from Marvin Panch. * Lap 245: Bob Duell managed to overheat his vehicle. * Lap 299: Curtis Turner managed to blow his engine while racing. * Finish: Jack Smith was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

{{1956 NASCAR Grand National , state=collapsed

Old Dominion 500 The Xfinity 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The race is traditionally held in the fall and has been run in every NASCAR Cup Series season, starting with the sixth event in the inaug ...

NASCAR races at Martinsville Speedway