The addition of the Eldora race for NASCAR Trucks on dirt in 2013 has stirred a lot of favorable comment. We've spoken here on this RR site about dust at dirt venues.
Have you ever heard the story of Lee Petty red flagging a NASCAR dirt race?
From NASCAR.com in 2011, Mark Aumann recounted the visit by the NASCAR Grand National Division to the Tulsa, Oklahoma Fairgrounds. I doubt Tony Stewart would have found the site of his Chili Bowl wins much to his liking in 1956.
Tulsa was a dusty adventure for NASCAR in 1956
Large dust storm leads to furious Petty climbing from his car, waving the red flag
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
December 16, 2011
Sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances that force the postponement of a race. Usually, it's caused by inclement weather. But in rare instances -- such as the Florida wildfires of 1998 or the 9/11 attacks of 2001 -- events outside of NASCAR's control have required the sanctioning body to reschedule.
But an outright cancellation? There may be only one instance in NASCAR's Cup history where a race was started and never completed -- that being the scheduled 100-mile event on the half-mile dirt track at the Tulsa Fairgrounds in 1956, when a dust storm created a nightmare for drivers and officials alike.
In an effort to generate interest in that era, NASCAR scheduled races anywhere and everywhere. Many times races would be held on back-to-back nights as the series barnstormed through different regions of the country.
That was the case in August of 1956, as NASCAR scheduled a two-race visit to a pair of Oklahoma dirt tracks. To say there weren't many takers might be an understatement. Just 12 cars started the race at Oklahoma City -- a record for the smallest Cup field ever -- which paid all of $850 to winner Jim Paschal.
Lee Petty had led 168 laps before he broke a differential with seven laps to go, so he was already in a bad mood by the time he pulled into Tulsa. So imagine the surprise and disappointment that he and the other teams had when they realized the fairgrounds "track" was nothing more than a large expanse of dry hard-pan clay, set off with traffic cones to demarcate the turns. And even worse, according to one report, the only lights were a pair of bulbs that lit the grandstand area.
The 12 drivers from Oklahoma City who towed to Tulsa -- plus John Schipper, who entered his convertible -- reportedly argued with the promoters about their safety concerns, particularly after seeing the amount of dust kicked up during qualifying. But the weather was clear and a crowd of about 6,000 people showed up for the race, so the decision was made to go on with the show.
Almost immediately after the green flag dropped, the 13 cars began to create a huge dust storm, which covered everyone in the grandstand in a layer of red clay and made it almost impossible for the drivers to see more than a yard in front of them. As the sun began to set, the visibility got worse, as two cars crashed in the first 17 laps. At that point, no one dared try to make a pass for fear of unintentionally running into one another.
By Lap 32, Petty had had enough. According to reports, Petty pulled his Dodge into the infield, ran across the track, climbed into the flagstand, grabbed the red flag from the starter, and began waving it to stop the race. That set off an argument between the drivers, NASCAR officials and race promoters as the crowd became more and more unruly.
Local authorities were called in to restore order, the promoters eventually relented and refunded money to the fans, and NASCAR packed up and left. Although Speedy Thompson led all 34 laps from the pole, the race was declared abandoned and removed from the official record. No prize money was issued and no points were given.
Despite his mid-race mutiny, Petty was not reprimanded by NASCAR. In fact, his impertinence was probably welcomed, as Tulsa never returned to the schedule.
However, Tulsa's racing reputation was restored with an indoor race for open-wheel midget cars called the Chili Bowl, which uses much of the original clay surface from the fairgrounds -- albeit heavily watered.
And just to show that Mother Nature has a sense of humor, the race that followed -- NASCAR's first visit to Road America in Wisconsin -- is the only Cup race believed to be run to its full completion in a steady rain. Thanks to grooved tires -- and the standard windshield wipers on his 1956 Mercury -- Tim Flock won by 17 seconds over Billy Myers. It was Flock's 39th and final Cup victory.
Recap from Racing Reference:
1956 Race #37 (cancelled)
Exhibition or unclassified race
August 4, 1956 at Tulsa Fairgrounds, Tulsa, OK
200 laps* on a .500 mile dirt track (100.0 miles)
Time of race: n/a
Average Speed: n/a
Pole Speed: 60.512 mph Cautions: 1
Margin of Victory: under caution
Attendance: 6,200
Lead changes: 0
Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led
1 1 500 Speedy Thompson Carl Kiekhaefer '56 Dodge 34 running 34
2 3 22 Fireball Roberts Pete DePaolo '56 Ford 34 running 0
3 5 300 Buck Baker Carl Kiekhaefer '56 Chrysler 34 running 0
4 7 75 Jim Paschal C U Later Alligator (Frank Haworth) '56 Mercury 34 running 0
5 2 12 Ralph Moody Pete DePaolo '56 Ford 33 running 0
6 6 92 Herb Thomas Herb Thomas '56 Chevrolet 33 running 0
7 9 59 Blackie Pitt Brownie Pitt '56 Ford 33 running 0
8 4 42 Lee Petty Petty Enterprises '56 Dodge 32 quit 0
9 12 264 Johnny Allen Spook Crawford '56 Ford 30 overheating 0
10 11 7 Augie Howerton Augie Howerton '56 Chevrolet 28 engine 0
11 8 88 Jack Zink John Zink '56 Pontiac 17 crash 0
12 13 11 John Schipper John Schipper '56 Mercury 11 crash 0
13 10 551 Bill Moore Bill Moore '56 Pontiac 9 overheating 0
* Race shortened to 34 laps due to excessive dust.
Lap leader breakdown:
Leader From
Lap To
Lap # Of
Laps
Speedy Thompson 1 34 34
--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
