August 29, 1959: Lee Petty Cruises in Columbia

August 29, 1959: Lee Petty wins a 200-lap, 100-mile Grand National race on the half-mile Columbia Speedway in South Carolina. The race line-up wasn't exactly a who's who of NASCAR as only thirteen cars started the race.

The race's line-up and start was affected by rain, a pit fire, the looming Southern 500 and even the flu.

Read on for more:

http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/08/august-29-1959-lee-petty-cruises-in.html

Fin	Driver	Car
1	Lee Petty	Plymouth
2	Tiny Lund	Chevrolet
3	Fred Harb	Ford
4	Roy Tyner	Chevrolet
5	Glen Wood	Ford
6	George Green	Chevrolet
7	G.C. Spencer	Chevrolet
8	Ned Jarrett	Ford
9	Joe Eubanks	Ford
10	L.D. Austin	Ford
11	Tommy Irwin	Ford
12	Curtis Crider	Pontiac
13	Bobby Keck	Chevrolet

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

Poor Columbia couldn't catch a break on August 29, 1959. Even the Hollywood film crew that was supposed to shoot scenes for Rory Calhoun's Thunder in Carolina Darlington movie cancelled due to rain!

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

I have tried really hard to recall so personal memories of this race because I knew I must have been there. The harder I tried, the more I realized something about that race just didn't register for me. So, I call my 80 year old Uncle Bobby who, I think, remains a Lee Petty fan even today. Yes, he remembers the race just enough to say that it was no race because there were on 5 or 6 cars running at the end and by the half way point only 6 or 7 were still on the track. He said it really wasn't a race, but he was happy because Lee was driving a Plymouth and it was his second win in a Plymouth.

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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.

What a birthday for Bobby Keck! Blew an engine on lap 29 and finished dead last!