Racing History Minute - September 12, 1956

Race number 46, yes, number 46, of the 1956 season was run on this date at a half mile dirt track at Charlotte Fairgrounds in Charlotte, NC. Twenty-six cars were entered. Joe Eubanks qualified his own Ford on the pole with a speed of 59.464 mph. Fireball Roberts, in a Pete DePaolo Ford qualified second, Rex White in his Chevy designated as "X" was third, Speedy Thompson in a Kiehaefer Dodge was fourth and Billy Myers in Billy Wilson's Mercury was fifth.

Fireball Roberts shot into the lead at the waving of the green flag and fought off challengers from several drivers starting in the top six. Not too many of the 7,300 fans in attendance were paying attention to 11th place starter Ralph Moody as he moved his DePaolo Ford through the field. On lap 79, Moody moved in front of Fireball to lead the remaining laps of the 200 lap affair. On lap 96, Fireball would park his Ford with a vapor locked engine.

Points leader going in, Buck Baker, would leave the race with a mere 90 point lead over Herb Thomas when Baker was forced out of the race on lap 51 with carburator problems. Bill Champion and Fred Harb, both rookies in the 1956 season were involved in separate crashes but neither driver suffered injury.

Top five finishers:

1. Ralph Moody,DePaolo Ford, winning $850.002

2.Billy Myers, Guy Wilson Mercury, winning $625.00 (10 seconds behind winner)

3. Joe Eubanks, Ford, winning $450.00 (on lead lap)

4. Marvin Panch, Tom Harbison Ford, winning $350.00 (1 lap down)

5. Herb Thomas, Thomas Chevrolet, winning $310.00 (4 laps down)

Sixth through tenth were Tiny Lund, Speedy Thompson, Rex White, Jim Paschal and Lee Petty.

Brownie King would finish 13th, Bill Widenhouse 14th, Fireball Roberts 19th, Bill Champion 20th, Glen Wood 21st, Buck Baker 23rd and Fred Harb 24th.

Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.

This race would mark the 4th and final 1956 win for Ralph Moody in a season that saw him make 35 starts and post 13 top-5s and 21 top-10s, earning an 8th place finish in the NASCAR Grand National Points Standing for 1956.

Much was made over Dale Earnhardt getting back in a car he rolled in the February 1997 Daytona 500 and posting a 31st place finish, 5 laps down.

Earnhardt had nothing on Ralph Moody, who'd already "been there, done that."

In the February 26, 1956 Daytona Beach Road Course Grand National race, Ralph Moody rolled his #12 '56 Ford then refired it and posted an ASTOUNDING 3rd place finish!!!

In Earnhardt's case... it was a matter of "everything old is new again."

Unlike Earnhardt, Moody finished on the LEAD LAP !!!

Here's the Associated Press account of Moody's heroics as carried in the February 27, 1956 Milwaukee Sentinel .

Yet another great car builder that was a former driver and in this case, a very capable one. Looking back through history, were there any great car builders/crew chiefs that never tried their hand behind the wheel? Dale Inman would be one, I guess.

There is a wonderful 1955 Walt Chernokal photo of Ralph Moody in Mel Joseph's Lincoln-powered "49jr" at the Alcyon Speedway in Pittman, New Jersey provided by Russ Dodge to the 3WidePictureValut site.

Ralph' 1955 car owner in the photo is the same Mel Joseph of Georgetown, Delaware who would one day build Dover Downs... today's Dover International Speedway.

Brief wire service race report from Spartanburg Herald