Though auto racing has had a a presence at Nashville's fairgrounds for about as long as Indianapolis, the track layout as it's now known was unveiled in 1958. The approximately half-mile outer track has had three configurations (I think that's right) with the current one paved in the early 1970s.
Not only did the track debut in 1958, but it was also granted a Grand National date. The track's inaugural Nashville 200 was held on August 10, 1958. The event was a 'sweepstakes' race with a combination of convertibles and hard tops in the field.
Rex White captured the pole for the first GN race at Nashville in his hard top Chevy. White took a shine to hot laps around the track. Not only was it the first GN pole position won - but it was also the first of FIVE consecutive pole positions at Nashville for White from 1958 through 1961. In his sixth and final race at Nashville in 1963, Rex qualified 2nd. Pretty good six-pack of qualifying.
Larry Frank lined up alongside White. Buck Baker, Fireball Roberts and Shorty Rollins rounded out the top 5. Though he qualified fourth, Fireball was installed as the race favorite by the local paper. The writer for the Tennessean believed Roberts was the favorite because he was going for this 4th consecutive NASCAR victory. I'm not sure what media kit or records Gene Pearce reviewed for his article, but he was wrong.
- One, Fireball hadn't been running all the races in 1958. Though he won in Raleigh on the 4th July, he didn't race between then and Nashville - a gap of 8 GN races.
- One of his 3 wins was in the convertible series with the other 2 being GN victories.
- After winning the convertible race at Martinsville in June, he did NOT win the next two he entered at Birmingham and Columbia.
Oh well, Fireball was popular. So facts be damned - let him be the fave!
Race preview from The Tennessean
At the drop of the green, Rex set sail on the new racing surface. He paced the field for the race's first 118 laps.
Racing action between convertibles and hard tops with White, Weatherly, and Larry Frank.
A few laps after the midpoint of the race, the 8th place starter Little Joe Weatherly was able to get by Rex to go to the point. White continued to follow behind Weatherly. However, he blew a tire on lap 163 and was done for the day.
With his chief competitor on the sideline, Little Joe continued uncontested to the checkers. He raced his Holman-Moody convertible to his 1st of 25 career GN victories.
Bob Welborn finished 2nd in Julian Petty's Chevy. He was closing in on Weatherly before the race's fifth and final yellow flew. The race finished with the final four laps under caution after Jack Smith popped the wall. Joe Epton believed at the time it was the first NASCAR GN race to finish under yellow.
Frank who'd started 2nd had a consistent day and banked a 3rd place finish. Jimmy Thompson - brother of Speedy Thompson - may have had the best day short of being the winner. He rallied from a 31st place start to finish 4th in the #2 Petty Engineering Oldsmobile. He finished one spot better than his boss, Lee Petty.
The Nashville race marked the THIRD time Weatherly had taken the checkers in a GN race but only the FIRST time he was allowed to keep the win.
- He was DQ'd at West Palm Beach on [ December 11, 1955 ], and
- He lost to Buck Baker in a bizarre ruling at Wilson Speedway on [ November 18, 1956 ].
Click on article to make for easier reading.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Joe Weatherly | '58 Ford |
| 2 | Bob Welborn | '57 Chevrolet |
| 3 | Larry Frank | '57 Chevrolet |
| 4 | Jimmy Thompson | '57 Oldsmobile |
| 5 | Lee Petty | '57 Oldsmobile |
| 6 | Buck Baker | '57 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Joe Lee Johnson | '57 Chevrolet |
| 8 | Jack Smith | '57 Chevrolet |
| 9 | Tootle Estes | '58 Ford |
| 10 | Shorty Rollins | '58 Ford |
| 11 | Brownie King | '57 Chevrolet |
| 12 | Glen Wood | '57 Ford |
| 13 | Gene White | '57 Chevrolet |
| 14 | Bill Morton | '57 Ford |
| 15 | Fred Harb | '57 Mercury |
| 16 | Speedy Thompson | '57 Chevrolet |
| 17 | Possum Jones | '58 Chevrolet |
| 18 | Wilbur Rakestraw | '57 Ford |
| 19 | Eddie McDonald | '57 Ford |
| 20 | Lloyd Dane | '58 Ford |
| 21 | L.D. Austin | '56 Chevrolet |
| 22 | Herman Beam | '57 Chevrolet |
| 23 | Rex White | '57 Chevrolet |
| 24 | Shep Langdon | '57 Ford |
| 25 | Jerry Green | '57 Chevrolet |
| 26 | Neil Castles | '56 Ford |
| 27 | Ken Love | '58 Ford |
| 28 | Billy Carden | '57 Chevrolet |
| 29 | Cotton Owens | '57 Pontiac |
| 30 | Fireball Roberts | '57 Chevrolet |
| 31 | Barney Shore | '57 Chevrolet |
| 32 | Roy Tyner | '57 Dodge |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 08/10/17 10:10:28AM
