December 4, 1956: Paschal has his day in court

The Grand National drivers raced a 100-mile feature on the 3/4 mile Charlotte Speedway dirt track on October 14, 1956. Buck Baker won the race in Carl Kiekhaefer's Chrysler. A couple of Ford fellers - Ralph Moody and Marvin Panch - finished 2nd and 3rd. Finishing 4th was Jim Paschal in a Mercury with sponsorship from C U Later Alligator.

In the middle of the Sunday night before the race, Paschal apparently "endorsed" his sponsor a bit. He took off and was stopped by law enforcement in Lexington NC doing 105 MPH on US Highway 29-70 - presumably on his way from his home in High Point to Charlotte. - from The Dispatch

Paschal appeared in court on Tuesday December 4, 1956, and pleaded no contest to the speeding charge. Records show Paschal earned $365 for finishing 4th at Charlotte. Coincidentally, Paschal had been back in the Charlotte area 2 days earlier. He'd finished 6th in a 200-lap race at the Concord Speedway, the 2nd race of the 1957. I haven't found anything indicating Jim was busted for speeding a 2nd time as he did the loop from High Point to Charlotte and back.

With income taxes, an $80 speeding ticket, and court costs, Jim likely didn't have much left from his winnings. From The Dispatch

That's a pot of speeders in one week end.. maybe just going to the track made everyone want to put the pedal down a bit. $80.00 was a lot of money in 1956. That's the year I got my first job at age 17 and it was for $35.00 a week.....

Patrolman H. L. Ketcham proved to be true to his name!

Ha! Nice observation!

Wonder if Paschal was represented by the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe.