Racing History Minute - September 22, 1957

TMC Chase
@tmc-chase
9 years ago
4,073 posts

The first race on the newly PAVED North Wilkesboro Speedway was a 160-lap, 100-mile NASCAR convertible division event on September 22, 1957.

Race preview from Statesville Record and Landmark.

The field was expected to include a handful of GN stars including Lee Petty, Bill Amick Fireball Roberts and Buck Baker.

The day before Wilkesboro, the GN cars raced at the Cleveland County fairgrounds track in Shelby NC. Buck Baker and Bill Amick won and placed third, respectively. (Link to Tim Leeming's RHM .) A long-night of celebration may have prevented them from making the trip to North Wilkesboro. Fireball Roberts blew a tire and smacked the fence in the race at Shelby, and the team may not have been able to repair the car overnight for Wilkesboro.

Ken Rush in a Frank Hayworth-owned Mercury won the pole. After finishing 5th at Shelby, Lee Petty made the trek to Wilkesboro and qualified second In one of his occasional convertible division starts. Glen Wood and Paul Goldsmith made up the second row.

Rush leveraged his top starting spot to lead the first 21 laps. The driver of car number 21 - Glen Wood - then took the point to pace the field for the next 42 laps. I'd like to say the driver of car number of 42 - Lee Petty - then took over to dominate the rest of the day. But that wasn't the case. Instead, it was Goldsmith who took the lead from Wood. Once out front, Goldsmith led the remaining 97 laps to claim the victory.

Photo of the winner - Getty Images

Fin Driver Sponsor / Owner Car
1 Paul Goldsmith Slim Rominger '57 Ford
2 Lee Petty Petty Engineering '57 Oldsmobile
3 Possum Jones Bob Welborn '57 Chevrolet
4 Glen Wood Wood Brothers '56 Ford
5 Roger Baldwin Roger Baldwin '56 Ford
6 Joe Weatherly Holman-Moody '57 Ford
7 Shorty York Jim Paschal '57 Mercury
8 Ken Rush Frank Hayworth '57 Mercury
9 Pee Wee Jones '57 Ford
10 Bill Morton '56 Ford
11 Bob Welborn Bob Welborn '57 Chevrolet
12 Ted Chamberlain Ted Chamberlain '56 Plymouth
13 Neil Castles Neil Castles '56 Ford
14 E.J. Brewer E.J. Brewer '56 Chevrolet
15 Pete Stewart '56 Plymouth
16 Larry Frank Lonnie Fish '56 Chevrolet
17 Dick Walters '56 Ford
18 Jim Paschal Holman-Moody '57 Ford
19 Whitey Norman Whitey Norman '56 Ford
20 Dave Terrell Dave Terrell '57 Chevrolet
21 Don Gray Lonnie Fish '57 Chevrolet
22 Gwyn Staley J. H. Petty '57 Chevrolet



--
Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.

updated by @tmc-chase: 09/22/17 12:02:28PM
bill mcpeek
@bill-mcpeek
9 years ago
820 posts

another great one Chase, thanks.

TMC Chase
@tmc-chase
7 years ago
4,073 posts

Bump




--
Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.