July 1, 1956 - Lee Petty Whips Weaverville

Lee Petty nips future Petty Enterprises driver Jim Paschal to win the 200-lap, 100-mile Grand National race on the half-mile, dirt Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, NC.

Lee's victory was his first of the season. He won again two races later at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, SC. Lee managed to score only two trophies for the season and finished 4th in the year-end standings.

Fireball Roberts won the pole and led the majority of the race. But, its the LAST lap that matters - not any laps before.

Top 10:

1. Lee Petty

2. Jim Paschal

3. Joe Eubanks

4. Gwyn Staley

5. Herb Thomas

6. Frank Mundy

7. Billy Rafter

8. Dick Beaty

9. Bill Bowman

10. Al Watkins

Also of note was the driver who started 3rd: Ralph Moody. He finished 23rd. Of course, he had a more notable career as a co-owner of a dynamo Ford factory team.

Read on for more:

http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/07/july-1-1956-lee-petty-whips-weaverville.html

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 07/01/18 10:36:06PM

Also of note - this was the first of 12 career NASCAR Grand National starts for Knoxville, Tennessee's "Tootle" Estes and his only start of 1956. One of the great nicknames in racing.

Tootle was a 2009 inductee into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. Here's his induction write-up:

Herb Tootle Estes was born and raised around Knoxville,
TN, but is best known for his racing exploits out of the
Athens, Ga., area. Estes was a force to be reckoned with
throughout the state, especially after teaming with car
owner James Jabo Bradberry of Athens. Together, they
would race throughout the North Georgia/East Tennessee
circuit at places like Boyds Speedway, Cleveland, Toccoa,
Banks County and Anderson. More often than not, Tootle
would come away with the win against legendary racers such
as Bud Lundsford, Charlie Mincey, T.C. Hunt and Harold
Fryar.
Estes died of a heart attack in 1982, just moments after
picking up a feature win.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

guys ive seen a photo of tootle on another site a while back that i dont remember the car was a chevy2 i dont recall the number on the car

Charles, is the photo below a Chevy II? I'm not sure. It is posted at Dirt Fans credited to their member Paper Man.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"