Racing History Minute - August 3, 1956

The more I explore this historic record of NASCAR, the more I learn and the more I appreciate what these pioneers did to build this sport. I rely heavily on Greg Fielden's "Forty Years of Stock Car Racing" which is, for Grand National (Cup) racing, as good a record as has ever been put together for the race fan. I hope what we are doing here on RacersReunion further extends the reach of what Greg has done.

Today we are going to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Speedway, a half-mile dirt track located in Oklahoma City, OK. Only 12 cars showed up to run the 100 miles/200 laps. Speedy Thompson put his Kiekhaefer Dodge on the pole with a speed of 64.655 mph. Lee Petty would start second in a Dodge, Ralph Moody third in a Ford, Herb Thomas fourth in a Chevy, and Fireball Roberts fifth in a Ford.

Speedy Thompson would take the lead from the pole and hold on to first place until lap 25 when his Dodge experienced engine problems and he was finished for the day. With Speedy's departure, Lee Petty assumed the lead in his Dodge and steadily paced the field from lap 26 to lap 193 when the differential in his Dodge let him down, 7 laps short of the win. It was then that Jim Paschal, who had finished second on six occassions during the 1956 season, had finally bagged his first win of 1956. Jim finished the caution free race at an average speed of 60.100 mph.

The crowd of some 7,500 were surprised when the dominant Petty fell out so close to the end of the race but were nevertheless pleased to see Jim Paschal finally win in the 36th race of the 1956 season.

Top five finishers were:

1. Jim Paschal, C. U. Later Alligator Mercury, winning $850.00

2. Ralph Moody, Pete DePaolo Ford, winning $625.00

3. Fireball Roberts, Pete DePaolo Ford, winning $450.00

4. Herb Thomas, Thomas Chevrolet, winning $350.00

5. Lee Petty, Petty Engineering Dodge, winning $310.00

Sixth through ten were Bill Moore, Johnny Allen, Angie Howerton, Buck Baker, and Blackie Pitt. Speedy Thompson was 11th and Jack Zink was 12th.

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

Thanks, Tim. Those had to be some tough road trips back in the day.

From what I can tell, it looks like Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Speedway opened around 1955. Perhaps the promoter made a call, shook a hand, squeezed an elbow, etc. to get Bill France to bring his Grand National cars to the track not too long after it's opening.

The track continued to feature lots of local dirt tracking in the 50+ years to follow.

But in 2010, the track and its stands were torn down.

Then... (Source: http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/state-fair-speedway )

Now...

Stands before and during demolition

Couple of articles about the decision to demolish - and the reaction by many locals.

http://www.abandonedok.com/state-fair-raceway/

http://newsok.com/state-fair-speedway-to-close-after-55-years/artic...

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?s=11867368

Aerial Photos of Oklahoma_State_Fairgrounds_SpeedwayThen and Oklahoma_State_Fairgrounds_Speedway_Now didn't look right.
So I Rotate Counterclockwise the bottom photo of Oklahoma_State_Fairgrounds_Speedway_Now.

So I Rotate Counterclockwise the photo of Oklahoma_State_Fairgrounds_Speedway_Now.

Thanks for any information or photos posted.
Dennis Garrett
Richmond,Va. USA

Billy, Great friends and warm stories/memories like this is what its all about. That's one of the wonderful things about doing what we do and living where we do. Neighbors helping each other all the time and refusing anything but a thank you and their friendship. Thank you for this story....

Billy, thank you for adding this to the Minute. What a wonderful story and the picture makes an impression. It is a wonderful thing to have these first hand memories of such wonderful times. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thanks for sharing, Billy.

Bumping this.

BB, that was a fantastic story. Sounds like Jim was a REALLY nice guy.

Wire copy race report from Burlington NC's Daily Times News.