I've been pleasantly surprised over the last few months how many articles I've been able to find on-line - some brief, some in-depth - about Lee Petty's wins in the 1950s. But for handful of them, I've simply struck out. Today's Petty moment is one of those races for which I've not been able to land any info other than in Greg Fielden's 40 Years book.
On August 16, 1957, Lee Petty starts 3rd and leads a handful of laps early in a 100-mile race at Old Bridge Stadium in Old Stadium, New Jersey. Then with nine laps to go, he went back to the point and claimed his 28th career NASCAR Grand National victory.
Rex White won the pole and dominated the race by leading 177 of the 200 laps on the paved half-mile. But as Greg Fielden notes about the race in his book, Forty Years of Stock Car Racing - Volume 1, Lee Petty used a late race caution to close in on the rear bumper of leader Rex White and then dashed to victory.
Rex would have to until November 1957 - the 1st race of the 1958 season - to nab his first GN win.
Read on for more:
http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/08/august-16-1957-lee-petty-owns-old-bridge.html
Also - please post any articles or photos you may have from this race here. Would love to see them and edit my blog post to incorporate them. Thanks.
Top 10:
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Lee Petty | Oldsmobile |
| 2 | Rex White | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Jim Reed | Ford |
| 4 | Marvin Panch | Ford |
| 5 | Jack Smith | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Fireball Roberts | Ford |
| 7 | Buck Baker | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Johnny Allen | Plymouth |
| 9 | Frankie Schneider | Chevrolet |
| 10 | John Dodd, Sr. | Ford |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
