A day short of a year ago, [ Tim Leeming posted about Herb Thomas' win ] in the Grand National race at Southland Speedway in West Palm Beach, FL on December 11, 1955. In short, Thomas was awarded the win after the top two finishers - Joe Weatherly and Jim Reed - were DQd.
As the promoters in West Palm did their job, so did the promoters at Hollywood Speedway in Hallandale, FL - about an hour south of West Palm Beach. The 150-lap race was promoted as the first time NASCAR stock cars would race at Hollywood. The race was the 1956 season-opener for NASCAR's short-lived, short track division. Notice the hints I dropped in the opening paragraph? - Miami News
The track did a nice job getting many big names to compete - partially perhaps because the drivers were able to double-dip on the trip with the short-track division race at Hollywood followed a day later with the GN race just up the coastline. - Miami News
I admittedly know little about NASCAR's short-track division and learn a bit more every time I hear of another of its races. But Jim Reed was apparently the 3x division champion heading into the start of the 1956 season in late 1955. - Miami News
Perhaps as to be expected, the 3x and defending division champion Reed dominated the Saturday night, short trackin' special. He qualified on the front row, struggled in the heat races (won by Curtis Turner and Buck Baker), but returned in the main event to mow down the field. He took advantage of his top starting spot, set sail and had lapped the field by the 2/3 mark of the race. - Miami News
So a win on Saturday and a P2 in the GN race was a pretty good weekend for Reed. But hold on. As Paul Harvey often said, now you'll hear the rest of the story.
Reed and Thomas protested Weatherly's win in the Sunday GN race - primarily based on what was believed to be a lap scoring error. NASCAR took the protest a step further by inspecting the cars of Weatherly, Reed, Thomas and Bob Welborn on Monday after the West Palm GN race. During that tear-down, NASCAR inspectors found a non-stock cam in Weatherly's wagon and non-stock valves in Reed's ride.
Reed who filed the protest against Weatherly lost his second place finish in the GN event AND lost his win in the Hollywood short-track division race. Talk about being born under a bad sign. With Reed's DQ, Bob Welborn driving for car owner Julian Petty was awarded the win in the Hollywood race - even though he only completed 149 of the race's 150 laps.
I do find it interesting that while Weatherly was disqualified in the GN and the win stripped away, he was ELEVATED to 4th place in the Hollywood race with the DQ of Reed.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Bob Welborn | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 2 | Herb Thomas | 1956 Chevrolet |
| 3 | Curtis Turner | 1956 Ford |
| 4 | Joe Weatherly | 1956 Ford |
| 5 | John McVitty | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Jack Choquette | 1954 Oldsmobile |
| 7 | Ted Cannady | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 8 | Buck Baker | 1956 Ford |
| 9 | Billy Myers | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 10 | Red Farmer | 1956 Chevrolet |
| 11 | Eddie Skinner | 1953 Oldsmobile |
| 12 | Johnny Patterson | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 13 | Ed Rowell | 1951 Henry J |
| 14 | Lee Petty | 1956 Dodge |
| 15 | Dick Burns | 1953 Oldsmobile |
| 16 | Bill Thruber | 1955 Studebaker |
| 17 | Al Watkins | 1955 Ford |
| 18 | Johnny Roberts | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 19 | Jim Reed | 1956 Chevrolet |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 07/24/22 09:35:29PM
