Racing History Minute - October 7, 1951
Stock Car Racing History
Race ad, preview and report from Burlington NC Daily Times News
Forum Activity for @tmc-chase
Stock Car Racing History
Racing History Minute - October 6, 1955
Stock Car Racing History
I now believe it to have been a MARC race vs. a NASCAR one as alluded to in the October 14 article. Though NASCAR hadn't yet bought and re-formed its convertible division, MARC did have one. John Marcum's convertibles and hard top sedans raced together at Greenville-Pickens - a format NASCAR later copied with its "sweepstakes" races.
The race was originally scheduled for October 22. A rain-out at Sharon PA, however, pushed Greenville-Pickens race back to October 29.
From October 18th Greenwood paper.
From October 24 paper
From October 28 paper
| ARCAStock Carrace | ||
| Greenville-Pickens Speedway,Greenville,SC | ||
| October 29, 1955 | ||
| 200laps on 0.5 mile dirt oval;100 miles | ||
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | JackHarrison | 1955 Ford Convertible |
| 2 | BobHunter | 1955 Chevrolet Convertible |
| 3 | ErnieDerr | 1955 Oldsmobile |
| 4 | JackShanklin | 1955 Ford |
| 5 | JackSmith | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 6 | IggyKatona | 1955 Ford |
| 7 | ChetBarron | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 8 | MikeKlapak | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 9 | BillRexford | 1955 Chevrolet |
| 10 | DonKagle | 1955 Ford |
Racing History Minute - October 6, 1955
Stock Car Racing History
Race preview from The Index Journal of Greenwood SC.
News clipping with initial report of Jim Reed winning the race.
Based on the success of the inaugural GN race at G-P, looks like a 2nd GN race may have been hastily scheduled for a couple of weeks after the first one. Undaunted by his DQ, Jim Reed was expected to return. (Though it looks the the Greenwood paper didn't get the memo that Reed had been disqualified.)
However, I can't find any record that this race was held - a GN or a convertible race. I searched newspapers on both sides of October 22, 1955 and haven't found anything more about this proposed race.
Passing of Tom Pistone's wife
General
Chrissy said Tom is taking the loss very hard. Obviously, he needs time to grieve. But he could also use strength provided by others. If you have a direct email or number for Tom, he'd probably want to hear from you. If you are on Twitter, send him a tweet or direct message. If you'd like to send a personal note, the address for his shop is:
Tiger Tom Pistone Race Cars & Parts
8108 Newell Farm Road
Charlotte, NC 28213
Passing of Tom Pistone's wife
General
Just read a tweet from Chrissy Pistone that Tiger Tom's wife, Crystal, passed away today. She'd apparently been sick for a while, and Chrissy indicated earlier in the week that hospice had been called.
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
October 5, 1957 and 1958: Lee Petty Wins Back-To-Back Years
Stock Car Racing History
October 5th was a good day in the history of Petty racing beginning in the 1950s. Lee Petty went back-to-back on the date in 1957 and again in 1958.
October 5, 1957: Starting from the pole position, Lee Petty wins a 200-lap, 100-mile race at the half-mile, dirt Southern States Fairgrounds in Charlotte, NC. While its unknown the leaders of each lap, Petty apparently led a large portion of the race - including taking over the for good around the halfway point of the race. Petty managed to go the full race - leading most of it - without making a pit stop.
Read on for more:
https://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-5-1957-lee-petty-shines-in.html
| Fin | # | Driver | Car |
| 1 | 42 | Lee Petty | '57 Oldsmobile |
| 2 | 22 | Fireball Roberts | '57 Ford |
| 3 | 45 | Eddie Pagan | '57 Ford |
| 4 | 87 | Buck Baker | '57 Chevrolet |
| 5 | 48 | Tiny Lund | '57 Chevrolet |
| 6 | 34 | Bill Amick | '56 Ford |
| 7 | 32 | Brownie King | '57 Chevrolet |
| 8 | 75 | Ken Rush | '56 Mercury |
| 9 | 47 | Jack Smith | '57 Chevrolet |
| 10 | 74 | L.D. Austin | '56 Chevrolet |
| 11 | 76 | George Green | '56 Chevrolet |
| 12 | 14 | Billy Myers | '57 Mercury |
| 13 | 711 | Bill Poor | '56 Chevrolet |
| 14 | 2 | Ansel Rakestraw | '56 Chevrolet |
| 15 | 94 | Clarence DeZalia | '56 Ford |
| 16 | 51 | Roy Tyner | '56 Ford |
| 17 | 46 | Speedy Thompson | '57 Chevrolet |
| 18 | 98 | Marvin Panch | '57 Ford |
| 19 | 96 | Bobby Keck | '57 Chevrolet |
| 20 | 64 | Johnny Allen | '57 Plymouth |
| 21 | 17 | Shorty York | '57 Mercury |
| 22 | 79 | Dick Klank | '56 Ford |
| 23 | 40 | Johnny Mackison | '57 Ford |
| 24 | 1A | Whitey Norman | '56 Ford |
| 25 | 55 | Mel Larson | '56 Ford |
| 26 | 2X | Joe Weatherly | '57 Ford |
| 27 | 18 | Pete Stewart | '56 Plymouth |
| 28 | 11 | Jim Russell | '56 Ford |
A year later on October 5, 1958, Lee Petty wins a 160-lap, 100-mile race on the .625-mile, dirt Salisbury Super Speedway in in Salisbury, NC. The promoter of the race way back then is still well known to contemporary race fans: O. Bruton Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
NASCAR's history at Salisbury was short-lived. The track hosted only two major NASCAR-sanctioned races: a September 1958 convertible race won by Bob Welborn and the October 1958 Grand National race won by Lee Petty. Interestingly, Welborn's car was fielded by Lee's brother, Julian Petty. Richard was one of several drivers who ran in both races (though Lee and Welborn raced only in their respective events.)
Read on for more:
https://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-5-1958-lee-petty-stakes-claim.html
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Lee Petty | '57 Oldsmobile |
| 2 | Buck Baker | '57 Chevrolet |
| 3 | Cotton Owens | '58 Pontiac |
| 4 | George Dunn | '57 Mercury |
| 5 | Roy Tyner | '57 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Doug Cox | '57 Ford |
| 7 | Gober Sosebee | '57 Chevrolet |
| 8 | Joe Eubanks | '57 Pontiac |
| 9 | Ken Rush | '57 Chevrolet |
| 10 | Tiny Lund | '56 Ford |
| 11 | Whitey Norman | '57 Chevrolet |
| 12 | Harvey Hege | '57 Ford |
| 13 | Tommy Irwin | '57 Ford |
| 14 | Fred Harb | '57 Mercury |
| 15 | Bill Poor | '56 Chevrolet |
| 16 | Jimmy Thompson | '57 Chevrolet |
| 17 | Clarence DeZalia | '56 Ford |
| 18 | Neil Castles | '58 Plymouth |
| 19 | Ted Chamberlain | '57 Chevrolet |
| 20 | L.D. Austin | '56 Chevrolet |
| 21 | Shorty Rollins | '58 Dodge |
| 22 | Richard Petty | '57 Oldsmobile |
| 23 | Johnny Gardner | '56 Ford |
| 24 | Bobby Keck | '57 Chevrolet |
| 25 | Herman Beam | '57 Chevrolet |
| 26 | John McDaniel | '57 Chevrolet |
| 27 | Bob Walden | '57 Ford |
| 28 | Shep Langdon | '56 Ford |
| 29 | Speedy Thompson | '57 Chevrolet |
| 30 | R.L. Combs | '56 Ford |
updated by @tmc-chase: 10/05/20 08:16:12AM
Racing History Minute - October 4, 1970
Stock Car Racing History
Race program from Motor Racing Programme Covers
Victory lane pic from LegendsOfNASCAR.com
Race report from Spartanburg Herald Journal
updated by @tmc-chase: 10/03/18 02:57:41PM
The Schaefer Hall of Fame Goes Big Time
Current NASCAR
The video unveil! I excerpted our portion as best I could from the 30 minute episode. I'm still researching how I can lift the whole show from my DVR in high quality.
