1956 Virginia 500
The 1956 Virginia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 20, 1956, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. As the inaugural event for the NASCAR Grand National Series in Martinsville, this race would set a precedent for all other 500-lap races to follow on this newly paved short track. Background. Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is long. The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front  stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking. Race report. Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning for a grand total of . The time of the race was four hours and three minutes while there were seven cautions for twenty laps. The average speed was while the pole position speed was . Compared to the top speed of today's passenger vehicles which is considered to be in most makes and models, these stock cars were considered to be slow. Buck Baker defeated Speedy  Thompson by half a lap. Other notable drivers who participated in the race included Arden Mounts, Cotton Owens, Fireball Roberts, Tiny Lund, Paul Goldsmith, and Lee Petty. The winning vehicle was a 1956 Dodge Coronet. Thirty-five American drivers dueled each other with no foreign-born competitors either in qualifying or the race itself. It would be the first time that a driver with the number 502 would win a race. Joe Bill O'Dell took quite a spill in this race; with his lap 37 crash causing his vehicle to have all four wheels off the ground. Most of the  stock car owners were independent and had no formal ties to the multi-car teams that would start to form in the 1960s and 1970s. A vehicle made by the Packard Motor Car Company even qualified for the race; eventually finishing in 34th place due to a tire problem. Years later, the Packard Motor Company would be victimized by the "Big Three" automobile manufacturers and would close due to lack of sales. Shorty Johns and Carl Kiekhaefer were the two most notable crew chiefs to attend this race. Twenty thousands fans were on hand to watch the race live. The  total winnings of the race was $10,275 ($ when considering inflation). Buck Baker received most of the day's earnings with a grand total of $3,100 ($ when considering inflation). Qualifying. According to the official lineup sheet from the official program, the first 20 cars would qualify based on speed. Then, positions 21-30 would be based on their positions on a 10 lap qualifying race. Positions 31-40, those who would DNQ on Saturday, would be decided on who got to the track first, i.e. the first driver would get 31st, the second would get 32nd, etc . Buck Baker would win the pole with a 27.230. Finishing order. "† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased" "* Driver failed to finish race"