Fantasy NASCAR Racing

NASCAR HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS BY YEAR - 1950's

1950 - In 1950, the "NASCAR Grand National Circuit" became the new title for the previous year's "Strictly Stock" racing division. Though only eight Strictly Stock races were staged in 1949, this newfangled late-model racing circuit was already a hot commodity. It became NASCAR's number-one series, replacing the Modifieds as the headlining attraction.  Automobile manufacturers began to take notice, and with accelerated research and mechanical development, were producing more powerful passenger cars with high-compression, lightweight V-8 engines for the public. The first manufacturer to really invest in NASCAR's Grand National Circuit was the Nash Motor Company. The company offered cash prizes as contingency money in a few races and promised to deliver a new Nash to the 1950 NASCAR Grand National champion. On February 5, Harold Kite drives a Lincoln to victory in the 200-mile NASCAR Grand National race at the Daytona Beach-Road course in his first start. Kite finishes 53 seconds ahead of runner-up Red Byron in the caution-free event.  Then on May 30, Bill Rexford passes Curtis Turner with 80 laps to go and wins the 200-mile NASCAR Grand National event at Canfield, Ohio. The 200-lap, 100-mile race, run opposite the Indianapolis 500, is called the "Poor Man's 500."  On June 25, Jimmy Florian scores the first NASCAR Grand National win for the Ford nameplate in the 100-mile race on the high banks of Dayton (Ohio) Speedway. Florian opts not to wear a shirt while driving in the searing-hot race.  Darlington Raceway officials officially title the 500-mile Labor Day race as the "Southern Five-Hundred." Harold Brasington also announces NASCAR will co-sanction the $25,000 race.  Raceway officials report the field will be limited to 45 cars.  In August, Twenty-one-year-old Fireball Roberts guns his Oldsmobile to victory in the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National event at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsboro, N.C., making him NASCAR's youngest winner. Darlington Raceway officials announce that the inaugural Southern Five-Hundred field will be expanded from 45 to 75 cars.  Qualifying for the Southern 500 was a long drawn out affair.  On August 19, Curtis Turner qualifies his Oldsmobile at 82.034 mph to win the pole for the inaugural Southern Five-Hundred at Darlington Raceway. Fifteen days of qualifying will determine the 75-car field. The quickest five cars each day earn a starting berth.  On September 4, Darlington International Raceway became the first asphalt super speedway to host a NASCAR event. Johnny Mantz of Long Beach, Calif., drives a Plymouth to an overwhelming victory in the Labor Day Southern 500, nine laps ahead of runner-up Fireball Roberts. Mantz collects $10,510, the largest purse so far in stock car history.  At the end of October; the NASCAR season concluded and Lee Petty captures the NASCAR Grand National finale at Hillsboro, N.C., as 23-year-old Bill Rexford wraps up the national driving cham­pionship. Rexford edges Fireball Roberts by 110.5 points.  End of season awards saw NASCAR announces $23,024 in points fund money will be distributed to drivers in all stock car divisions based on final points standings. NASCAR Grand National champion Bill Rexford will receive $1375.

1951 - During the 1951 NASCAR Grand National season, car manufacturers became more actively involved in the sport of racing. Nash recruited and signed dynamic stars Curtis Turner and Johnny Mantz to drive Ambassadors in NASCAR Grand National competition, while Daytona winner Marshall Teague convinced Hudson to support his racing efforts by showing how winning on the NASCAR tracks would sell more Hudson cars to the public.  NASCAR announced that the NASCAR Grand National division will venture into the far west in 1951. Johnny Mantz, winner of the 500-mile race at Darlington, will be the Regional Director of NASCAR events in California. In April, Marshall Teague wins the first NASCAR Grand National event on the West Coast. Driving his Hudson Hornet, Teague leads all 200 laps at Carrell Speedway in Gardena, Calif. Frank Mundy drives a rental car to an 11th-place finish, winning $25. Mundy waited until after dark to return the car so the attendant wouldn't notice the bald tires.  On June 16, Driving a Studebaker, Frank Mundy wins the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National event on a Saturday night at Columbia Speedway in South Carolina. It is the first NASCAR Grand National event to be staged under the lights, Mundy's first career NASCAR Grand National victory, and the first win for the Studebaker nameplate.   A significant event in this formative year of NASCAR Grand National racing was Bill France's effort to convince the Detroit Junior Chamber of Commerce to book the Grand National Circuit at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. The timing was perfect as the Motor City was gearing up to celebrate its 250th anniversary in the summer of 1951.  Labor day weekend would see A record 82 cars start the 2nd annual Southern 500 at Darlington. Herb Thomas and Jesse James Taylor finish 1-2 in Hudson Hornets.  The following month A total of 106 cars compete in the NASCAR Modified and Sportsman race at Langhorne Speedway. Dick Eagan, driving in relief of Hully Bunn, is declared the winner after a crash halts the race after 83 laps. Don Black is critically injured in the massive pileup, which unfolds for more than one minute. On November 11, Tim Flock takes the lead on the 14th lap and breezes to victory in the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National event at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta. It is the first official NASCAR race staged at the venerable one-mile oval. Two weeks later, Frank Mundy throttles his Studebaker to a win in the 150-lap NASCAR Grand National finale at Lakeview Speedway in Mobile, Ala. Bob Flock crashes his Oldsmobile in the early laps and suffers a broken neck. Herb Thomas wraps up the tightly contested NASCAR Grand National champion­ship chase by nosing out Fonty Flock by 146.2 points.  Perry Smith, owner of the Studebaker Frank Mundy drives, perishes in a private air crash near Greensburg, Ind. Smith was on a mercy mission, carrying an ill 80-year-old woman to a hospital when his Navion flew into icy weather and crashed into a rural countryside.

1952 - By the 1952 NASCAR Grand National season, NASCAR had taken its unique brand of automobile racing to the doorstep of the manufacturers' home base, and virtually every make of American car was represented in the starting grid.  On January 20, Tim Flock wins the 100-mile season opener at Palm Beach Speedway in West Palm Beach, Fla. Bernard Alvarez escapes injury when his Olds flips over and the roof caves in. NASCAR rules are amended to now require the use of steel roll bars on all race cars.  In February at the 1951 awards banquet, NASCAR distributes over $40,000 in points money at the annual Victory Dinner at the Princess Issena Hotel in Daytona Beach. Herb Thomas collects $2,264.50 for winning the 1951 NASCAR Grand National ­championship. Also a two-way radio is first used in NASCAR competition. Al Stevens, who operates a radio dispatch service in Maryland, drives in the 100-mile Modified and Sportsman race at Daytona while talking to pit boss Cotton Bennett. Stevens finishes 27th in the 118-car field and third in the Sportsman class. On July 1, The first NASCAR Grand National event staged outside the U.S. takes place at Stamford Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Buddy Shuman outruns Herb Thomas by two laps in the 100-mile race as Hudson Hornets finish first and second. In September, Fonty Flock, wearing bermuda shorts and a short-sleeve shirt, takes the lead just before the halfway point and motors to victory in the third annual Southern 500 at Darlington. Later that month in a race at Wilson NC, Herb Thomas averages only 35.398 mph, and takes almost three hours to complete the race. It is the slowest average speed in NASCAR Grand National history.  With its factory program running smoothly, Hudson ­domi­nated in 1952, capturing 27 of the 34 NASCAR Grand National races. No other make won more than three times. Tim Flock captured the championship in his Ted Chester-owned Hudson Hornet, winning eight races in 33 starts. Thomas ­finished a close runner-up to Flock in the title chase.  Tim Flock was featured in the Dec. 8 issue of Time magazine.

1953 - The 1953 NASCAR Grand National season was a history-maker. In January NASCAR started it procedure of drivers being required to mail entry blanks to NASCAR headquarters and speedway promoters to earn championship points. Many promoters have complained that they don't know who will compete and have been unable to properly promote their events. As a lead up to the Daytona Beach course race, NASCAR conducts its fourth annual Victory Dinner at the Princess Issena Hotel in Daytona Beach. Lee Petty is named Most Popular Driver, the first time the award has been given out since 1949.  In the race Fonty Flock runs out of fuel on the final lap as Bill Blair drives to victory in the NASCAR Grand National event on the Beach-Road course in Daytona. It is the first NASCAR Grand National race to be determined by a last-lap pass. Exciting racing continued as in April Dick Passwater scores an upset victory in the 150-lap race at Charlotte Speedway. Five different drivers lead in the final 25 laps, and Passwater takes the lead with just three laps to go. In May Tim Flock with riding companion "Jocko Flocko," prevails in a 100-mile NASCAR Grand National event at Hickory, N.C. Jocko, a rhesus monkey, has a driver's uniform and a custom-made seat. It is the first time a NASCAR Grand National winner has a copilot. On July 4 at a Grand National event at Spartan­burg, S.C., title contender Tim Flock is run over by a car as he takes a nap in the infield. Flock's injuries will keep him out of action for several weeks. At Darlington, Buck Baker takes the lead with 10 laps remaining to win the Southern 500. It is the most competitive event in NASCAR Grand National history, with four drivers swapping the lead a record 35 times. In November, Herb Thomas wraps up the NASCAR Grand National championship with a 14th-place finish in the 100-mile finale at Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway. Thomas becomes the first driver to win two titles.  Thomas also established a new NASCAR record by winning 12 races in a single season and finished comfortably ahead of Lee Petty in the final standings. On the automobile front, Hudsons won 22 of the 37 NASCAR Grand National races. Hudson's prowess on NASCAR's speedways made the other manufacturers take notice, and by the mid 1950s, GM, Ford, and Chrysler were developing more powerful vehicles for highway use.  Later that year NASCAR announces it will have both owner and driver points standings in 1954. Team owners have complained that some drivers have failed to split the points fund money, which has always been awarded to the drivers. Points money for the owners and drivers will be identical.  They also discloses plans for a 2.5-mile superspeedway in Daytona Beach. France estimates the facility will cost $1,674,000 to build and could open as early as 1955. 

1954 - The 1954 NASCAR Grand National campaign was another one for the record books. Lee Petty was handed the win at the Daytona Beach and Road course after Tim Flock was disqualified.  In March Dick Rathmann comes from last to first to win the 125-mile race at Oakland Speedway in California. The track consists of dirt corners and paved straightaways. During preparations for the Indy 500, ASCAR president Bill France is escorted out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage area. AAA chief steward Harry McQuinn says, "We have a long-standing disagreement with NASCAR on what constitutes good racing." On June 13, The first NASCAR Grand National road course event is held on at an airport in Linden, N.J. Al Keller wins the race in a Jaguar XK-120. A total of 20 ­foreign cars wouldcompete.  It is the first time a foreign made car has won a NASCAR race.  It would be 54 years before another foreign make visited victory lane. In July, Flame-proof coveralls are made available to NASCAR drivers for $9.25 each by Treesdale Laboratories. It is the third NASCAR-specific product of the season. The $35 GenTex 70 helmet and special racing tires priced at $37.90 each from Pure Oil Co. have already been offered. Later in July, Bill France, Jr., crashes his Nash on the 25th lap of the NASCAR Short Track Division event at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. France, Jr., was making his second start of the season. It became the last of his career. On October 10, The recently completed Memphis-Arkansas Speedway opens to a crowd of 12,000. Buck Baker wins the 250-miler on the huge 1 1/2-mile high-banked dirt track. For 1954 Lee Petty produced one of the most consistent seasons in NASCAR history, claiming seven races and finishing in the top 10 in 32 of his 34 starts. Petty was perhaps the steadiest of the NASCAR pioneers, taking care of his equipment while attaining maximum performance. Prior to a coil burning out in the Southern 500, Petty had been running at the finish in 56 consecutive NASCAR Grand National events stretching back into the 1953 season.

1955 - The 1955 NASCAR Grand National season was pivotal for the future of NASCAR. It started when Mercury Outboard magnate Carl Kiekhaefer appeared virtually overnight with a powerful Chrysler 300. He brought the car to Daytona without a driver, but Tim Flock, who quit NASCAR in 1954 after he was disqualified from the Daytona victory, was the logical choice. A deal was struck, and Flock won the 1955 Daytona race in his first start with Kiekhaefer. Flock is declared the winner of the 160-mile Daytona Beach race when Fireball Roberts' Buick is disqualified on a technicality. Flock wins for team owner Carl Kiekhaefer, who makes his maiden voyage in NASCAR a successful one.  On March 26, Fonty Flock wheels Frank Christian's Chevrolet to victory in the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Columbia, S.C. It is the first win for the Chevrolet nameplate in NASCAR's premier stock car racing series. On July 31, Tim Flock scores his record 13th win of the season in the 250-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Bay Meadows Race Track in San Mateo, Calif. It is Flock's second win in less than 24 hours.  Flock had won at Syracuse, N.Y., the night before.  By late 1955, GM and Ford were pulling out all the stops to derail the Kiekhaefer/Chrysler express. The big showdown came at Darlington's Southern 500, NASCAR's premier super speedway race and, to date, the only 500-miler. The battle of the Big Three manufacturers so captured the fancy of Southern racing fans that a frenzied peak of anticipation grew each day. All of the Darlington race grandstand seats were sold out more than 24 hours in advance.  In his fourth start since returning from injuries suffered at Charlotte in May, Herb Thomas drives to victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington. A crowd of 50,000 watches the factory-backed teams duel.  On October 30, Tim Flock leads from start to finish to score his record 18th victory of the season in the finale at Hillsboro, N.C. Flock's record-shattering 1955 performance includes 11 races in which he led from green flag to checkered flag.  Kiekhaefer Chryslers won 22 of the 39 events.

1956 - During the 1956 NASCAR Grand National season, the battle between Chevrolet and Ford escalated. The two car giants collectively spent better than $6 million to win NASCAR stock car races and sell their products to the motoring public. Despite their spending sprees, Kiekhaefer's Chryslers and Dodges still cleaned house, compiling an amazing 16-race winning streak during the early summer. On November 13 1955, Tim Flock wins the 1956 season opener at Hickory Speedway as the new campaign gets underway early. Many season that years first races were actually at the end of the previous year. Former NASCAR star Buddy Shuman, recently appointed head of Ford's NASCAR fac­tory effort, tragically dies in a hotel fire the night before the race. On December 11, Joe Weatherly and Jim Reed, the first two finishers in the 100-mile race at West Palm Beach, are both disqualified for technical violations. Herb Thomas is declared the official winner. In February, Tim Flock outruns and ­outlasts a huge 76-car field to score his second straight win in the Daytona Beach NASCAR Grand National event.  In April, Tim Flock racks up his third win of the season at North Wilkesboro, N.C., then surprises the racing world by quitting the championship Kiekhaefer Chrysler team. Buck Baker will replace Flock in the coveted ride.  On May 6, Speedy Thompson drives a Kiekhaefer Chrysler to victory in the 100-mile race at Concord, N.C. It marks the fourth consecutive NASCAR Grand National event that the Kiekhaefer team has swept the top two spots.  On June 3, Herb Thomas scores an easy win in the 100-mile event at Merced, Calif., giving the Carl Kiekhaefer team its 16th consecutive NASCAR Grand National victory. It is a record that will likely live forever in the NASCAR record book.  Then on July 4, Fireball Roberts records his first superspeedway triumph in the 250-miler at Raleigh Speedway. Carl Kiekhaefer files a protest against the weight of Roberts' flywheel. No scales are available at the speedway, so NASCAR officials take the flywheel to a local fish market to be weighed. Roberts' win is upheld by NASCAR. On August 4, Lee Petty dismounts his car in disgust on the 32nd lap, climbs the flagstand, grabs the red flag from the official starter, and waves the scheduled 100-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Tulsa, Okla., to a halt. Dusty conditions blinded the drivers and Petty acted on his own to prevent a catastrophe. The race is never completed or rescheduled.  Later that month on August 12, Tim Flock, with his Mercury's windshield wipers flapping, drives to victory in the 258-mile NASCAR Grand National event at Elkhart Lake's Road America. NASCAR's first appearance in Wisconsin goes off on ­schedule despite a steady rain. On September 30, Curtis Turner is declared the winner of the scheduled 100-mile NASCAR Convertible race at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway when a 14-car crash wipes out all but one car running in the event. Turner's Ford is the only car still in running condition when officials terminate the event after 181 of the scheduled 200 laps. Then on October 23, Buck Baker's Kiekhaefer Chrysler tiptoes around a nasty crash involving former Kiekhaefer teammate Herb Thomas and wins the 100-mile race at Shelby, N.C. Speedy Thompson, also member of the Kiekhaefer team, triggers the crash, which leaves Thomas gravely injured. Baker pulls to within 118 points of Thomas with three races remaining. One of the most peculiar doubleheader days in NASCAR history occurred on November 11. Speedy Thompson wins the 100-mile race at Hickory and Marvin Panch wins the same-day event at Lancaster, Calif.  Curiously, Thompson's win counts as a 1956 race, while Panch's triumph is ­considered the opener of the 1957 NASCAR Grand National season. A week later, Buck Baker is declared the winner of the 1956 season finale at Wilson, N.C.  Joe Weatherly clearly reaches the checkered flag first, but Baker is the first to pass the scoring stand located near turn one.  Baker also wraps up the 1956 NASCAR Grand National championship by 704 points over Herb Thomas.  Near the end of the 1956 season, Kiekhaefer withdrew from NASCAR. Though his teams had performed splendidly, they were constantly booed by spectators and always under the watchful eyes of NASCAR inspectors. Kiekhaefer could never understand why his efforts weren't appreciated and he got out of NASCAR as suddenly as he had arrived.

1957 - For the 1957 NASCAR Grand National season, Kiekhaefer's departure left Chrysler without a top-ranked team. The MoPar unit quickly patched together a team, but Chrysler was far behind Chevrolet and Ford, both of whom were spending millions on their racing efforts. Each car manufacturer had swarms of press agents to beat the drums of publicity in newspapers, magazines, radio, and television.  Fuel-injected engines and superchargers were available to the public, and, therefore, eligible for NASCAR competition.  On December 30 1956, Fireball Roberts leads a 1-2-3-4 sweep for Peter DePaolo Fords in the 90-mile NASCAR Grand National race on the Titusville-Cocoa Airport runways in Florida. The DePaolo Engineering team is managed by master mechanic John Holman.  Years later Holman would team up with Ralph Moody to form the powerful Holman-Moody race team.  On February 17, Cotton Owens drives the Ray Nichels Pontiac to victory in the Daytona Beach NASCAR Grand National event, recording the first NASCAR win for the Pontiac nameplate.  On Thursday, June 6, 1957, heads of several car companies, sitting as directors of the Automobile Manufacturers Asso­ciation, unanimously recommended that the industry take no part in, or assist in any way, automobile races or other competitive events that emphasized speed or horsepower.  When the resolution came down, the automotive industry retreated from NASCAR stock car racing.  The directors of the Automobile Manufacturers Association soon became disturbed about the excessive advertising of brute horsepower -- the nation's highways had become lethal with record numbers of fatalities.  The unlimited gravy train of racing goodies from Detroit and Dearborn to the Southern racing teams dramatically slowed down, but most teams had the resources to finish out the 1957 season.  On September 2, Speedy Thompson wins the Southern 500, aver­aging 100.094 mph. It is the first Southern 500 to average better than 100 mph. Bobby Myers is fatally injured in a three-car crash on the 28th lap. On October 12, just 900 spectators watch Fireball Roberts wheel his Ford to victory in the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Newberry Speedway in South Carolina. To this day, it remains the smallest trackside attendance in NASCAR history. At the end of the month, Buck Baker wraps up his second straight NASCAR Grand National champion­ship campaign by wheeling his Chevrolet to a win in the 250-lap season finale at Central Carolina Fairground in Greensboro, N.C. Baker beats Marvin Panch in the title hunt with his 10th win of the ­season.  Finally on November 27, the first spade of dirt is turned on the tract of land that will become the Daytona International Speedway. After nearly five years, the red tape has been cleared to proceed with the construction of the world's most modern racing facility.

1958 - At the start of the 1958 NASCAR Grand National season, car manufacturers faced the Automobile Manufacturers Association 1957 ban on active participation in auto racing -- but they were itching to get back into the sport. To abide by the AMA resolution, yet still get the latest equipment into the hands of NASCAR competitors, manufacturers found they just had to be a little more discreet. John Holman said his newly arrived 1958 Fords were the courtesy of 32 Carolina Ford dealerships, not the Ford factory. Jim Rathmann, who owned a Chevrolet dealership in Florida, found himself surrounded with Chevrolet's latest high-speed equipment and some of the first 1958 sheet metal. Pontiac was well-represented too, with the addition of Smokey Yunick to its team. Forty-nine cars showed up for the 1958 Daytona Beach NASCAR Grand National race and the season never broke stride. Fifty-one events comprised the 1958 NASCAR Grand National campaign, and a pair of 500-milers at Trenton, N.J., and Riverside, Calif., were added to the slate.  On February 23, Paul Goldsmith drives Smokey Yunick's Pontiac to victory in the 160-mile NASCAR Grand National race on Daytona's Beach-Road course. The event is the final NASCAR race staged on the picturesque 4.1-mile course on the shore.  On March 2; four days after the race: Lee Petty is declared the winner of the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National at Concord Speedway despite protests from Curtis Turner and Speedy Thompson, the apparent top two finishers. Scorecard data indicates that Petty finishes the 200 laps first although Turner starts on the pole and leads the entire ­distance.  On May 30, Fireball Roberts drives his Chevrolet to a big win in the 500-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Trenton, N.J. The race is the first 500-miler staged north of Darlington.  On July 18, Richard Petty makes his first career NASCAR Grand National start in the 100-lap race at Toronto's Canadian National Exposition Speedway. The 21-year-old Petty finishes 17th in the 19-car field after hitting the fence on the 55th lap.  On September 1, Fireball Roberts takes his fourth win of the NASCAR Grand National season at Darlington's Southern 500. Roberts has now won four of his seven starts during the 1958 ­campaign.  On October 26, Junior Johnson edges Fireball Roberts by a whisker to win the NASCAR Grand National season finale at Atlanta's Lakewood Speed­way. Lee Petty captures the championship over Buck Baker.

1959 - The 1959 NASCAR Grand National season was full of excitement as the very first Daytona 500 was held on a massive new, 2.5-mile speedway in Daytona Beach. The Feb. 22 show turned out to be better than a Hollywood production. For 500 miles, devoid of a single caution period, America's finest machinery battled around the new Daytona Inter­national Speedway in dizzying fashion. Speeds were alarming -- certainly faster than any stock car had gone and within a whisker of the top speeds turned at Indy. In the late stages, the race boiled down to a three-car struggle between Lee Petty's Oldsmobile, Johnny Beauchamp's Thunderbird, and Joe Weatherly's Chevy. The finish was so close Bill France stepped in to announce the results were "unofficial" until all available evidence could be studied in the form of photos and film. After 61 hours, Lee Petty was declared the official winner, by about one foot. Petty averaged 135.521 mph, 33 mph faster than any other NASCAR Grand National race. The Daytona 500 was an electric success that generated more publicity than any other stock car race to that point in his­tory. A track-side audience of 41,921 watched as NASCAR stock car racing was about to venture into a whole new chapter of ultra-fast speedways.  On March 29, Junior Johnson wins the 100-miler at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina for his first win of the 1959 season. Less than an hour before the race, the wooden grandstand catches on fire and burns to the ground. No one is injured, but the 8,000 spectators have to watch the race while standing along the catch fence. On May 2, Junior Johnson rolls his Ford in practice, but drives the hastily repaired machine to victory in the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Hickory Speedway. Johnson finishes two laps ahead of runner-up Joe Weatherly.  On June 14, Richard Petty finishes first in the 100-miler at Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway, but is protested by the second-place finisher, who happens to be his father Lee. After NASCAR officials study the scorecards, Lee is ­officially declared the winner with Richard second.  On July 29,Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Charlotte Motor Speedway take place on a sultry summer morning. The new speedway will be built by Curtis Turner and Bruton Smith, and the first race is scheduled for May 1960.  Two days later, Ned Jarrett records his first NASCAR Grand National win in the 100-miler at Myrtle Beach, S.C. Jarrett had purchased the car only a couple of days earlier with a postdated check that wouldn't clear the bank until the Monday after the race.  Jim Reed would win this years Southern 500; and at the same time gives Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. its first NASCAR win on a superspeedway.  October 25 saw Jack Smith wins the 1959 NASCAR Grand National finale at Concord, N.C., for his fourth win of the season. Rather than accepting a winner's check for $1,500, Smith elects to take home a new 1960 Ford offered by promoter Bruton Smith. Lee Petty wraps up his third championship.