CONCORD SPEEDWAY - CONCORD NC
Red Farmer (center) and Tim Flock (right)
In total, there were 3 tracks under the Concord Speedway name, this facility being the first. The first track to use the Concord Speedway moniker was built in the 1950s and was built off of Popular Tent Rd. – located at the end of Old Speedway Dr. NW, this track held seven NASCAR Cup events and a Convertible Series event between 1956 and 1959. The track was left abandoned after the closure. The location is now a housing development. The first Cup race was held in May of 1956. It was 200 laps around the 1/2 mile dirt oval. Speedy Thompson would start on the pole and lead the first four laps. Second place starter Billy Meyers would grab the lead on lap five, but Thompson would sweep by Meyers the following lap. Meyers would have engine failure on lap 17 and be done for the day. After Thompson retook the lead he went on to lead the rest of the laps and claim the win. Buck Baker would finish second and Herb Thomas third. The 1957 race season would see three races held here. The first race was actually in December of 1956; but was the second race of the 1957
season. Curtis Turner would lead the first two laps, and then later crash out on lap 79. Marvin Panch would lead the rest of the laps to take the win. Paul Goldsmith would finish second and Bill Amick third. In March the Cup stars were back at the track. Speedy Thompson once again had a fast car as he led the first 31 laps. Fireball Roberts also led a various stages as the race had five lead changes. Jack Smith would lead the final 114 laps to get the win. He was followed by Buck Baker and Thompson. All three finished on the lead lap; and coincidently were all owned by a car owner named Hugh Babb. In the race held in October, the race started the same. Thompson would once again have a fast car, and he would once again lead the first 31 laps. He,
Jack Smith and Lee Petty would swap the lead several times in the first half of the race, before Fire Ball Roberts took command and led the final 108 laps to claim the victory. He was followed across the line by Petty and Ken Rush. There was also a convertible race held in 1957. It would come in June and Curtis Turner would go to victory circle. Bob Welborn would finish second and Joe Weatherly third, all on the lead lap. Fourth place finisher Johnny Dodson was disqualified; so Glenn Wood and Ken Rush ended up rounding out the top five. In 1958, once again Turner and Thompson were very fast. Turner led the first 197 laps, but Lee Petty and Thompson was close behind. With three laps to go Petty managed to bypass Turner and take the lead and go on to get the win. Turner finished second, just three car lengths back. Thompson was third, also on the lead lap. 1959 proved to be the final two Cup races held at the speedway. In March; Turner would finally break through and get the win he had been denied on several occasions. Pole sitter Buck Baker led the first 13 laps before experiencing a burnt valve; then Tom Pistone led for two laps. From there it was a Turner as he led the final 185 laps to beat Cotton Owens by more than a lap. Lee Patty came home third. To date, the track had held six Cup races and had produced six different winners. But Jack Smith would change that in the track's final event. This race was a 300 lap affair and Smith would start mired back in the pack in 18th. Cotton Owens started second and surged to the lead on the first lap; while Smith worked his way through all the traffic. By lap 90 smith had run down Owens and bypassed him for the lead. He would lead the final 211 laps to outdistance Petty by over a lap. Buck baker finished third; while his son Buddy Baker was fourth. This would be Buddy's first season in the Cup series. The picture above shows Concord after being changed to asphalt. It ran for many years and hosted many different series before it closed.
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