Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Frank Danley was from Modesto, CA, but raced under the name of Danny Graves.  Graves made a total of nine Cup series starts in 1957.  He was a great qualifier, as his worst start that year was eighth in his first career start.  That start came at Portland Speedway OR; where he blew a motor on lap 17 and ended his day in 23rd place.  His next race he started second, but broke an A-frame and finished 18th.  His next start came at Sacramento where he started fourth and finished fifth.  When the series returned to Sacramento in the Fall, Graves would use the experience he gained there in the first race and put his car on the pole.  He led all 100 laps to claim his first and only Cup win. Even though Graves led the whole race, it was a real battle as seven cars finished on the lead lap.  In 1958 he only made two starts.  In both races he would start second; but have engine problems in both races, finishing poorly. Graves also made 21 starts in the Pacific Coast Late Model series over three seasons.  In 1957 he made the majority of his starts (16) in that series.  His first three starts saw him have mechanical issues and even though he qualified well; his car failed and he finished worse than 20th in those races.  But the next event came at Saugus Speedway in Saugus CA.  It was 150 laps around a tight little 1/3