1957 Virginia 500

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1957 Virginia 500
Race details[1]
Race 17 of 53 in the 1957 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1957 Virginia 500 program cover
1957 Virginia 500 program cover
Date May 19, 1957 (1957-May-19)
Official name Virginia 500
Location Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.525 mi (0.844 km)
Distance 441 laps, 231 mi (372 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km)
Weather Temperatures of 81 °F (27 °C); wind speeds of 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)
Average speed 57.318 miles per hour (92.244 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Smokey Yunick Racing
Most laps led
Driver Billy Myers Bill Strope
Laps 201
Winner
No. 87 Buck Baker Hugh Babb
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1957 Virginia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 19, 1957, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.

Barney Oldfield made his only NASCAR Cup Series appearance at this event.[2] Months after this race, the Automobile Manufacturers Association decided to legally separate themselves from all forms of automobile racing that was being held in the United States; donating millions of dollars in machinery directly to the drivers.[3]

Background[edit]

A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.[4] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.[5] 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.[5]

Race report[edit]

It took nearly four hours to race 441 laps worth of stock car automobile racing. While originally scheduled for 500 laps, it was stopped prematurely due to a bad in-race crash. Tom Pistone and Billy Myers would end up getting involved in the collision on lap 441; making Buck Baker the automatic winner. Just before the accident took form, Pistone straightened his car and continued. Myers headed for the wall and then jumped it near where a crowd of folks was standing. The 24-driver starting lineup was made up of drivers who were all born in the United States of America. T.A. Toomes would take up the last-place position due to problems with his gasket on lap 121.[6]

Paul Goldsmith, Tiny Lund and Buck Baker would dominate the laps prior to the accident. The victory of Buck Baker over second-place finisher Curtis Turner would demonstrate the power of the 1957 Chevrolet.[6] Although its real-life counterpart had fuel injection, the NASCAR version had to use a carburetor. Fuel injection did not become legal in what is now known as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series until the 2012 season.

Individual race earnings for this event ranged from the winner's share of $3,170 ($34,389 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $125 ($1,356 when adjusted for inflation). A grand total of $12,240 was handed out by NASCAR officials for the explicit purpose of paying off the qualifying drivers ($132,784 when adjusted for inflation).[7] Jess Potter was the only notable crew chief to take part in the race, leading the pit road crew of Brownie King's Chevrolet.[8]

Qualifying[edit]

Grid[6] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner Time Avg. Speed
1 3 Paul Goldsmith '57 Ford Smokey Yunick 27.400 65.693
2 46 Speedy Thompson '57 Chevrolet Hugh Babb 27.440 65.598
3 55 Tiny Lund '57 Pontiac A.L. Bumgarner 27.500 65.454
4 50 Tom Pistone '57 Chevrolet Hugh Babb 27.520 65.407
5 98 Marvin Panch '57 Ford Pete DePaolo 27.530 65.383
6 14 Billy Myers '57 Mercury Bill Stroppe 27.620 65.170
7 22 Fireball Roberts '57 Ford Pete DePaolo 27.710 64.958
8 42 Lee Petty '57 Oldsmobile Petty Enterprises 27.720 64.935
9 88 Ralph Earnhardt '57 Oldsmobile Petty Enterprises 27.890 64.539
10 99 Curtis Turner '57 Ford Pete DePaolo 27.950 64.401
11 64 Johnny Allen '57 Plymouth Spook Crawford 28.010 64.263
12 47 Jack Smith '57 Chevrolet Hugh Babb 28.070 64.125
13 29 Russ Hepler '57 Pontiac Howard Coulter 28.080 64.102
14 87 Buck Baker '57 Chevrolet Hugh Babb 28.280 63.649
15 6 Cotton Owens '57 Pontiac Ray Nichels 28.450 63.269
16 32 Brownie King '56 Chevrolet Jess Potter 29.650 60.708
17 421 T.A. Toomes '56 Dodge C.M. Julian 29.750 60.504
18 881 Jim Linke* Oldsmobile Petty Enterprises 30.090 59.820
19 76 George Green '56 Chevrolet Lonnie Fish 30.180 59.642
20 74 L.D. Austin '56 Chevrolet L.D. Austin 30.280 59.445
21 94 Clarence DeZalia '56 Ford Clarence DeZalia 0.000 0.000
22 28 Eddie Skinner '57 Ford Eddie Skinner 0.000 0.000
23 24 Barney Oldfield '56 Ford Rat Garner 0.000 0.000
24 17 Jim Paschal '57 Mercury Bill Stroppe 0.000 0.000
25 71 Bill Bowman '56 Chevrolet Bill Bowman 0.000 0.000
Failed to qualify
11 Emanuel Zervakis Chevrolet Emanuel Zervakis 0.000 0.000
35 Bill Champion Ford Bill Champion 0.000 0.000
80 Frank Jamison Chevrolet Frank Jamison 0.000 0.000
154 Nace Mattingly Ford Nace Mattingly 0.000 0.000

Failed to qualify: Emanuel Zervakis (#11), Bill Champion (#35), Nace Mattingly (#154), Frank Jamison (#80)[9]

*Withdrew.

Timeline[edit]

Section reference: [6]

  • Start of race: Paul Goldsmith started the race with the pole position.
  • Lap 55: Tiny Lund takes over the lead from Paul Goldsmith.
  • Lap 121: Problems with the vehicle's head gasket made T.A. Toomes into the last-place finisher.
  • Lap 128: Buck Baker takes over the lead from Tiny Lund.
  • Lap 145: Billy Myers takes over the lead from Buck Baker.
  • Lap 146: The rear end of Eddie Skinner's vehicle became problematic, forcing him to quit the race.
  • Lap 211: Cotton Owens had a terminal crash; causing him to withdraw from the event.
  • Lap 233: Buck Baker takes over the lead from Billy Myers.
  • Lap 281: Tiny Lund's engine developed problems, forcing him to make an early exit from the race.
  • Lap 329: Billy Myers takes over the lead from Buck Baker.
  • Lap 377: Johnny Allen noticed that his vehicle's clutch had some issues, causing him to pull over and end his hopes of winning the race.
  • Lap 441: Tom Pistone and Billy Myers crashed into each other, jointly ending their chances of winning the race.
  • Finish: Buck Baker was declared the winner after starting the event in 14th place.

Finishing order[edit]

Section reference: [6][10]

Fin St # Driver Make Team/Owner Sponsor Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 14 87 Buck Baker '57 Chevrolet Hugh Babb 441 113 running 500 $3,170
2 10 99 Curtis Turner '57 Ford Pete DePaolo DePaolo Engineering 441 0 running 480 $1,770
3 4 50 Tom Pistone '57 Chevrolet Hugh Babb 441 0 crash 460 $1,125
4 6 14 Billy Myers '57 Mercury Bill Stroppe 441 201 crash 440 $980
5 8 42 Lee Petty '57 Oldsmobile Petty Enterprises 440 0 running 420 $675
6 12 47 Jack Smith '57 Chevrolet Hugh Babb 436 0 running 400 $500
7 1 3 Paul Goldsmith '57 Ford Smokey Yunick Smokey's Best Damn Garage 432 54 running 380 $475
8 5 98 Marvin Panch '57 Ford Pete DePaolo DePaolo Engineering 431 0 running 360 $400
9 7 22 Fireball Roberts '57 Ford Pete DePaolo DePaolo Engineering 427 0 running 340 $300
10 23 17 Jim Paschal '57 Mercury Bill Stroppe 416 0 running 320 $300
11 2 46 Speedy Thompson '57 Chevrolet Hugh Babb 409 0 running 300 $275
12 16 32 Brownie King '56 Chevrolet Jess Potter 404 0 running 280 $200
13 9 88 Ralph Earnhardt '57 Oldsmobile Petty Enterprises 391 0 running 260 $200
14 19 74 L.D. Austin '56 Chevrolet L.D. Austin 391 0 running 240 $200
15 18 76 George Green '56 Chevrolet Lonnie Fish 388 0 running 220 $200
16 11 64 Johnny Allen '57 Plymouth Spook Crawford 377 0 clutch 200 $200
17 24 71 Bill Bowman '56 Chevrolet Bill Bowman 363 0 running 180 $175
18 22 24 Barney Oldfield '56 Ford Rat Garner 356 0 running 160 $150
19 20 94 Clarence DeZalia '56 Ford Clarence DeZalia 351 0 running 140 $150
20 3 55 Tiny Lund '57 Pontiac A.L. Bumgarner 281 73 engine 120 $295
21 13 29 Russ Hepler '57 Pontiac Howard Coulter 270 0 bearing 100 $125
22 15 6 Cotton Owens '57 Pontiac Ray Nichels 211 0 crash 80 $125
23 21 28 Eddie Skinner '57 Ford Eddie Skinner 146 0 rear end 60 $125
24 17 421 T.A. Toomes '56 Dodge C.M. Julian 121 0 gasket 40 $125
Failed to qualify
11 Emanuel Zervakis Chevrolet Emanuel Zervakis
35 Bill Champion Ford Bill Champion
80 Frank Jamison Chevrolet Frank Jamison
154 Nace Mattingly Ford Nace Mattingly
WD 881 Jim Linke Oldsmobile Petty Enterprises

References[edit]

  1. ^ Weather information for the 1957 Virginia 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ Barney Oldfield's only NASCAR Cup Series race at Race Database
  3. ^ 1957 NASCAR Grand National Recap at How Stuff Works
  4. ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e 1957 Virginia 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  7. ^ Winnings information for the 1957 Virginia 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  8. ^ 1957 Virginia 500 crew chief information at Racing Reference
  9. ^ Qualifying information for the 1957 Virginia 500 at Racing Reference
  10. ^ "1957 Virginia 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
Preceded by Virginia 500 races
1957 		Succeeded by
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