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1956 Ford NASCAR Stock Car news, pictures, and information | ||
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Ford Motor Company got serious about stock car racing in 1955. Ford retained Indy 500 ace Peter Depaolo to head up their racing program. DePaolo signed up four of NASCAR's brightest stars to drive: Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, Ralph Moody, and Marvin Panch. The new Ford team was painted a bright purple and white for Schwam Motor Co. of Charlotte, NC, so they were nicknamed the Purple Hogs. The Ford team won 19 out of 56 events in 1956. Curtis Turner won the Southern 500 of Darlington. This car is owned by Jerry Lawrence of Hunter, New York and is on loan to the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
Early in 1955, Ford cars had just one NASCAR victory since the series began in 1949. Meanwhile, Chevrolet was advertising its wins and attracting customers. As a countermeasure, Ford formed its first NASCAR factory team and built two cars. They were powered by the new overhead-valve 'Y block' V8 engine. In stock trim, with a four-barrel carburetor and dual exhaust, it produced 182 horsepower. The cars were painted a vivid purple, which caricatures of snorting wild boars on the front fenders.
The first race for Ford drivers Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly was the 1955 Southern 500 - then the biggest NASCAR race of the year. Weatherly started ninth and Turner 15th, but they charged to the front and Turner led laps 110 to 123 before his front suspension broke.
Weatherly took over and led a total of 138 laps until he suffered the same fate on lap 317.
Even though both cars dropped out, they had shown Ford's potential. The next year, Turner came back and won the Southern 500 in his 1956 version of the Ford 'Purple Hog.'
| SEBASTIEN LOEB OF FRANCE ENTERS PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB | |
 | One of the world's most decorated auto racing stars is coming to Pikes Peak this summer. Nine-time WRC World Rally Championship winner Sebastien Loeb of France has entered the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, adding more international luster to the nation's second-oldest motor sports event behind the Indy 500 and helping to make the field the best in the race's storied history.. The 91st running of the race will be held on Sunday, June 30 with the help and support of title ...[Read more...] |
| HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA TALKING POINTS | |
| -This weekend's Honda Grand Prix of Alabama will be the fourth IZOD IndyCar Series event at the scenic, 2-3-mile Barber Motorsports Park circuit, and marks the third year American Honda has served as title sponsor of the event. -American Honda also sponsored last month's season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; and will again be the title sponsor of the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August. In addition to these three events, Honda Canada entitles the Honda Indy T...[Read more...] | |
| Indy 500 Champion Al Unser, Jr. as the 2013 Grand Marshal | |
 | The 18th Annual Keels & Wheels Concours d'Elegance, benefiting The Boys & Girls Harbor, announced that two-time Indy winner Al Unser, Jr. will serve as the 2013 Grand Marshal. Unser will be on the grounds throughout the weekend of May 4-5, 2013 at the Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, TX meeting participants and visitors, signing autographs, and participating in the awards programs. Unser has accumulated a tremendous record of success as a race car driver throughout the last 30 years. Continu...[Read more...] |
| Firestone Returns As Presenting Sponsor of RRDC Evening With Brian Redman in Long Beach | |
 | The Firestone brand will return as presenting sponsor of the Road Racing Drivers Club's fifth annual West Coast banquet honoring auto racing's most influential leaders. This year, on Thursday, April 18, prior to the running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the 'RRDC Evening with Brian Redman presented by Firestone' will highlight the career of one of the sport's most popular, talented and successful race-car drivers. This is the Firestone brand's fourth straight year as a supporter of the...[Read more...] |
| Lee Holman, Holman & Moody to be Honored at 2013 Pinehurst Concours d'Elegance | |
 | - Legendary North Carolina-based motorsports organization featured in special display, lifetime achievement award to Lee Holman - Just saying the name of Charlotte, NC-based Holman & Moody conjures up some of the most exciting motorsports moments in history – in NASCAR, Le Mans, Drag Racing and Rallying. To put an exclamation point on their accomplishments, the inaugural Pinehurst Concours d'Elegance will honor Lee Holman with the first-ever 'Pinehurst Concours Lifetime Achievement A...[Read more...] |
 1956
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