1959 Western North Carolina 500

1959 Western North Carolina 500

Race details[1]
Race 32 of 44 in the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date	August 16, 1959
Official name	Western North Carolina 500
Location	Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, Weaverville, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance	500 laps, 250 mi (310 km)
Weather	Hot with temperatures approaching 87.1 °F (30.6 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed	71.633 miles per hour (115.282 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Rex White	Rex White
Most laps led
Driver	Bob Welborn	Bob Welborn
Laps	1
Winner
No. 49	Bob Welborn	Bob Welborn
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1959 Western North Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on August 16, 1959 at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina. This event took place after the 1959 Nashville 300; which was set at Nashville Speedway (now Fairgrounds Speedway) in Nashville, Tennessee.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.

Summary

There were 42 American-born drivers who competed at this event; all of them were Caucasian males since Wendell Scott didn't make his introduction into NASCAR until the next decade. There were 500 laps on this race that took almost three and a half hours to resolve. Brownie King was the last-place finisher in this race due to trouble with his fan belt on lap 44.

A lot of engine problems emerged within the first 100 laps in addition to faulty spindles, decaying axles, and one crash involving Richard Petty on the 281st lap. While Rex White would zoom into the pole position driving at speeds up to 77.687 miles per hour (125.025 km/h) during solo qualifying runs, Bob Welborn would defeat Lee Petty by three laps averaging speeds up to 71.633 miles per hour (115.282 km/h).^[2] Welborn would go winless after this race until he retired after the running of the 1964 Pennsylvania 200 in New Oxford, Pennsylvania.

A lot of Chevrolets, Thunderbirds, and Ford vehicles participated in this race. These vehicles were considered to be the quintessential vehicles own during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The only problems with fuel occurred when G.C. Spencer ran out of gas on lap 463. Bill Scott and Dominic Persicketti were the typical example of maverick stock car drivers who drove during the days when it was affordable for the daring to go without a sponsor.^[2] All the inside starters were hardtops while all the outside starters were convertibles.

Benny Rakestraw would make his grand exit from top-level NASCAR racing after this event while Chuck Tombs and Layman Utsman would make their introductions here.^[3]

Top twenty finishers

1. Bob Welborn
2. Lee Petty
3. Jack Smith
4. Joe Lee Johnson
5. Rex White
6. Larry Frank
7. Cotton Owens
8. Buck Baker
9. Marvin Porter
10. Bobby Johns
11. Bob Duell
12. G.C. Spencer
13. Shep Langdon
14. Tiny Lund
15. L.D. Austin
16. George Green
17. Ned Jarrett
18. Dominic Persicketti
19. George Alsobrook
20. Benny Rakestraw

References

1. Weather information for the 1959 Western North Carolina 500 at the Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1959 Western North Carolina 500 racing information at Racing Reference
3. 1959 Western North Carolina 500 racing information at Race Database