Race: Southern 500
NASCAR Grand National Series: Race 44 of 56
Date: September 3, 1956
Track: Darlington Raceway
← 480 Miles at Portland Speedway | 1956 Season Results | 100 Miles at Chisholm Speedway →
Southern 500 Race Information
| Winner | Curtis Turner | Car | No. 99 Ford |
| Team / Owner | Charlie Schwam (Owner) | Winner Start | 11th |
| Started First | Speedy Thompson | Most Laps Led | Curtis Turner (224) |
| Race Distance | 500.5 miles (364 laps) | Track Length | 1.375 miles |
| Track Type | Paved oval | Starters | 70 |
| Different Leaders | 6 | Lead-Lap Finishers | 1 |
| Points Leader After Race | Al Keller | Season Race | 44 of 56 |
Southern 500 Race Results
| Fin | Start | No. | Driver | Team / Owner | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 99 | Curtis Turner | Charlie Schwam (Owner) | Ford | 364 | 224 | running | — |
| 2 | 1 | 57 | Speedy Thompson | Carl Kiekhaefer (Owner) | Chrysler | 362 | 15 | running | — |
| 3 | 2 | 8 | Marvin Panch | DePaolo Engineering | Ford | 359 | 40 | running | — |
| 4 | 23 | 7 | Jim Reed | Jim Reed (Owner) | Chevrolet | 350 | 0 | running | 0 |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | Paul Goldsmith | Smokey Yunick Racing | Chevrolet | 358 | 0 | running | — |
| 6 | 17 | 26 | Jim Paschal | Stroppe Motorsports | Mercury | 358 | 31 | running | — |
| 7 | 3 | 97 | Bill Amick | DePaolo Engineering | Ford | 357 | 0 | running | — |
| 8 | 16 | 9 | Joe Weatherly | Charlie Schwam (Owner) | Ford | 352 | 0 | running | — |
| 9 | 30 | 47 | Bobby Johns | J.M. Fitzgibbons (Owner) | Chevrolet | 349 | 0 | running | — |
| 10 | 20 | 93 | Pat Kirkwood | Howard Moore (Owner) | Pontiac | 347 | 0 | running | — |
| 11 | 28 | 10 | Rex White | Max Welborn (Owner) | Chevrolet | 345 | 0 | running | — |
| 12 | 15 | 86 | Tim Flock | John Foster (Owner) | Ford | 345 | 19 | running | — |
| 13 | 22 | 61 | Roz Howard | Roz Howard (Owner) | Chevrolet | 343 | 0 | running | — |
| 14 | 25 | 38 | Johnny Patterson | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Chevrolet | 343 | 0 | running | — |
| 15 | 35 | 32 | Junior Johnson | — | Chevrolet | 342 | 0 | running | — |
| 16 | 14 | 14 | Billy Myers | Stroppe Motorsports | Mercury | 341 | 0 | running | — |
| 17 | 68 | 35 | Lee Petty | Fred Frazier (Owner) | Ford | 340 | 0 | running | — |
| 18 | 39 | 80 | Harold Hardesty | Beryl Jackson (Owner) | Oldsmobile | 339 | 0 | running | — |
| 19 | 42 | 81 | Elmo Langley | Langley-Woodfield Racing | Chevrolet | 338 | 0 | running | — |
| 20 | 46 | 43 | Shorty York | — | Ford | 336 | 0 | running | — |
| 21 | 19 | 31 | Bill Champion | John Whitford (Owner) | Ford | 336 | 0 | running | — |
| 22 | 65 | 69 | Possum Jones | Warren Lee (Owner) | Chevrolet | 336 | 0 | running | — |
| 23 | 57 | 11 | Emanuel Zervakis | Zervakis Enterprises | Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | running | — |
| 24 | 54 | 16 | Tiny Lund | Gus Holzmueller (Owner) | Chevrolet | 331 | 0 | running | — |
| 25 | 45 | 64 | Johnny Allen | Spook Crawford (Owner) | Plymouth | 330 | 0 | running | — |
| 26 | 6 | 87 | Buck Baker | Carl Kiekhaefer (Owner) | Chrysler | 330 | 0 | running | — |
| 27 | 53 | 91 | Jack Smith | Ted Chester (Owner) | Chevrolet | 329 | 0 | running | — |
| 28 | 36 | 19 | Billy Carden | Charlie Schwam (Owner) | Ford | 329 | 0 | running | — |
| 29 | 24 | 75 | Bill Blair | Frank Hayworth (Owner) | Mercury | 327 | 0 | running | — |
| 30 | 33 | 63 | Sherman Utsman | Robert McReynolds (Owner) | Chevrolet | 327 | 0 | running | — |
| 31 | 64 | 65 | Lou Spears | — | Plymouth | 322 | 0 | running | — |
| 32 | 50 | 60 | Brownie King | Brownie King (Owner) | Chevrolet | 320 | 0 | running | — |
| 33 | 9 | 82 | Joe Eubanks | James Satcher (Owner) | Ford | 317 | 0 | gasket | — |
| 34 | 66 | 48 | Allen Adkins | Don Holcomb (Owner) | Ford | 315 | 0 | running | — |
| 35 | 43 | 89 | Tom Lupo | — | Ford | 313 | 0 | running | — |
| 36 | 29 | 21 | Gene Bergin | Malcolm Barlow (Owner) | Dodge | 308 | 0 | running | — |
| 37 | 31 | 88 | Ralph Liguori | Ernest Woods (Owner) | Oldsmobile | 300 | 0 | axle | — |
| 38 | 7 | 27 | Frank Mundy | Carl Kiekhaefer (Owner) | Dodge | 276 | 0 | engine | — |
| 39 | 40 | 66 | Harvey Henderson | Harvey Henderson (Owner) | Ford | 266 | 0 | running | — |
| 40 | 61 | 34 | Dick Beaty | Ike Kiser (Owner) | Ford | 264 | 0 | accident | — |
| 41 | 67 | 84 | Judge Rider | — | Ford | 258 | 0 | running | — |
| 42 | 52 | 23 | Wade Fields | — | Ford | 244 | 0 | running | — |
| 43 | 56 | 54 | Bill Brown | Leland Colvin (Owner) | Buick | 235 | 0 | accident | — |
| 44 | 53 | 73 | Larry Flynn | B.B. Morris (Owner) | Buick | 222 | 0 | accident | — |
| 45 | 62 | 83 | Johnny Dodson | Johnny Dodson (Owner) | Chevrolet | 204 | 0 | wheel | — |
| 46 | 63 | 59 | Blackie Pitt | Brownie Pitt (Owner) | Plymouth | 202 | 0 | rear end | — |
| 47 | 51 | 6 | Pat Grogan | Pat Grogan (Owner) | Mercury | 202 | 0 | fuel tank | — |
| 48 | 47 | 30 | Clyde Palmer | Jack Chatenay (Owner) | Plymouth | 177 | 0 | overheating | — |
| 49 | 5 | 92 | Herb Thomas | Herb Thomas Racing | Chevrolet | 173 | 0 | accident | — |
| 50 | 18 | 1 | Parnelli Jones | Vel Miletich (Owner) | Ford | 169 | 0 | accident | — |
| 51 | 13 | 22 | Fireball Roberts | DePaolo Engineering | Ford | 166 | 35 | accident | — |
| 52 | 44 | 44 | Ray Hendrick | — | Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | engine | — |
| 53 | 10 | 52 | Bill Widenhouse | Bob Widenhouse (Owner) | Ford | 159 | 0 | engine | — |
| 54 | 27 | 29 | Dink Widenhouse | Dink Widenhouse (Owner) | Ford | 158 | 0 | accident | — |
| 55 | 48 | 50 | Roy Bentley | Marion Cox (Owner) | Ford | 146 | 0 | accident | — |
| 56 | 58 | 24 | Ken Love | Richard Gallup (Owner) | Ford | 134 | 0 | running | — |
| 57 | 8 | 12 | Ralph Moody | DePaolo Engineering | Ford | 119 | 0 | accident | — |
| 58 | 12 | 15 | Fonty Flock | Stroppe Motorsports | Mercury | 117 | 0 | spindle | — |
| 59 | 32 | 98 | Danny Letner | Tom Harbison (Owner) | Dodge | 113 | 0 | accident | — |
| 60 | 37 | 40 | Don Oldenberg | Don Oldenberg (Owner) | Plymouth | 100 | 0 | fuel tank | — |
| 61 | 34 | 76 | Bobby Myers | Stroppe Motorsports | Mercury | 91 | 0 | fuel tank | — |
| 62 | 21 | 95 | Bob Duell | Julian Buesink (Owner) | Ford | 90 | 0 | rear end | — |
| 63 | 60 | 51 | Nace Mattingly | Nace Mattingly (Owner) | Ford | 73 | 0 | engine | — |
| 64 | 41 | 5 | Pee Wee Jones | — | Dodge | 60 | 0 | throttle | — |
| 65 | 26 | 2 | Gwyn Staley | Hubert Westmoreland (Owner) | Chevrolet | 57 | 0 | accident | — |
| 66 | 49 | 25 | Doug Yates | Leland Colvin (Owner) | Chevrolet | 54 | 0 | accident | — |
| 67 | 70 | 72 | Peck Peckham | Peck Peckham (Owner) | Chevrolet | 50 | 0 | gasket | 0 |
| 68 | 38 | 17 | Russ Graham | Earl Wright (Owner) | Chevrolet | 26 | 0 | accident | — |
| 69 | 69 | 13 | Jesse James Taylor | Jesse James Taylor (Owner) | Ford | 25 | 0 | engine | — |
| 70 | 50 | 18 | Arden Mounts | Arden Mounts (Owner) | Pontiac | 12 | 0 | piston | — |
Season Navigation
1956 NASCAR Grand National Series Results
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