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The 1956 NASCAR Grand National (now NASCAR Cup Series) Season began on November 13, 1955, and ended on November 18, 1956, lasting slightly longer than a full year.
Driver Tim Flock was the defending champion, and started off with a win at the opening Hickory Speedway. But it was Buck Baker who ultimately captured the top-ranking at the end of the season. Along with trophies, Baker also collected $34,076.35 in prize money, and finished more than 400 points ahead of his closest competitor. Baker competed in 48 races throughout the 1956 season as Speedy Thompson and Herb Thomas rounded out the top three in points by the final race.
Even though auto manufactures Chevrolet and Ford both contributed millions of dollars into their cars during the season, it was Carl Kiekhaefer's Chryslers and Dodges that dominated the season including a 16 win stretch through the summer months.
1956 season summary
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The season started on a somber note; as former driver Buddy Shuman died the night before the season started, in a Hickory hotel fire. The coroner reported that the mattress had been on fire, and it appeared that Shuman had attempted to escape, but broke down the bathroom door instead of the hallway. Shuman had been put in charge of the factory effort by Ford to succeed in NASCAR.[1]
Buck Baker won the NASCAR Grand National championship with 14 wins in the 1956 race season. The season involved races on 40 dirt tracks, 3 road courses, and 2 superspeedways.[2] More than 300 drivers competed in at least one race throughout the season With Baker and Speedy Thompson competing in 48 of the 56 races. Baker finished the season with 31 top five finishes, 39 top ten, and 12 poles.[3]
Baker had been improving his season finishing position for a couple years; with a 4th-place finish in 1953, 3rd in 1954, and runner-up in 1955. For the 1956 season Baker joined the Carl Kiekhaefer team who already boasted Speedy Thompson and Tim Flock. The powerhouse Kiekhaifer team finished with a total of 30 races in the 56 race season, including 16 straight races by 4 different drivers during one stretch of the season.[4] Baker took home the championship, Thompson finished second, and Flock only started 4 races for Kiekhaifer but still brought home a 9th place for his season efforts. Flock quit the Kiekhaifer team part way into the season citing an overly oppressive and driven to win Kiekhaifer.[5] Rules and living arrangements were established by Kiekhaifer; Husbands and wives as well as driver and girlfriends were not allowed to share quarters the night before the race.[6] Herb Thomas replaced Flock on the team, but he refused to remain for the whole season as well.[5][7]
At the time the season occurred, NASCAR was aspiring to become the United States' new dominant race-sanctioning body. This had previously been the a distinction held by the AAA Contest Board. However, the American Automobile Association had ended its involvement in automobile racing in the aftermath of the 1955 Le Mans disaster. Other organizations that were frontrunners angling to become the new dominant U.S. race-sanctioning body were the United States Auto Club and the Sports Car Club of America.[8]