For the 1956 season Baker joined the Carl Kiekhaefer team who already boasted Speedy Thompson and Tim Flock. īaker 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. Baker finished the season with 31 top five finishes, 39 top ten, and 12 poles. 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. The season involved races on 40 dirt tracks, 3 road courses, and 2 superspeedways. īuck Baker won the NASCAR Grand National championship with 14 wins in the 1956 race season. Shuman had been put in charge of the factory effort by Ford to succeed in NASCAR. 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. The season started on a somber note as former driver Buddy Shuman died the night before the season started, in a Hickory hotel fire. 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.Ī 1956 Chrysler 300-B restored for the Henry Ford museum to replicate one of season champion Buck Baker's rides. 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. Along with the trophies, Baker also collected $34,076.35 in prize money, and finished more than 400 points ahead of his closest competitor.

Driver Tim Flock was the defending champion, and started off with a win at the opening Hickory Speedway, but it was Buck Baker who captured the championship.

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. Quality standards, event notability guideline, or encyclopedic content policy. Please expand this article with properly sourced content to meet Wikipedia's This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage.

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