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McCormick Field Raceway

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McCormick Field Raceway was constructed around 1957 and is a quarter-mile oval track built around the famous baseball diamond after Asheville, North Carolina had lost its minor league team. The track hosted weekly stock car races and a pair of NASCAR Convertible Series (now Xfinity Series) and one Grand National (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) race.

Contents

Grand National

NASCAR's top series only raced once at McCormick Field. A likely reason for the abbreviated run was a large obstacle the drivers had to avoid. Built around the tight confines of a baseball field, drivers had to pay particularly close attention. If they ran wide or got loose, they didn't run the risk of banging the wall or sliding through the infield, they might find themselves wedged down into the first-base dugout. It happened to Lee Petty during his championship winning season of 1958. Petty was running near the front during a heat race at the track when a bump from Cotton Owens sent him running into the dugout. The team repaired Petty's car in time for the main event and he finished one lap down in fourth place. Jim Paschal won driving a car owned by Julien Petty, Lee's brother.

Convertible Division

Curtis Turner won the 1956 and 1957 NASCAR Convertible Division races which were the only two races held at the track.

References

McCormick Field Raceway Wikipedia