1956 Cup Series Results

Complete race results with winners, margins, and laps led — 56 races. Data current through the 2025 season; 2026 results added as races complete.

NASCAR Cup Series results from 1949 through 2026 — 78 seasons of racing history, plus 44 seasons of O'Reilly Auto Parts Series results and 31 seasons of Craftsman Truck Series results. Every race on this page includes finishing order, stage points, laps led, and margin of victory.

Cup history splits into distinct eras: the strictly-stock and Grand National era (1949-1971) raced on dirt bullrings and new paved superspeedways with schedules as dense as 62 events; the Winston Cup modern era (1972-2003) standardized the schedule at 28-36 races per season; the Chase era (2004-2013) introduced a 10-race points-reset postseason; the elimination playoffs era (2014-2025) used four rounds of cuts to crown a Homestead-Phoenix winner-take-all champion; and the 2026+ Chase format brings back a cumulative-points Chase decided at Homestead-Miami. Modern races (2017+) have full stage breakdowns; historic races carry finishing order and laps led, since stages were not introduced until 2017.

Need the season opener? The Daytona 500 kicks off every modern Cup schedule. For postseason context, see The Chase.

Cup SeriesO'Reilly SeriesCraftsman Trucks
2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020
2010s ▾
2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
2000s ▾
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
1990s ▾
1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990
1980s ▾
1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980
1970s ▾
1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970
1960s ▾
1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960
1950s ▾
1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950
1940s ▾
1949
# Date Race Winner
1 Nov 13 73 Miles at Hickory Speedway Tim Flock
2 Nov 20 101 Miles at Charlotte Speedway Fonty Flock
3 Nov 20 200 Miles at Willow Springs Speedway Chuck Stevenson
4 Dec 11 100 Miles at Palm Beach Speedway Herb Thomas
5 Jan 22 150 Miles at Arizona State Fairgrounds Buck Baker
6 Feb 26 152 Miles at Daytona Beach & Road Course Tim Flock
7 Mar 4 100 Miles at Palm Beach Speedway Billy Myers
8 Mar 18 53 Miles at Wilson Speedway Herb Thomas
9 Mar 25 100 Miles at Lakewood Speedway Buck Baker
10 Apr 8 Wilkes County 160 Tim Flock
11 Apr 22 150 Miles at Langhorne Speedway Buck Baker
12 Apr 29 Richmond 200 Buck Baker
13 May 5 100 Miles at Columbia Speedway Speedy Thompson
14 May 6 100 Miles at Concord Speedway Speedy Thompson
15 May 10 100 Miles at Greenville-Pickens Speedway Buck Baker
16 May 12 73 Miles at Hickory Speedway Speedy Thompson
17 May 13 90 Miles at Occoneechee Speedway Buck Baker
18 May 20 Virginia 500 Buck Baker
19 May 25 100 Miles at Lincoln Speedway Buck Baker
20 May 27 100 Miles at Charlotte Speedway Speedy Thompson
21 May 27 293 Miles at Portland Speedway Herb Thomas
22 May 30 78 Miles at Redwood Speedway Herb Thomas
23 May 30 150 Miles at New York State Fairgrounds Buck Baker
24 Jun 3 100 Miles at Merced Fairgrounds Herb Thomas
25 Jun 10 251 Miles at Memphis-Arkansas Speedway Ralph Moody
26 Jun 15 100 Miles at Southern States Fairgrounds Speedy Thompson
27 Jun 22 100 Miles at Monroe County Fairgrounds Speedy Thompson
28 Jun 24 390 Miles at Portland Speedway John Kieper
29 Jul 1 100 Miles at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway Lee Petty
30 Jul 4 Raleigh 250 Fireball Roberts
31 Jul 7 100 Miles at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds Lee Petty
32 Jul 8 100 Miles at California State Fairgrounds Lloyd Dane
33 Jul 21 100 Miles at Soldier Field Fireball Roberts
34 Jul 27 101 Miles at Cleveland County Fairgrounds Speedy Thompson
35 Jul 29 100 Miles at Montgomery Motor Speedway Marvin Panch
36 Aug 3 100 Miles at Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Jim Paschal
37 Aug 12 258 Miles at Road America Tim Flock
38 Aug 17 100 Miles at Old Bridge Stadium Ralph Moody
39 Aug 19 241 Miles at Bay Meadows Race Track Eddie Pagan
40 Aug 22 100 Miles at Norfolk Speedway Billy Myers
41 Aug 23 100 Miles at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds Ralph Moody
42 Aug 25 100 Miles at Coastal Speedway Fireball Roberts
43 Aug 26 480 Miles at Portland Speedway Royce Haggerty
44 Sep 3 Southern 500 Curtis Turner
45 Sep 9 100 Miles at Chisholm Speedway Buck Baker
46 Sep 12 100 Miles at Southern States Fairgrounds Ralph Moody
47 Sep 23 300 Miles at Langhorne Speedway Paul Goldsmith
48 Sep 23 488 Miles at Portland Speedway Lloyd Dane
49 Sep 29 100 Miles at Columbia Speedway Buck Baker
50 Sep 30 99 Miles at Occoneechee Speedway Fireball Roberts
51 Oct 7 100 Miles at Tennessee-Carolina Speedway Fireball Roberts
52 Oct 14 100 Miles at Charlotte Speedway Buck Baker
53 Oct 23 100 Miles at Cleveland County Fairgrounds Buck Baker
54 Oct 28 Old Dominion 400 Jack Smith
55 Nov 11 Buddy Shuman 250 Speedy Thompson
56 Nov 18 100 Miles at Wilson Speedway Buck Baker

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the first NASCAR Cup Series race?
The first NASCAR Cup Series race — then called the Strictly Stock Division — was held on June 19, 1949 at the three-quarter mile Charlotte Speedway dirt oval in North Carolina. Jim Roper was declared the winner after Glenn Dunnaway was disqualified for illegal rear springs, making it the first of 200 sanctioned points races in Cup history's inaugural season of eight events.
How many NASCAR Cup races are there per season?
The modern NASCAR Cup Series runs 36 points-paying races per year plus 2 non-championship exhibition events (the Cook Out Clash and the All-Star Race). The regular season covers 26 races, followed by a 10-race Chase in 2026. Historic Cup schedules varied wildly — 1964 had 62 races, while 1949 had just 8.
What is a NASCAR stage?
Stages were introduced in 2017 to split each Cup race into three scoring segments. Drivers earn stage points (10 down to 1 for the top 10 at each stage break) plus a playoff point for winning a stage. Stage breaks also create competition cautions that reset strategy. Races before 2017 have no stage data — only finishing order, laps led, and margin of victory are available.
Who has the most NASCAR Cup Series wins?
Richard Petty holds the all-time Cup Series wins record with 200 victories across a career from 1958 to 1992. David Pearson is second with 105, followed by Jeff Gordon (93), Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip (84 each), and Cale Yarborough (83). No active driver has crossed 100 wins.
What was the first NASCAR race at Daytona?
The inaugural Daytona 500 was held on February 22, 1959 at the brand-new 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Lee Petty was declared the winner three days after the race in a photo-finish review over Johnny Beauchamp. The race has opened every Cup Series season since and is the most prestigious event on the schedule.
Where can I find historical NASCAR race results?
NASCAR Reference has complete race results from 1949 to 2026 for the Cup Series, 1982-2026 for the O'Reilly (Xfinity) Series, and 1995-2026 for the Craftsman Truck Series. Each result includes finishing order, laps led, margins of victory, and driver stats.

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