|| *Comments on the 1956 unnamed race (1956-53):* View the most recent comment <#7> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. 18fan posted: 01.23.2009 - 1:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is the race that cost Herb Thomas the 1956 Grand National championship which would have been his third(1951, 1953). He had a hard crash in this race and suffered severe injuries that forced him to miss the rest of the season and was never the same, competing in only 3 more races in his career never finishing better than 14th. I learned this from "The Complete Statistical History of Stock Car Racing" by Richard Sowers 2. Brock Beard posted: 01.25.2009 - 4:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Beat me to it, 18fan; you're absolutely right. Ned Jarrett also mentions the wreck during the broadcast for the 2000 Global Crossing @ The Glen under the fourth caution. Thomas had passed away earlier that week. 3. Anonymous posted: 10.27.2010 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Herb Thomas was turned into the wall by Carl Kiekhaefer's #2 driver Speedy Thompson. 4. 18fan posted: 02.27.2011 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kiekhaefer demanded that NASCAR add this race and it is suspected that he had Speedy wreck Thomas. Kiekhaefer seems to come off as more and more of a scum as time goes on. 5. Timberwolf Frenzel posted: 08.20.2011 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (7) I think it was a pure accident, but I knew about this rumor and I can see why you blame Kiekhaefer and/or Thompson. Carl Kiekhaefer owned the greatest team NASCAR has ever seen if you ask me, and is arguably my favorite team owner ever.(Either him or Raymond Parks.) 6. nascarman posted: 11.06.2020 - 7:33 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Over the years, the story of this race has been that Speedy Thompson hit Herb Thomas in the right rear and spun him out. But in reports from 1956, it doesn't sound nearly as bad, just sounds like Herb lost it. Sandy Grady, The Charlotte News 10/25/56: "I happened to be watching the Chevrolet as it hurtled off the turn at Shelby. Herb was in third place behind Buck Baker and Speedy Thompson, and he was moving slightly too fast. The black-and-white car yawed in the loose dirt, brushed the vines along the fence, tapped Thompson's car and spun in a shower of red dust. Things happened with a nightmare swiftness. Bill Myers slammed into Thomas' right door. The Thomas car gyrated twice in the air like a kicked toy. Jack Smith hit it again, and then a pack of six cars plowed into the jungle of dust and wreckage." "There had been one unspoken fact that nags at the mind. Everyone knew the rivalry between Thomas and Baker. Everyone saw the cars of Herb and Speedy (Baker's teammate) make contact before the violent chain reaction. Did Speedy cause the crackup?" "I didn't see him," Speedy said. "I didn't imagine he'd try to pass there. 'Hose' knew where the groove was. I felt a tap and he was gone." (Most drivers I have talked to clear Thompson of the blame. They point out that Thomas was in trouble moving off the turn, and more vitally, the two men were good friends.)" 7. ScottB posted: 11.06.2020 - 11:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with the version nascarman posted. Thompson and Thomas were like Harvick and Hamlin this year. They both ran up front often, and raced each other hard, but respected each other. It's unfortunate that Speedy has taken a lot of blame over the years. Kiekhaefer, on the other hand, was pretty ruthless. That doesn't mean he actually ordered one of his drivers to take Herb Thomas out, but I can understand why he would be cast in the role of the bad guy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: