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Fabulous Fifties
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Stock Car Road Racing

Sam Hanks won the USAC Stock Car race at Paramount Ranch on November 6, 1956. Johnny Mantz led at the start, but went out on the 21st lap allowing Hanks to take over. Mantz then jumped into Jerry Unser’s car and ended up 2nd, good enough for him to win the USAC Stock Car Championship. Photo: Allen Kuhn

It is well known that some great stock car road racing took place at the Riverside International Raceway. Dan Gurney enhanced his record as an all-around champion there. Some assume that post-WWII stock car road racing started at Riverside, but that’s not true. There were five stock car events on road courses in Southern California prior to the first one at Riverside that was held on December 1, 1957.

After the 1957 Riverside event, there wasn’t a stock car race there until January 20, 1963, which was won by Dan Gurney against top NASCAR talent. Dan won a total of five NASCAR races there, an astonishing feat considering the opposition.

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