The May 13, 1956 Orange Speedway race was the 17th race of the 1956 NASCAR Grand National Series, The race was held on the 0.9-mile dirt oval at Orange Speedway in Hillsborough, North Carolina. A crowd of 7,500 fans watched 31 cars compete in the roughly one-hour event.
Buck Baker won the pole position with a qualifying speed of 89.305 mph in his #300 Carl Kiekhaefer Chrysler 300. He took the lead from teammate Speedy Thompson on lap 58 and led the rest of the way in a race that featured only one lead change. Baker won by a very narrow half-car-length margin over Thompson with an average race speed of 83.720 mph. Lee Petty finished third, Fireball Roberts fourth, and Cotton Owens fifth. Baker earned $1,100 for the victory — his sixth win of the season.
The win gave Baker a 186-point lead over Herb Thomas in the championship standings and marked the Kiekhaefer team’s ninth consecutive victory, underscoring their overwhelming dominance during the 1956 season.
