On March 18, 1956, a crowd of 5,000 fans gathered under threatening conditions at the half-mile dirt Wilson Speedway in Wilson, North Carolina, for the eighth race of the NASCAR Grand National season. Herb Thomas captured the pole position with a speed of 57.197 mph for the 32-car field. The race was scheduled for 200 laps but was shortened to just 106 laps due to heavy rain.
Herb Thomas would win the rain-shortened event, finishing ahead of Buck Baker in second, Tim Flock in third, Jim Paschal in fourth, and Bill Widenhouse in fifth. The race was completed at an average speed of 46.287 mph. With the victory, Thomas moved up to second place in the season point standings, trailing leader Tim Flock by 176 points.
