The 1958 Northern 500, held May 30 at the one-mile paved Trenton Speedway in Trenton, New Jersey, was the first NASCAR Grand National race at the track and race #20 of the Grand National season.
A field of 34 cars started before 12,582 fans. Marvin Panch took the pole in a Ford at 89.02 mph and led the first 59 laps before fading with clutch trouble (finishing 23rd). Speedy Thompson then led, followed briefly by Junior Johnson. Fireball Roberts, starting 17th in a 1957 Chevrolet owned by Frank Strickland, assumed the lead on lap 121 and dominated the rest of the way, leading 380 laps total.
Roberts won by two full laps over Johnson, with Lee Petty third, Jim Reed fourth, and Eddie Pagan fifth. The race lasted 5 hours, 54 minutes, 56 seconds at an average speed of 84.522 mph, interrupted by three cautions for 15 laps. Roberts earned $6,500 from a $22,250 purse for his 15th career Grand National victory. It remains the only 500-mile NASCAR event run at Trenton with later races shorter in distance.
