The 1956 Old Dominion 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 28, 1956, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. As a NASCAR-sanctioned "Sweepstakes" race, sedan vehicles from the Grand National Series and stock convertibles from the NASCAR Convertible division raced side-by-side with other for the same amount of money and championship points.^[2]

Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.^[3] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short oval track that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.^[4] The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.^[4]

Four hundred laps were completed on a paved oval track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) for a grand total of 200.0 miles (321.9 km).^[1] The race took three hours, sixteen minutes, and seventeen seconds to complete with four caution flags.^[1] Forty vehicles would qualify to start this race; a large amount for the NASCAR Cup Series in its formative years.^[5]

Nine thousand and five hundred fans attended to see Jack Smith win the race in his 1956 Dodge vehicle (beating thirty-nine other drivers in the process).^[1] A Canadian named Norman Schihl participated in the race and finished 23rd; making his only Grand National appearance.^[1] Notable speeds were: 61.136 miles per hour (98.389 km/h) for the average speed and 67.643 miles per hour (108.861 km/h) for the pole position speed.^[1] Bun Emery makes his only Cup start and comes home with a top-20 finish although he 36 laps down at the checkered flag.^[1]

While some multi-car teams were present in the race, the majority of drivers had an owner that wasn't incorporated into a team.^[6] Jack Smith officially became the fiftieth different driver to win what is now known as a Cup Series race. Total winnings for this race were $11,739 ($131,557 when considering inflation). The winner (Jack Smith) would receive $2,264 ($25,372 when considering inflation) being awarded to him while last place finisher Jimmie Lewallen would walk away with $100 ($1,121 when considering inflation).^[1]

Larry Frank, Bill Lutz, Larry Odo, and Bill Poor would make their NASCAR debut in this race.^[7] Carl Kiekhaefer was one of the notable crew chiefs for this race.^[8]

Section reference:^[1]

• Start of race: Joe Eubanks had the pole position to start the race.
• Lap 11: Fuel pump issues forced Jimmie Lewallen to become the last-place finisher.
• Lap 62: Bill Lutz managed to blow his engine while racing.
• Lap 77: Oil pressure issues forced Larry Frank out of the race, Mel Larson had to deal with a troublesome piston.
• Lap 87: The RF hub on Billy Carden's vehicle had problems that were terminal enough to knock him out of the race.
• Lap 103: The RF lugs were acting problematically on Joe Eubanks' car, forcing his exit from the race.
• Lap 104: Speedy Thompson took over the lead from Joe Eubanks.
• Lap 106: Tom Pistone had some problems with his connecting rod and had to leave the event.
• Lap 110: Glen Wood managed to blow his engine while racing.
• Lap 143: Rex White managed to blow his engine while racing.
• Lap 163: Jim Paschal managed to blow his engine while racing.
• Lap 179: Jack Smith took over the lead from Speedy Thompson.
• Lap 183: The rear end of Ralph Moody's vehicle came off in an unsafe manner to continue racing.
• Lap 189: Fireball Roberts took over the lead from Jack Smith.
• Lap 201: Bill Amick took over the lead from Fireball Roberts.
• Lap 210: Marvin Panch took over the lead from Bill Amick.
• Lap 226: Jack Smith took over the lead from Marvin Panch.
• Lap 245: Bob Duell managed to overheat his vehicle.
• Lap 299: Curtis Turner managed to blow his engine while racing.
• Finish: Jack Smith was officially declared the winner of the event.