Which track hosted NASCAR's first Strictly Stock race in 1949?

NASCAR’s first Strictly Stock race in 1949 was held at Charlotte Speedway. The event took place on June 19, 1949, at the three-quarter-mile dirt track on Little Rock Road in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The race was the opening event of NASCAR’s inaugural Strictly Stock season, a schedule that eventually became part of the lineage of today’s Cup Series. It ran for 200 laps, or 150 miles, and attracted roughly 13,000 spectators. Bob Flock won the pole, while Jim Roper was recorded as the official winner.

There is a famous wrinkle in the result. Glenn Dunaway crossed the finish line first, but NASCAR officials discovered illegal modifications to his car’s rear springs. Dunaway was disqualified, and Roper, driving a 1949 Lincoln, received the victory.

Charlotte Speedway later hosted additional NASCAR events, but it was not the site of every early landmark race. Daytona Beach, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, and Langhorne also became important venues in the first season, making the Charlotte answer easy to confuse with other early tracks.