• Fireball Roberts wins the pole, a 100-mile qualifying race, the second annual NASCAR 25-mile all star race and the Daytona 500 to complete a February sweep of Speedweeks activities at Daytona International Speedway.

• The final Convertible Division race, Darlington International Raceway's Rebel 300, takes place May 12. Although the Convertible Division ended after the 1959 season, Darlington continued to present convertible events during the track's spring event from 1960-1962, which counted as official Grand National races. Nelson Stacy won the final ragtop race.

• On June 11, Ford announces it will step out of the 1957 AMA resolution that banned automobile manufacturer representation in Grand National racing.

• Ford plans to set up a number of factory-backed teams with Holman-Moody in Charlotte, N.C., as its stock car racing headquarters.

• Nineteen-year-old Mamie Reynolds, daughter of U.S. Senator Robert R. Reynolds, joins NASCAR as a team owner. Her first appearance is in the Southern 500 at Darlington International Raceway with Darel Dieringer driving.

• After Dieringer destroys the car in a crash at Darlington, Reynolds purchases a Ford from Holman-Moody and wins the Sept. 13 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Augusta, Ga., with Fred Lorenzen behind the wheel.

• Joe Weatherly wins nine races en route to the Grand National championship for team owner Bud Moore.