08/30/2017 – After making history at Carrell Speedway with Pontiac’s first top-10 Cup finish, Erick Erickson once again made history when NASCAR’s top tier Grand National division visited the Arizona State Fairgrounds’ 1-mile dirt track for the first time on April 22, 1951.
Erickson, driving the same 1948 Pontiac that he campaigned at Carrell Speedway, finished 2nd to the Hudson of Marshall ‘King of the Beach’ Teague in what was not only Pontiac’s first top-5 and runner-up finish in Cup, it also was the first Cup lead lap finish of a Pontiac.
The Pontiac history continued at this race as Connecticut driver Bill Holland (the 1949 Indy 500 winner) finished 8th in his 1951 Pontiac, which placed two Pontiacs in the top-10 for the first time in Cup.
- Historical Note 1 – Pontiac’s first Cup top-5 finish.
- Historical Note 2 – Pontiac’s first Cup runner-up finish.
- Historical Note 3 – Pontiac’s first Cup race with multiple top-10 finishers.
- Historical Note 3 – Pontiac’s first Cup lead-lap finish.
- Historical Note 4 – Pontiac’s first Cup race at the Arizona State Fairgrounds.
Pontiac Racing 