Davenport hosted one of the best NASCAR race tracks long before Newton

However, this is not the first time that the top stock car team has raced in the state. This honor went to Davenport Speedway many years ago.

In early August 1953, the NASCAR Grand National circuit capped off a three-race tour through Rapid City, South Dakota; North Platte, Nebraska; and finally Davenport. The final night of the tour was capped off by a 200-lap feature race on the quarter-mile dirt oval track.

Admission that day was $3 — the equivalent of $35.29 today, adjusted for inflation — for a box seat, $2 for general admission and 75 cents for children, according to an ad in the Quad City Times. Sunday night's Cup Series race in Newton has long been sold out. Tickets are available on the secondary market starting at about $180.

The 1953 race featured all of the top stock car drivers of the era, most notably Lee Petty, father of the sport's most successful driver, Richard Petty. Lee Petty won 54 races in his career and built Petty Enterprises from nothing. Richard Petty's 200 Cup Series victories are in the category of unbeatable records, as are Cal Ripken's 2,362 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles, Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak and Wayne Gretzky's 1,963 assists in the NHL.

Among current Cup Series drivers, Kyle Busch, who is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning, leads the way with 63 wins.

But it wasn't Lee Petty who saw the checkered flag in Davenport 71 years ago.

The race, which also featured local drivers Red Untiedt of Davenport and Jerry Draper of Silvis, was ultimately won by Herb Thomas, who said after the race that his car ran out of gas after the checkered flag fell.

Thomas was one of NASCAR's first great drivers. His 21% win rate – 48 victories in 228 starts – is the best ever. After working as a tobacco farmer and truck driver, the World War II veteran finally found where he really belonged – behind the wheel and on the race track. He drove his No. 91 Hudson to an average speed of 62.5 mph to win at Davenport.

Thomas died of a heart attack in August 2000 at the age of 77. His myth lives on in Hollywood. The character of Doc Hudson in the cartoon “Cars” was loosely based on Thomas.

Before the 1953 race, fans were invited into the makeshift garage area under the grandstand to meet the drivers. This is something NASCAR has always understood and is usually a smash hit – PR.

The fan events began on Thursday evening in Newton and continued on Friday afternoon. Anyone who wanted to could sit at the race track from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday, from 8 a.m. until after the post-race concert on Saturday and from 11 a.m. until the final post-race fireworks display late on Sunday evening.

The race in 1953 and the one on Sunday have something else in common: the heat.

The track workers had to endure temperatures of 32 to 37 degrees during the two days of preparations at the then Davenport Fairgrounds for the race. Fortunately, a storm passed through the night before the race, which cooled the track a bit for the start in the afternoon. The weather forecast for Sunday in Newton does not look so forgiving, with temperatures above 35 degrees.

These are some of the many nuggets that Davenport racing expert and historian Mike McGuire unearthed from that famous night of NASCAR racing in the Quad-Cities. If you want to learn even more, I highly recommend checking out Mike's Facebook page. Whether you're into racing or not, it's worth your time.