7th season of NASCAR stock-car racing
The
1955 NASCAR Grand National
season began on November 7, 1954, and ended on October 30, 1955. Even though the season was resolved in the course of two different years, all NASCAR personnel were allowed to have their traditional two-month
silly season
that traditionally comes between mid-November and mid-February.
Tim Flock
won the 1955 championship by a margin of 1508 over top of Buck Baker. This season was unusual because of its 11-month season (as opposed to the current 10-month season format). As the ninth season of the series now known as the Cup Series, most of the drivers involved were still the first-generation race car drivers. They did not have any ties to the
stock car racing
world through their parents or grandparents although some of them served in
World War II
prior to their NASCAR careers. However, the
generation
that would gain notoriety and fame through
nepotism
(i.e., their father or older brother having a ride before them) would emerge about ten years later. The average horsepower of a stock car competing the 1955 NASCAR Grand National season would be 230
horsepower
(approximately 620 less horsepower than the vehicles used in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season).
The first race of the season was held at
Tri-City Speedway
in
High Point
,
North Carolina
, while the last race of the season was held at
Orange Speedway
in
Hillsboro
,
North Carolina
. During this time, it was customary for the majority of the tracks to be dirt tracks as 40 out of the 45 races were raced in that manner.
Dirt track racing
helped produce the lower speeds that kept the action safe decades prior to the
Car of Tomorrow
. The move to paved tracks in later decades would produce dangerous speeds that would cause research to move towards making cars safer to drive as opposed to making cars faster. There would be approximately 20 more years of dirt racing before paved oval racing would finally become the expected norm for NASCAR racing.
Races
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Wilkes County 160
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The
1955
Wilkes County 160
was a
NASCAR
Grand National
(now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) race that took place on April 3, 1955, at
North Wilkesboro Speedway
in the
American
community of
North Wilkesboro
,
North Carolina
.
[1]
One hundred and sixty laps were done on a dirt track spanning .625 miles (1.006 km).
[1]
The total duration of the race was one hour, twenty-two minutes, and three seconds with no cautions.
[1]
Buck Baker
defeated
Dick Rathmann
by three feet.
[1]
Top 10 Results
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- 87 - Buck Baker
- 3 - Dick Rathmann
- 99 -
Curtis Turner
- 42 -
Lee Petty
- 28 -
Eddie Skinner
- 98 -
Dave Terrell
- 5 -
Jimmie Lewallen
- 460 -
Gene Simpson
- 88 -
Joel Million
- 59 -
Blackie Pitt
1955-04
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The fourth race of the 1955 season was run on February 27 at the
Daytona Beach Road Course
in
Daytona Beach, Florida
.
Tim Flock
won the pole.
Top 10 Results
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- 300-
Tim Flock
- 42-
Lee Petty
- 24-
Ray Duhigg
- 99-
Curtis Turner
- 14-
Fonty Flock
- 82-
Joe Eubanks
- 47-
Dick Joslin
- 63-
Bill Tanner
- 87-
Buck Baker
- 185-
Jack Radtke
This race took place at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, on May 15, 1955. Jim Paschal won the pole position at the speed of 58.823 miles per hour but Tim Flock won the race with one other vehicle on the lead lap (Lee Petty). Eleven thousand people attended the one-hour-and-fifty-four-minute race. The average speed of the race was 52.554 miles per hour.
Top 10 Results
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- 300-
Tim Flock
- 42-
Lee Petty
- 55-
Junior Johnson
- 88-
Jimmie Lewallen
- 44-
Bob Welborn
- 87-
Buck Baker
- 121-
Harvey Henderson
- 28-
Eddie Skinner
- 78-
Jim Paschal
- 71-
Fred Dove
Richmond 200
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The
1955
Richmond 200
was a
NASCAR
Grand National
(now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) race that took place on May 22, 1955, at
Richmond Fairgrounds
(now Richmond International Raceway) in the
American
community of
Richmond
,
Virginia
.
[2]
Two hundred laps took place on a dirt track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km).
[2]
The exact time of the race was one hour, fifty minutes, and thirty seconds.
[2]
Qualifying was rained out so they had to draw for the pole position.
[2]
Top 10 Results
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- 300 - Tim Flock
- 301 - Fonty Flock
- 42 - Lee Petty
- 78 -
Jim Paschal
- 55 - Junior Johnson
- 44 -
Bob Welborn
- 460 -
Gene Simpson
- 53 -
Elmo Langley
- 69 -
Volney Schulze
- 11 -
George Parrish
The
1955 Mid-South 250
is a
NASCAR
Grand National
race that took place on August 14, 1955, at the
Memphis-Arkansas Speedway
in
LeHi
,
Arkansas
. Fifteen thousand people attended this race.
Top 10 Results
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- 301-
Fonty Flock
- 87-
Speedy Thompson
- 300-
Tim Flock
- 78-
Jim Paschal
- 89-
Buck Baker
- 44-
Bob Welborn
- 55-
Junior Johnson
- 14-
Slick Smith
- 3-
Jimmy Ayers
- 23-
Ken Johns
Southern 500
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The
1955 Southern 500
took place on September 5 at the
Darlington Raceway
in
Darlington
,
South Carolina
.
Herb Thomas
won that race while
Fireball Roberts
started out at the pole position. This race can be seen on DVDs showing classic stock cars of the 1950s and the 1960s. As one of the major stock cars race to take place prior to the
1959 Daytona 500
, it was considered to be an honor to qualify for this race. Many locals would enter this race as an annual tradition and have their mechanics work on their cars for a month just for this race.
Top 10 Results
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- 92-
Herb Thomas
- 7-
Jim Reed
- 16-
Tim Flock
- 2-
Gwyn Staley
- 96-
Larry Flynn
- 89-
Buck Baker
- 93-
Lou Spears
- 70-
Cotton Owens
- 25-
Bill Widenhouse
- 04-
Jimmy Massey
This race took place at
Martinsville Speedway
in
Martinsville
,
Virginia
, on October 16, 1955.
Speedy Thompson
won the race but Gwyn Staley won the pole position by virtue of a drawing. The duration of the race was one hour and forty minutes.
Top 10 Results
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- 30-
Speedy Thompson
- 49-
Bob Welborn
- 44-
Jim Paschal
- 92-
Herb Thomas
- 7-
Jim Reed
- 9-
Joe Weatherly
- 2-
Gwyn Staley
- 42-
Lee Petty
- 04-
Jimmy Massey
- 87-
Buck Baker
The
1955 LeHi 300
(known officially in NASCAR as
1955-40
) was a
NASCAR
Grand National Series
racing event that took place on October 9, 1955, at
Memphis-Arkansas Speedway
in the
American
community of
LeHi
,
Arkansas
.
NASCAR Cup Series beginners in this race included
Johnny Allen
,
Bill Morton
,
Jim Murray
,
Norm Nelson
, and
Chuck Stevenson
. A lot of drivers would make their grand exits from NASCAR after this race: this relatively long list included
Floyd Curtis
,
Hooker Hood
,
Roscoe Rann
and
Leland Sewell
. One-time race car drivers Bob Coleman,
Al Hager
, and Gene Rose would make their only NASCAR appearances during this race.
Top 10 Results
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- 297-
Speedy Thompson
- 98-
Marvin Panch
- 04-
Jimmy Massey
- 300-
Tim Flock
- 308-
Bob Flock
- 87-
Buck Baker
- 88-
Jimmie Lewallen
- 44-
Ralph Liguori
- B29-
Dink Widenhouse
- 49-
Bob Welborn
The
1955 Wilkes 160
is a
NASCAR
Grand National
race that took place on October 23, 1955, at the
North Wilkesboro Speedway
in
North Wilkesboro
,
North Carolina
.
Buck Baker
defeated
Lee Petty
by a time of three seconds. This race would produce
Joe Weatherly
's first finish in the top five.
Top 10 Results
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- 87-
Buck Baker
- 42-
Lee Petty
- 2-
Gwyn Staley
- 9-
Joe Weatherly
- 300-
Tim Flock
- 301-
Fonty Flock
- 20-
Speedy Thompson
- B-29-
Dink Widenhouse
- 198-
Dave Terrell
- 44-
Jim Paschal
This race took place at Orange Speedway in Hillsboro, North Carolina, on October 16, 1955. Tim Flock both won the pole position at the speed of 81.673 miles per hour and won the race with five other vehicles on the lead lap. Six thousand people attended the one-hour-and-sixteen-minute race. The pole speed was recorded as 81.673 miles per hour while the average speed was 70.465 miles per hour.
Top 10 Results
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- 301 -
Tim Flock
- 99 -
Curtis Turner
- 87 -
Buck Baker
- 92 -
Herb Thomas
- 198 -
Dave Terrell
- 9 -
Joe Weatherly
- B-29 -
Dink Widenhouse
- 2 -
Gwyn Staley
- 04 -
Jimmy Massey
- 44 -
Bob Welborn
1955-01
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This 200 lap race took place at
Tri-City Speedway (North Carolina)
on November 7, 1955 with Lee Petty taking the win.
Season standings
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Points
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- Tim Flock
- 9596
- Buck Baker
- 8088
- Lee Petty
- 7194
- Bob Welborn
- 5460
- Herb Thomas
- 5186
- Junior Johnson
- 4810
- Eddie Skinner
- 4652
- Jim Paschal
- 4572
- Jimmie Lewallen
- 4526
- Gwyn Staley
- 4360
- Fonty Flock
- 4266
- Dave Terrell
- 3170
- Jimmy Massey
- 2924
- Marvin Panch
- 2812
- Speedy Thompson
- 2452
- Jim Reed
- 2416
- Gene Simpson
- 2388
- Dick Rathmann
- 2298
- Ralph Liguori
- 2124
- Joe Eubanks
- 2028
- Blackie Pitt
- 1992
- Harvey Henderson
- 1930
- Banks Simpson
- 1852
- Dink Widenhouse
- 1752
- John Dodd Jr.
- 1496
- Bill Widenhouse
- 1444
- Lou Spears
- 1272
- Larry Flynn
- 1260
- Cotton Owens
- 1248
- Gordon Smith
- 1212
- Billy Carden
- 1172
- Arden Mounts
- 1170
- Joe Million
- 1136
- Curtis Turner
- 1120
- John Lindsay - 1052
- Nace Mattingly
- 992
- Bill Blair
- 974
- Donald Thomas
- 932
- Ed Cole
- 924
- Mack Hanbury
- 900
- Danny Letner
- 892
- George Parish
- 880
- Banjo Matthews
- 860
- Carl Krueger
- 748
- Ted Cannaday
- 744
- Allen Adkins
- 740
- Joe Weatherly
- 724
- John McVitty
- 684
- Lloyd Dane
- 674
- Fred Dove
- 668
Wins
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- Tim Flock - 18
- Lee Petty - 6
- Junior Johnson - 5
- Buck Baker - 3
- Herb Thomas - 3
- Jim Paschal - 3
- Fonty Flock - 3
- Speedy Thompson - 2
- Danny Letner - 1
- all others at 0 wins
Top 5 Finishes
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- Tim Flock - 32
- Buck Baker - 24
- Lee Petty - 20
- Herb Thomas - 14
- Bob Welborn - 12
- Junior Johnson - 12
- Jim Paschal - 12
- Jimmie Lewallen - 8
- Gwyn Staley - 7
- Dick Rathmann - 7
- Eddie Skinner - 4
- Jimmy Massey - 4
- Marvin Panch - 4
- Jim Reed - 4
- Curtis Turner - 4
- Dave Terrell - 3
- Speedy Thompson - 3
- Don White - 3
- Billy Carden - 2
- Joe Million - 2
- Donald Thomas - 2
- Danny Letner - 2
- Allen Adkins - 2
- Gober Sosebee - 2
- Bill Amack - 2
- Fred Dove - 2
- Gene Simpson - 1
- Harvey Henderson - 1
- John Dodd Jr. - 1
- Bill Widenhouse - 1
- Larry Flynn - 1
- Cotton Owens - 1
- Nace Mattingly - 1
- Carl Krueger - 1
- Joe Weatherly - 1
- Lloyd Dane - 1
- Ray Duhigg - 1
- Bill Hyde - 1
- Bob Flock - 1
- John Kieper - 1
- Jack Choquette
- 1
- Bill West - 1
- Norm Nelson
- 1
- Clyde Palmer - 1
- all others at 0 top five finishes
References
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