1954 NASCAR Grand National Series

American motorsport season February 2025 November 2025 1954 NASCAR Grand National Series 1953 1955 Sports The 1954 NASCAR Grand National season consisted of 37 races from February 1, 1954, to November 1, 1954. Lee Petty, driving for Petty Enterprises, won the championship, his first of three in the series.https://bleacherreport.com/articles/505184-lee-petty-telling-the-tale-of-one-of-nascars-newest-hall-of-famers Lee Petty: Telling The Tale Of One Of NASCAR's Newest Hall of Famers Bleacher Report 1 November 2010 22 June 2013 Macwatters, Sandra Season recap The 1954 season consisted of 37 events from February 7 through October 24 of the year; opening in West Palm Beach, Florida, with a Herb Thomas victory, and concluding in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, at the North Wilkesboro Speedway with a Hershel McGriff win. While Thomas captured the opening event in a Hudson, the year was witness to the increased power of GM, Ford and Chrysler as Hudson slipped in its domination of the sport from previous years. Petty came back to win the second race of the year at Daytona Beach, Florida, in his Chrysler.http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1950s/1954-nascar-results.htm 1954 NASCAR Grand National Results HowStuffWorks, Inc. Publications International, Ltd. 22 April 2011 23 April 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110423114645/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1950s/1954-nascar-results.htm dead Petty completed the season with 32 top-10 finishes of the 34 events that he competed in. Through 1953, and up until the Southern 500 in 1954, Petty strung together a streak of 56 consecutive races where he was still running at the end of the race.http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1950s/1954-nascar.htm 1954 NASCAR Grand National Recap HowStuffWorks, Inc. Publications International, Ltd. 22 April 2011 16 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090616051612/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1950s/1954-nascar.htm dead While Petty won fewer races (7) than Herb Thomas (12), his consistency in finishing in the top 10 a total of seven times more than Thomas proved to be the deciding factor in winning the championship with a 283-point margin. Rising star Buck Baker captured the winner's purse a total of four times in 1954, and finished third after a 12th-place effort in 1953. Although several of the top stars of the sport had disagreements, and even walked away from NASCAR for a time, the sport showed itself to be larger than any of the individual stars. When Tim Flock was disqualified at Daytona, he quit the sport for a time. Fonty Flock, Al Keller and Hershel McGriff also resigned at various times throughout the year. Also in 1954, drivers Petty, Thomas, Baker, Dick Rathmann, McGriff, Keller, Jim Paschal, Curtis Turner, Gober Sosebee, John Soares, and Danny Letner all captured at least one victory during the year.Fleischman Bill Al Pearce The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide 2004 Visible Ink Press Checkered Flag Press Canyon, Michigan 2004 10 142–143 At a Glance: Year-By-Year Summaries 0-681-27587-1 registration https://archive.org/details/unauthorizednasc00/page/142 Season highlights Two-time champion Herb Thomas' season opening victory in February earned him $1,600, which included prize monies from both the Pure Oil Company and Champion Spark Plugs. On February 20, Cotton Owens captured a modified-sportsman victory in an event that featured 136 starting entries, the largest ever starting field in a NASCAR event. A day later, Tim Flock reached the checkered flag first, but was disqualified for using a two-way radio, and Lee Petty was awarded the victory. It was the first time that radios were used in a NASCAR event, and Flock quit after the disqualification. On March 28, Dick Rathmann won a 125-mile race at Oakland Stadium after starting the event in last place. The track was unusual in its configuration in that it consisted of dirt corners and paved straightaways. The race was in combination with the newly formed NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model Division, making Rathmann the first winner in the series. On June 13, NASCAR held its first ever road course event, at the airport in Linden, New Jersey, with driver Al Keller coming away with the win in a Jaguar, as 20 of the 43 starting entries were foreign made vehicles. The victory was the only win for a foreign-manufactured vehicle until Toyota captured its first victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 2008 and as of the 2026 season, it is the only win scored by both Jaguar and a European manufacturer in the NASCAR Cup Series.http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/03/09/toyota.first.win.atlanta/index.html Atlanta race will always be known as Toyota's first win Pate Josh March 10, 2008 Turner Sports Interactive, Inc 1 10 May 2011 nascar.com Schedule & Race summaries Schedule Palm Beach Speedway, West Palm Beach, Florida Daytona Beach & Road Course, Daytona Beach, Florida Speedway Park, Jacksonville, Florida Lakewood Speedway, Atlanta, Georgia Oglethorpe Speedway, Savannah, Georgia Oakland Stadium, Oakland, California North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Occoneechee Speedway, Hillsburg, North Carolina Central City Speedway, Macon, Georgia Langhorne Speedway, Langhorne, Pennsylvania Wilson Speedway, Wilson, North Carolina Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia Sharon Speedway, Hartford, Ohio Raleigh Speedway, Raleigh, North Carolina Charlotte Speedway, Charlotte, North Carolina Carrell Speedway, Gardena, California Columbia Speedway, Cayce, South Carolina Linden Airport, Linden, New Jersey Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, North Carolina Monroe County Fairgrounds, Rochester, New York Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Hub City Speedway, Spartanburg, South Carolina Ashville-Weaverville Speedway, Weaverville, North Carolina Santa Fe Speedway, Willow Springs, Illinois Grand Rapids Speedway, Grand Rapids, Michigan Morristown Speedway, Morristown, New Jersey Oakland Stadium, Oakland, California Southern State Fairgrounds, Charlotte, North Carolina Bay Meadows Speedway, San Mateo, California Corbin Speedway, Corbin, Kentucky Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina Central City Speedway, Macon, Georgia Southern State Fairgrounds, Charlotte, North Carolina Langhorne Speedway, Langhorne, Pennsylvania Memphis-Arkansas Speedway, LeHi, Arkansas Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Race Summaries 1954–01 The first race of the season was run at Palm Beach Raceway in West Palm Beach, Florida. Dick Rathman won the pole. Top 10 results 92 - Herb Thomas 87 - Buck Baker 42 - Lee Petty 80 - Jim Paschal 24 - Ray Ruhigg 6 - Ralph Liguori 86 - Don Oldenberg 126 - Dave Terrell 82 - Joe Eubanks 181 - Tommie Elliott 1954–02 The second race of the season was run at Beach & Road Course in Daytona Beach, Florida. Lee Petty won the pole. Top ten results 42 - Lee Petty 87 - Buck Baker 14 - Curtis Turner 3 - Dick Rathman 2 - Bill Blair 122 - Jack Smith 13 - Emory Lewis 25 - Fireball Roberts 51 - Gober Sosebee 77 - Stan Kross 1954–03 The third race of the season was run at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida. Curtis Turner won the pole. Top ten results 92 - Herb Thomas 14 - Fonty Flock 42 - Lee Petty 82 - Joe Eubanks 87 - Buck Baker 86 - Don Oldenberg 23 - Al Keller 181 - Tommie Elliott 6 - Ralph Liguori 4 - Tommy Moon International 100 The International 100 was the first NASCAR Grand National Series held on a road course in series history, occurring on June 13, 1954.Hembree Mike Al Keller and NASCAR's First Road Course Race on an Airport Runway in 1954 https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a42761383/al-keller-nascars-first-road-course-airport-runway-1954/ May 9, 2025 Autoweek February 5, 2023 Held on a 2 mi km on temporary five-turn road course built of the runways and taxi lanes of Linden Airport in Union County, New Jersey, the race featured a battle of American-built stock cars versus European built sports cars. 43 cars entered, with speculation that the American cars would be stronger on the straights and the European cars stronger in the turns.100-Mile Auto Race Listed for Linden Airport https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-linden/172069577/ May 9, 2025 The Sunday Times June 6, 1954 New Brunswick, New Jersey 17 Newspapers.com After starting on pole position, Buck Baker led the early part of the race, leading the first 19 laps until being passed by Herb Thomas. Seven laps later, Al Keller, driving a Jaguar XK120 Competition Coupe, grabbed the lead from Thomas, a position he would not relinquish the rest of the event. Baker had begun to catch up to Keller but his brakes began to fail, resulting in him holding back and giving second place to Joe Eubanks. 5,000 spectators witnessed the race at Linden Airport.Keller First in Linden Race https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-linden-airport-june-14/172068525/ May 9, 2025 The Paterson Morning Call Associated Press June 14, 1954 25 Newspapers.com It would mark the second and final NASCAR Grand National Series win for Keller, having won at Oglethorpe Speedway in March 1954. It would also be the only race held at Linden Airport. It was the first race to be won by a foreign manufacturer car and as of , it remains as the only win scored by Jaguar in NASCAR. Top ten results 4–Al Keller 82–Joe Eubanks 88–Buck Baker 2–Bill Claren 32–Bob Grossman 7-A–Harry LaVois 92–Herb Thomas 3–Dick Rathman 21–Laird Bruner 42–Lee Petty Southern 500 1954 Southern 500 The 1954 Southern 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series race that took place on September 6, 1954, at Darlington Raceway in the American community of Darlington, South Carolina. There were 364 laps done on a paved oval track that spanned 1.375 mi km. Van Van Wey made his NASCAR debut in this race; starting in 43rd place and ending in 20th place due to a crash on the 260th lap.1954 Southern 500 racing information at Racing Reference Overall, the race took five hours, sixteen minutes, and one second from the first green flag to the checkered flag. The average speed was 95.026 mi/h and the pole speed was 108.261 mi/h. There were two cautions for four laps and the margin of victory was twenty-six seconds. Attendance of the race was confirmed at 28,000 people during the start of the race. Notable racers that appeared and did not finish in the top ten included Lee Petty (whose streak of 36 top-ten finishes ended at this race), Cotton Owens, Jimmie Lewallen, Ralph Liguori, Arden Mounts, Elmo Langley (in his NASCAR debut) and Buck Baker (pole winner). Top ten results 92 - Herb Thomas 44 - Curtis Turner 98 - Marvin Panch 58 - Johnny Patterson 88 - Jim Paschal 40 - John Soares 25 - Fireball Roberts 7 - Gwyn Staley 13 - Joel Million 12 - Speedy Thompson Mid-South 250 1954 Mid-South 250 The 1954 Mid-South 250 was a NASCAR Grand National race that took place on October 10, 1954, at Memphis-Arkansas Speedway in the community of LeHi, Arkansas. One hundred and sixty-seven laps were raced on a dirt track spanning 1.500 mi km. Twelve-thousand people attended this untelevised race where Buck Baker won in his 1954 Oldsmobile. Other notable competitors included Lee Petty (who led 150 laps which was considered to be the most laps), Marvin Panch, Jimmie Lewallen, Arden Mounts, and Junior Johnson. The average speed of the race was 89.013 mi/h and the race took two hours, forty-eight minutes, and fifty-one seconds to complete. Top ten results 87 - Buck Baker 3 - Dick Rathman 42 - Lee Petty 92 - Herb Thomas 4 - Herschel Buchanan 114 - Slick Smith 98 - Marvin Panch 189 - Lou Figaro 14 - Hershel McGriff 44 - Gober Sosebee Final championship standings List of NASCAR points scoring systems(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by owner's points. * – Most laps led. Pos PositionDriverPBSDABJSPATLOSPOAKNWSHBOCCSLANWILMARSHARSPCLTGARCLBLNDHCYMCFWGSPIFAWSSFSGRSMOROAKCLTSANCORDARCCSCLTLANMASMARNWSPts Points Scored1Lee Petty31*3665699*421*4251021734416151383223*1*3286492Herb Thomas1591*11021181*109101*18671*2*1*11*2222146412061*416383663Buck Baker2*2522153861*18291*833464145215*17344213413268934Dick Rathmann2342331*14231311321338432731*34*2313DNQ47245*67605Joe Eubanks91848537114151343337261045679307715451032131054676Hershel McGriff122031023075310133213151*24511392151377Jim Paschal42724197924351*20282161011182820195723114761239038Jimmie Lewallen19111810255231085225182041138611182232339Curtis Turner31374553221*2*299410Ralph Liguori65191366111031611259878163054715357290511Blackie Pitt241420816101617DNQ11111810121720711623643141636173928266112Dave Terrell8322117152228241268169152719917138136911332044483218264513Bill Blair5101215617610522241514148DNQ838DNQ108236214Laird Bruner172222129125523221691719141778231212234039224315Gober Sosebee9164312*2612315211851017DNQ16102327211416John Soares31*233486181252207217Marvin Panch22109322137196193518Eddie Skinner2239152991617172525141114161529179419Joel Million24211791714343016177920Elton Hildreth381830191916198119321656DNQ15171021Arden Mounts21131426209111145401711170522Fireball Roberts82220137164823Speedy Thompson202749211810148024Johnny Petterson4917436141725Erick Erickson6223910513133726Ray Duhigg51072022202094214431124527Slick Smith6012141964112228Clyde Minter973419101281621DNQ10129111629Gwyn Staley831108830Lloyd Dane525898431Donald Thomas42*6142029205DNQ1798032Ted Chamberlain169182214253119242292033Danny Letner31*74791534Elmo Langley125986435Tim Flock622*982286036Fred Dove1322824717141615DNQ25292483237Bill Widenhouse17151126274380538Gene Comstock1378039Walt Flinchum1421191216984475640Charlie Cregar1540201341DNQ71641Bill Amick2121919215070042Harvey Eakin4016203532183769843Lou Figaro891369044Ken Fisher12287401266845Jim Reed16402712653546563146Russ Helper1819144203962447Allen Adkins3462448Van Van Wey29181260249Tony Nelson8121456850John Dodd Jr.855251Bob Welborn1131192011277DNQ3486601154852Jim Clark1613141130654853Herschel Buchanan552554Joe Valente129281652455Junior Johnson515513346556Jim Graham611DNQ46058Art Watts2511282144859Robert Caswell1432943660Woody Brown2418131543661Dink Widenhouse234427403042862Tommie Elliott108841663Charles Pemberton101338864Jack Smith6241922231737665Bill West7262035666Stan Kross102623212234467Whitey Brainerd71333268Bob Havemann81132469Dean Pelton11362032470John McGinley156334631671Ted Rambo54321420831072Chuck Hanson3581946213430973George Parrish19223730474Charles Hardiman1430075Bud Harless171541142628976Parks Surratt14121515DNQ28877Paul Pettit52228478Pop McGinnis192883527479Elbert Allen3512181627080Eddie Pagan122126881George Clark181326482Jim Cook1026143125684Cotton Owens934422322885Bill Bade10243622886Reds Kagle1722487Sam Hawks7202722088Floyd Curtis151021690Don White1121091Joe Bossard21DNQ1919692Gary Mathieson1019293Bill Stammer161718894Joe Bill O'Dell2319222518495Bobby Courtwright1118096John Erickson1917597Peck Peckham24202417498Cliff Roberts151917299Bill Barker58321823168100Tex Brooks2031158101Jim Heath925156102Joe Weatherly7152103Ronnie Kohler1033152104Billy Minter15183819152105Bo Fields20150106Bob Tyrell14144107Charlie Mincey9136108Jim Gillette2424136109Rick Henderson132929132110Bill Galdarisi15132111Tommy Moon10128112Hooker Hood3114121113Al Metz11120114John Smith11120115Perk Brown211216120116Fred Starr1235120117Mel Krueger1336118118C. H. Dingler91530113119Dick Sanford12112120Buster Whaley12112121Eddie Van Horn1553112122Mike Brown3014110123Otis Martin132025108124Ed Normi1541108125Matt Gowan17108126Roland LaRue13108127Ken Reeder13108128Sam Smith13108129Don Welch13108130Dick Vermillion1496131Bud Diamond321692132Dick Carter18313592133Dick Hallock31273490134Elmer Musclow1588135H. R. Kahl173084136Gene Roberts1680137Al Neves192676138Ernie Young24223276139Charles Merrill2375140Bob Schwingle1772141Bub King1872142Charles Blewitt2372143Hassell Reid49143668144Gifford Wood322068145Ralph Dutton1864146Jim Ewing1864147Ned Jarrett182164148Johnny Roberts204862149Dick Zimmerman213860150Walt Harvey2660151Buck Mason2760152Joe Sheppard3760153Jimmy Thompson5060154George Cole2048155Marshall Harless2048156Gene Laughlin212640157Carl BurrisQL2140158Hank Chaffee2140159Artie Mitchell2140160Nick Spano2140161Gene Holcomb243040162Joe Guide252639163Jim Luke2232164Dick Stone2232165Dick Ross252732166Ed DeWolff266332167Bill Cleveland273932168Ed Paskovich29334332170Red Ortwein253728171Jimmy Ayers173725172Ed Massey2525173Robert Slensby2825175Lloyd Chick3325176Leland Sewell3525177Bud Chaddock3825178Dutch Munsinger4325179Bob Kennedy4924180Hilly Rife2324181Ash Tharrett2324182Clayton D'Aniello2724183E. J. Turner2824184John Ford2924185Leon Lundy3224186Chris Miller4224187Joe Bell4824188Bill MorganDNQ5124189Dominic Persicketti5424190Al Neal5524191Kenneth Bridge5724192Bill Tanner6124193Harold Nash462822194Dick Garlington263422195Clarence Burch3120196Pete Stewart2416197Pete Moxley382516198Charles McDuffie303116199Virgil Livengood3414200Bob Sampson4114201Billy Rafter4214202Ernest Palmer5214203Bill Cornwall5314204George Osborne5514205Tommy Thompson5614206Victor Geiser6114208John Dodd Sr.3698209Art Faber298210Jim Cooper268211Bill Harrison278212Wallie Branston288213Bob Haden318214Johnny Zeke348215Volney Schulze378216Dizzy Dean418217Glen Wood418218Fran Jischke328Al Keller24217251*74*2246161*Billy Irvin14441121171412Don Oldenberg723618187Emory Lewis73313238Fonty Flock12572511Ben Gregory114418Virgil Stockton18191410WthEddie Riker13241116Andy Winfree81224Jack Clarke151121Chuck Meekins28812Bill Smith13739Bucky Sager212420Frank Stutts171732Clyde Palmer49George Seeger527Bob Flock3112Fred Bince2719Ken Pace2820Mason Bright1633Wimpy Irvan1336Bill Chevalier1935Ted Lee2533Howard Phillippi3030Charles Binkley2842Bill Claren4Bob Grossman5Harry LaVois6Chuck Garrett7Bill Moore10Clare Lawicki11Bill Tuten11Earl Beer12Chuck Neale12Hal Ruyle12Phillips Bell13Jack Cummiford13Bud Bennett14Byron King14Tom Rivers14Jerry Wimbish14Allan Clarke15Jack Conely15Art Dugan15Hank Russ15Ken Taylor15DNQAl Watkins15Andy Biddle16Tom Drake16James Kilgore16Frank Ropp16Frank Smith16Billy Vee16Al Bolinger17Dick Jennette17Sam Pearson17Ed Samples17Eli Vukovich17Cotton Hodges18Ken Kiser18Marian Pagan18Ted Wright18Richard Brownlee19Fred Cole19Danny Curley19Paul Phipps19Wallace Simpson19Johnny Kieper20Dick Grice21Jack Harrison21Bill Lone21Arley Scranton21Legs Whitcomb21Bill Blackwell22Richard Brown22Slim Brown22George Horvath22Bob Rose22Bay Darnell23Jerry Keyes23Joe Martin23Bill Williams23Irv Atkinson24Bob Deehan24Junie Lancaster24Andy Bruni25Red Duvall25Jim Frey25Arnold Ladd25Walter Milczarski25Jim Jones26Dick Kable26Sonny Walters26Bill Weiman26Jack Spearman28Ronnie Hayes29Allen Heath29Don Johnson29Jim McLain29Nero Steptoe29Frank Hannellburg30Dick Freeman31John Lindsay31G. McBride33Don Woodard33Shelby Cooper34Vince Gray34Jimmy Florian37Dick Keene37B. Fisher38Conrad Janis39George Rogge40Jack Farnell41Frances Ballantine42Hap Jones43M. R. Peterson43William Kearney45Roscoe Rann45Jim Romine47Lucky Walters49Art Binkley50Harold Lutz50Richard Jones52Leslie Young58Jim Lacy62Pepper Cunningham64Vee DentDNQBud KelleherDNQPaul JonesDNQRoss MorrisonDNQHank CarruthersDNQ See also 1954 NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model Division References collapsed Category:NASCAR Cup Series seasons