1955 Wilkes 160

Former NASCAR race February 2025 CUST Race 44 of 45 in the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series season Wilkes 160 http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/NC/North%20Wilkesboro/1955-10-23 1955 Wilkes 160 weather information The Old Farmers' Almanac 2012-09-03 1955 10 23 1955 44 45 NorthWilkesboroSpeedwayMap.svg North Wilkesboro Speedway Wilkes 160 North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina 0.625 1.00 160 100 160 Mild with temperatures approaching 70 F C; wind speeds up to 11.1 mph km/h 72.347 mi/h 10,000 http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1955-44/W 1955 Wilkes 160 race information Racing Reference 2011-07-20 Buck Baker Pete DePaolo Buck Baker Pete DePaolo 160 87 Buck Baker Pete DePaolo untelevised none The 1955 Wilkes 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 23, 1955, at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Summary One hundred and sixty laps were competed on a dirt oval track spanning .625 mi km. There were three cautions delivered down by NASCAR officials and the race lasted exactly one hour, twenty-one minutes, and sixteen seconds. Buck Baker defeated Lee Petty by a time of three seconds. Ford would make its first Grand National Series win at this speedway; making it a viable competitor against Dodge, Chevrolet and Chrysler. http://www.savethespeedway.net/55wilkes.htm Winning manufacturer for the 1955 Wilkes 160 Save the Speedway 2012-09-03 The average speed was 72.347 mi/h while the pole position speed was 79.815 mi/h. Ten thousand people attended this autumn race. This race would produce Joe Weatherly's first finish in the top five. Most of the drivers in this racing event were driver-owners who owned their own racing vehicle and drove their vehicle directly to the races instead of towing it from hundreds of miles away. http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1955044 1955 Wilkes 160 driver information Driver Averages 2012-09-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20151001124148/http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1955044 2015-10-01 dead All the drivers in this event were racing for a prize purse that totalled $4,285 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Only 20 of the 28 competing drivers would gain financially from this race; with individual earnings that ranged from $1,110 ($ when adjusted for inflation) to a paltry $50 for the NASCAR drivers who finished in 13th place through 20th place ($ when adjusted for inflation). No financial compensation was given to the participants who finished in the bottom 9 due to NASCAR's limited budget for prize winnings in an era prior to "big money" sponsors like Sprint Nextel and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. http://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar/races/results/1955/north-wilkesboro-speedway/wilkes-160/435 1955 Wilkes 160 race information Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet 2012-09-03 Carl Kiekhaefer was one of the notable crew chiefs on attendance for this race; he helped to service Tim Flock's racing vehicle. http://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1955-44/W/C 1955 Wilkes 160 crew chief information Racing Reference 2018-06-14 Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Qualifying Speed 1 87 Buck Baker '56 Ford 79.815 mph 2 92 Herb Thomas '55 Chevrolet 3 98 Marvin Panch '56 Ford 4 42 Lee Petty '55 Dodge 5 B-29 Dink Widenhouse '56 Ford 6 301 Fonty Flock '55 Chrysler 7 99 Curtis Turner '56 Ford 8 49 Bob Welborn '55 Chevrolet 9 9 Joe Weatherly '56 Ford 10 20 Speedy Thompson '55 Chrysler Results Pos Grid Car # Driver Owner Make Laps Number of laps completed Laps led Number of laps led Status Winnings 1 1 87 Buck Baker† Pete DePaolo '56 Ford 160 160 Running $1,100 2 4 42 Lee Petty† Petty Enterprises '55 Dodge 160 0 Running $700 3 12 2 Gwyn Staley† Hubert Westmoreland '55 Chevrolet 159 0 Running $475 4 9 9 Joe Weatherly† Charlie Schwam '56 Ford 159 0 Running $365 5 11 300 Tim Flock† Carl Kiekhaefer '55 Chrysler 159 0 Running $310 6 6 301 Fonty Flock† Carl Kiekhaefer '55 Chrysler 159 0 Running $250 7 10 20 Speedy Thompson† Carl Kiekhaefer '55 Chrysler 157 0 Running $200 8 5 B-29 Dink Widenhouse Dink Widenhouse '56 Ford 157 0 Running $150 9 19 198 Dave Terrell Dave Terrell '55 Oldsmobile 156 0 Running $100 10 16 44 Jim Paschal† Julian Petty '55 Chevrolet 154 0 Running $100 11 17 04 Jimmy Massey Hubert Westmoreland '55 Chevrolet 154 0 Running $75 12 18 88 Jimmie Lewallen† Ernest Woods '55 Oldsmobile 151 0 Running $60 13 8 49 Bob Welborn† Bob Welborn '55 Chevrolet 145 0 Running $50 14 23 24 Bobby Waddell Jimmy Pardue '55 Chevrolet 138 0 Running $50 15 27 460 Ed Cole Brooks Brothers '55 Plymouth 136 0 Running $50 16 24 28 Eddie Skinner Frank Dodge '53 Oldsmobile 132 0 Running $50 17 25 27 John McVitty† John McVitty '55 Chevrolet 128 0 Wheel $50 18 15 5 Ralph Liguori† Ralph Liguori '55 Buick 127 0 Stalled $50 19 13 22 Bill Blair† Bill Blair '55 Oldsmobile 127 0 RF Hub $50 20 7 99 Curtis Turner† Charlie Schwam '56 Ford 103 0 RF Hub $50 21 2 92 Herb Thomas† Herb Thomas '55 Chevrolet 90 0 Crash No Payout 22 21 89 Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett '55 Buick 70 0 Fuel Pump No Payout 23 3 98 Marvin Panch Pete DePaolo '56 Ford 50 0 Overheating No Payout 24 14 70 Joe Eubanks† Lancaster Brothers '55 Chevrolet 40 0 Steering No Payout 25 22 20 Banks Simpson Banks Simpson '55 Buick 40 0 Radiator No Payout 26 20 55 Junior Johnson Jim Lowe & Carl Beckham '55 Oldsmobile 35 0 Bumper No Payout 27 28 9A Tom Pistone Tom Pistone '55 Chevrolet 28 0 Overheating No Payout 28 26 71 Ted Cannady Ted Cannady '55 Oldsmobile 25 0 Steering No Payout † signifies that the driver is known to be deceased Race summary Lead changes: 0 Cautions: 3 Red flags: N/A Time of race: 1:21:16 Average speed: 72.347 Margin of Victory: 5 seconds Timeline Section reference: Start of race: Buck Baker started the race with the pole position. Lap 25: Ted Cannady's steering became problematic, sealing his last-place finish in the race. Lap 28: Tom Pistone's vehicle overheated, forcing him to exit the race prematurely. Lap 35: The bumper on Junior Johnson's vehicle fell off, damaging his vehicle and forcing him to exit the race prematurely. Lap 40: Banks Simpson's radiator went berserk; Joe Eubanks' steering stopped working properly. Lap 50: Marvin Panch's vehicle overheated while he was racing. Lap 70: Ned Jarrett's fuel pump became problematic while he was driving the vehicle. Lap 90: Herb Thomas had a terminal crash, forcing him to retire from the race. Lap 103: The RF hub on Curtis Turner developed problems. Lap 127: Ralph Liguori's vehicle stalled on the track; Bill Blair had some problems with his RF hub. Lap 128: A wheel came off of John McVitty's vehicle, forcing him out of the race. Finish: Buck Baker was officially declared the winner of the event. References collapsed Wilkes 160 Wilkes 160 Category:NASCAR races at North Wilkesboro Speedway