1955 NASCAR Grand National Series

American motorsport season February 2025 November 2025 1955 Grand National Series 1954 1956 Sports 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. Schedule Tri-City Speedway, High Point, North Carolina Palm Beach Speedway, West Palm Beach, Florida Speedway Park, Jacksonville, Florida Daytona Beach & Road Course, Daytona Beach, Florida Oglethorpe Speedway, Savannah, Georgia Columbia Speedway, Cayce, South Carolina Occoneechee Speedway, Hillsboro, North Carolina North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Montgomery Speedway, Montgomery, Alabama Langhorne Speedway, Langhorne, Pennsylvania Charlotte Speedway, Charlotte, North Carolina Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, North Carolina Arizona State Fairgrounds, Phoenix, Arizona Tucson Rodeo Grounds, Tucson, Arizona Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Virginia Raleigh Speedway, Raleigh, North Carolina Forsyth County Fairgrounds, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Lincoln Speedway, New Oxford, Pennsylvania Monroe County Fairgrounds, Rochester, New York Fonda Speedway, Fonda, New York Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh, New York Southern State Fairgrounds, Charlotte, North Carolina Hub City Speedway, Spartanburg, South Carolina Columbia Speedway, Cayce, South Carolina Ashville-Weaverville Speedway, Weaverville, North Carolina Morristown Speedway, Morristown, New Jersey Altamont-Schenectady Fairgrounds, Altamont, New York New York State Fair, Syracuse, New York Bay Meadows Speedway, San Mateo, California Southern State Fairgrounds, Charlotte, North Carolina Forsyth County Fairgrounds, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Memphis-Arkansas Speedway, LeHi, Arkansas Raleigh Speedway, Raleigh, North Carolina Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina Montgomery Speedway, Montgomery, Alabama Langhorne Speedway, Langhorne, Pennsylvania TBD Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Greenville, North Carolina Memphis-Arkansas Speedway, LeHi, Arkansas Columbia Speedway, Cayce, South Carolina Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia Las Vegas Park Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Occoneechee Speedway, Hillsboro, North Carolina Race summaries Wilkes County 160 1955 Wilkes County 160 The 1955 Wilkes County 160 was a NASCAR Grand National (now NASCAR Cup Series) race that took place on April 3, 1955, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the American community of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1955-08&series=W 1955 Wilkes County 160 information Racing Reference 2011-02-22 One hundred and sixty laps were done on a dirt track spanning .625 mi km. The total duration of the race was one hour, twenty-two minutes, and three seconds with no cautions. Buck Baker defeated Dick Rathmann by three feet. Top 10 Results 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 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 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 1955-15 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 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 1955 Richmond 200 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. http://racing-reference.info/race/1955_Richmond_200/W 1955 Richmond 200 information Racing Reference 2010-11-30 Two hundred laps took place on a dirt track spanning 0.500 mi km. The exact time of the race was one hour, fifty minutes, and thirty seconds. Qualifying was rained out so they had to draw for the pole position. Top 10 Results 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 1955 Mid-South 250 1955 Mid-South 250 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 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 1955 Southern 500 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 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 1955-42 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 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 1955 LeHi 300 1955 LeHi 300 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 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 1955 Wilkes 160 1955 Wilkes 160 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 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 1955-45 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 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 This 200 lap race took place at Tri-City Speedway on November 7, 1955 with Lee Petty taking the win. Season standings List of NASCAR points scoring systems Points 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 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 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 See also 1955 NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model Division References Racing Reference - 1955 Season Standings (Archived 2009-07-21) Racing Reference - 1955 Grand Nationals Results (Archived 2009-07-21) 1955 Ford NASCAR Stock Car (Archived 2009-07-21) Category:NASCAR Cup Series seasons