Racing History Minute, May 28, 1955

State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC, has a rich history in NASCAR racing. The half mile dirt track played host to the best of the best throughout its storied time in the limelight. On this date, in 1955, Twenty-seven cars showed up to run 100 miles/200 laps.

Tim Flock parked his Mercury Outboards Chrysler 300 on the pole with Bob Welborn in his trusty Chevy on the outside. Junior Johnson started third in an Oldsmobile and it took him only 10 laps to literally storm by the first two starters on the outside to take the lead. My resource for these minutes is quoted as saying "the hefty mountain kid rim rode the half mile dirt track" and in my mind I can picture Junior doing that. As for the "hefty mountain kid" part, I wonder if Junior ever read that while that news reporter was still around? Junior and that Oldsmobile were so fast that, by the half way point of the race, he had lapped the field. On lap 172, a rain storm decided to descend upon the track and the red flag ended the race, mercifully for the competitors who tried in vain to run with Junior.

Pole winner Tim Flock had to park his Chrysler on lap 15 when his brakes failed thereby removing what could have been the only serious challenger to the dominance of Junior's Olds. Another interesting note about this race is that Donald Thomas, younger brother of Herb Thomas who had been injured, was driving a Hudson Hornet prepared by Smokey Yunick. Thomas started 14th and finished 18th, although he was 33 laps behind the winner and was the last place finisher still running at the end.

Top five finishers were:

1. Junior Johnson, B&L Motors Oldsmobile, winning $1,350.00

2. Fonty Flock, Mercury Outboards Chrysler, winning $875.00

3. Buck Baker, Griffin Motors Oldsmobile, winning $550.00

4. Lee Petty, Petty Engineering Chrysler, winning $400.00

5. Gwyn Staley, Chevrolet, winning $315.00

Sixth through tenth were Jim Paschal, John Dodd, Jr., Billy Carden, Fred Dove, and Eddie Skinner. Bill Blair finished 11th and Dink Widenhouse was 12th. Bob Welborn finished 19th, Dick Rathman 23rd, Speedy Thompson 24th, Tim Flock 25th and Lloyd Dane 27th.

There were six caution flags for a total of 20 laps and the average speed for the race was 50.522. mph.

Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.

Dink Widenhouse ran Columbia Speedway almost every week and he was the favorite of my Uncle Bobby who introduced me to racing and who kept taking me back to the track because he wanted to watch Dink race. So, Dink, thank you for keeping my uncle interested and getting me involved in racing by extension.

Its not much coverage, but at least the Wilmington Star-News ran something about the race.

Marker flags NASCAR landmark

Published: October 21, 2010

Raleigh News & Observer

By STAFF WRITER MATT EHLERS

RALEIGH Gov. Bev Perdue helped unveil a marker Wednesday at the N.C. State Fairgrounds commemorating the old dirt race track where NASCAR's first legends helped build the sport.

WRAL Television

Perdue was joined by Junior Johnson, who in 1955 held the lead in the first NASCAR-sanctioned race at the speedway, before the race was called for rain. The half-mile oval track had opened in 1928, the year the fair moved to its current location.

WRAL Television

Richard Petty won the track's last NASCAR race in 1970. The final race of any kind at the track took place in the early 1990s, when the fair held a harnessracing exhibition.

Today the space in front of the fair grandstands is used for tractor pulls, stunt shows and demolition derbies. Six years ago, the track's far straightaway was turned into an area for parking and midway rides.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/21/752718/marker-flags-nascar-landmark.html#storylink=cpy

Here is the link to the blog entry I posted about the King's win in that final Raleigh race in 1970:

http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-30-this-day-in-petty-history_30.html