Racing History Minute - November 30, 1952

The 34th and final race of the 1952 Grand National Season was a 100 mile/200 lap event on the half mile dirt track located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Of the 19 cars entering the event, Herb Thomas in the FABULOUS Hudson Hornet was the fastest and won the pole at a speed of 63.716 mph. Tim Flock, in a Ted Chester Hudson started second. Tim needed only to start the event to wrap up the season championship but he couldn't anticipate what was to come during this event. Perk Brown started a R. G. Shelton Hudson third and Fonty Flock in the Air Lift Special Oldsmobile would roll off fourth. Fifth place starter would be Ralph Liguori in an Oldsmobile.

Herb Thomas took the lead on the green flag and was never passed. 7,500 fans watched Thomas methodically work his way around the track and the traffic to post the win. Starting his first race as a driver, Henry "Smokey" Yunick started a second FABULOUS Hudson Hornet in 19th place and ended up 18th after ignition problems forced him to the sidelines on lap 7. History would come to show that Smokey was much better turning wrenches than he was turning steering wheels.

On lap 164, fans watched in horror as the Tim Flock Hudson flipped several times in a violent accident. The only sound heard as the Hudson came to rest was the sound of the racing engines until Tim emerged, unscathed, from the crumbled Hudson. The crowd gave the new Grand National Champion a standing ovation. Tim said, after the race, that "I bet I'm the only driver who has won the championship on his head". (for the record, several years later, Joe Penland would win a late model sportsman race on the roof of his car as he tangled with Bobby Isaac coming out of turn four and Joe's car flipped and he slid across the line upside down).

Finishing order:

1. Herb Thomas, FABULOUS Hudson Hornet, winning $1,000.00

2. Fonty Flock, Air Lift Oldsmobile, winning $700.00 (2 laps down)

3. Perk Brown, R. G. Shelton Hudson, winning $450.00 (4 laps down)

4. Lee Petty, Petty Engineering Plymouth, winning $350.00 (6 laps down)

5. Marion Edwards, Dodge, winning $200.00 (7 laps down)

6. Rags Carter

7. Pop McGinnis

8. Ralph Liguori

9. Alan Clarke

10. George Bush

11. Al Keller

12. Tim Flock

13. Hank Tillman

14. Doug Livingston

15. Oda Green

16.Banjo Matthews

17. Jimmie Lewallen

18. Smokey Yunick

19. Hank Pollard

The top five in the final points standings were:

1. Tim Flock, started 33, won 8, total earnings $22,890.00

2. Herb Thomas, started 32, won 8, total earnings $18,965.00

3. Lee Petty, started 32, won 3, total earnings $16,876.00

4. Fonty Flock, started 27, won 2, total earnings $19,112.00

5. Dick Rathmann, started 27, won 5, total earnings $11,248.00

PERSONAL NOTE: As I have worked on these History Minutes almost 8 months now, I am always aware that the winner of the early events, in fact through the late 50s, would take home $1,000.00. I sometimes wondered how they managed to keep the car going because even if they won like 20 races, that would hardly cover the costs of all those 100 milers on the short dirt tracks around the country. A few days ago, I was talking with a man who had fought in WWII and is still in surprising good health for his 89 years. He made a comment I didn't think about at the time, but has suddenly become very clear to me. My friend had said that in the 1930s, ONE dollar was like the difference between eating for a week or going without. Rounding off the winner's purse at $1,000.00 would seem like really big money, and in fact it was, for the era in which it was being paid.

It is sort of a jolt to the system today to watch something like "Wheel of Fortune" where they give away vacations valued at $9,000.00 for a week. Yes, I know it is all relavant, but, waxing philosophical here, is that what is wrong with values today? Just a thought. Guess I should editorialize on these History Minutes, but sometimes food for thought is a good thing no matter where you find it.

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

Race report from Palm Beach Post

Tim, I am always fascinated in your retrospectives of the early NASCAR GN races with drivers whose names I haven't heard before.

Today, the first name I looked up was 6th place finisher Rags Carter , born in Miami Springs, but raised in Georgia. A frequent weekly competitor at West Palm Beach and other south Florida tracks, Carter headed norrth in 1963 and carved quite a name for himself in northeastern modified racing. He did so well, that he is enshrined in the Eastern Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame.

His writeup is below. Thanks, Legend, for introducing me to another stellar driver:

Side note... Rags was driving a PLYMOUTH at West Palm.

RR member, Jimmy Sullivan took these photos of Rags Carter at Florida's Hialeah Speedway:

The photo below of Rags Carter is on a slot car racing site:

And the photos below of Rags Carter are from the site Florida Racing Memories:

Dave, your discoveries are fascinating! Thanks for all you do.

Chase, thanks for rounding up the actual newspaper report. Awesome stuff.

[ Tommie Clinard ] has this photo of the starting grid from the 1952 race. Visible are:

4th - Fonty Flock

5th - Ralph Ligouri

6th - Al Keller

7th - Jimmy Lewallen

8th - Lee Petty

9th - Banjo Matthews

10th - Pop McGinnis

Tommie Clinard also has a couple of photos of the winner Herb Thomas.

[ Getting the trophy and congratulations ]

And getting congrats from [ Fonty Flock and Perk Brown ]

You are in Tommies back yard here. he cut his teeth with these guys and you have only seen a smidgin of the great photos he and his lovely wife have of racing in this era. And Chase Tommie spells his name with an IE Now you know the rest of the Story HE HE HE

And glad to see your name back on the active list Dave !!

Dadgum it, I know about the IE. Why in the dickens I typed Y is beyond me. Unfortunately, I can't edit replies so my error is forever locked in here. Sorry about that Tommie if you are reading this!