Tri-City Speedway in High Point, NC hosted only two Grand National races. In the second and final one, Lee Petty dominated the 200-lap, 100-mile race on the half-mile, dirt track. Starting third, Petty took the lead on the seventh lap and led the remaining 194 laps en route to victory.
Though held in November 1954, the race was the 1955 Grand National season opener. The 1955 season was the first time NASCAR began a new season in the fall of the previous calendar year. The pattern was repeated several more times into the late 1960s. Brandon Reed wrote a nice column about NASCAR's approach to its season opener for GeorgiaRacingHistory.com .
Read on for more:
http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/11/november-7-1954-petty-starts-1955-on.html
| Fin | Driver | Sponsor / Owner | Car |
| 1 | Lee Petty | Petty Enterprises | '54 Chrysler |
| 2 | Buck Baker | Frank Christian | '54 Oldsmobile |
| 3 | Herb Thomas | Herb Thomas | '54 Hudson |
| 4 | Gober Sosebee | Cherokee Garage (Gober Sosebee) | '54 Oldsmobile |
| 5 | Jimmie Lewallen | Joe Blair | '54 Mercury |
| 6 | Dink Widenhouse | Dink Widenhouse | '53 Oldsmobile |
| 7 | Blackie Pitt | Gary Drake | '54 Oldsmobile |
| 8 | Bud Harless | Edgar Clay | '53 Hudson |
| 9 | Clyde Minter | Ken Pace | '50 Mercury |
| 10 | Donald Thomas | Herb Thomas | '53 Hudson |
| 11 | Ken Pace | Ken Pace | '49 Hudson |
| 12 | George Parrish | George Parrish | '53 Studebaker |
| 13 | Dick Rathman | Blue Crown (John Ditz) | '54 Hudson |
| 14 | Elton Hildreth | Hildreth Motors (Elton Hildreth) | '53 Nash |
| 15 | Joe Eubanks | Oates Motor Co. (Phil Oates) | '52 Hudson |
| 16 | John Dodd, Jr. | John Dodd, Sr. | '51 Hudson |
| 17 | Junior Johnson | Paul Whiteman | '54 Cadillac |
| 18 | Bill Blair | Gene Comstock | '54 Hudson |
| 19 | Fred Dove | Ken Pace | '51 Hudson |
| 20 | Bob Welborn | Julian Petty | '51 Plymouth |
| 21 | Jim Paschal | George Hutchens | '51 Plymouth |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 11/07/17 10:28:58AM