NASCAR's GN drivers raced for the final time on Martinsville Speedway's dirt surface on May 15, 1955. Tim Flock won the 200 lap race. Over the summer, the track was rebuilt with asphalt covering the long-standing dirt surface.
The objective was to have the pavement in place for the next GN race, a 200 lap race on October 16, 1955.
The paving project was completed on schedule. Before the GN cars arrived in mid October, NASCAR's sportsman cars got first crack on the new track in early October. Billy Myers won the first race on the new surface on October 2. ( Martinsville's website says Myers won on Monday October 3rd. I'm not sure if their site is wrong or if the race was rain delayed a day.)
Race preview from The Gastonia Gazette
The weekend's activities didn't get off the best start. Qualifying was rained out, and the drivers drew for their starting spots. Gwyn Staley in Hubert Westmoreland's Chevy was awarded the pole. Herb Thomas lined-up second in a second Chevrolet for the front row. Fonty Flock and Lee Petty made up row 2. Eddie Skinner rounded out the top 5 starters.
The race was delayed an hour by the lingering rain; however, the skies finally cleared and it was time to go racing. At the drop of the green, Thomas got the jump on Staley and led the first seven laps. - Getty Images
Tim Flock then picked up on the newly paved surface just as he had with last race on the old dirt surface. He paced the field for the next 66 laps. Short track ace Jim Reed put his skills on display vs. the GN regulars by taking the lead from Flock and leading 32 laps.
As things sorted out, the rest came down to a back and forth between convertible king Bob Welborn and South Carolina's Speedy Thompson. Both had started well back in the field due to an unlucky draw I suppose. Welborn started 11th in his #44 Chevrolet. Thompson started 17th in the 27-car field - the worst starting spot of Carl Kiekaefer's 3-car Chrysler entries.
Just past the halfway mark of the race, Welborn took the lead for a 15-lap stretch. Thompson snuck in a one-lap lead - perhaps during a pit stop - before Welborn re-took the lead for a bookend 16-lap lead.
But with just over 60 laps to go, Thompson's Mopar found another gear as was often the case with the Mercury Outboard Chryslers of that era. Speedy went to the point, and he wasn't passed again the remainder of the race.
Thompson took the checkers followed by Welborn and Paschal - the only three cars to finish on the lead lap. The win was the second consecutive one by Thompson following his victory at Memphis-Arkansas Speedway on October 9th ( AlexFLRacingFan's RHM ).
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Speedy Thompson | '55 Chrysler |
| 2 | Bob Welborn | '55 Chevrolet |
| 3 | Jim Paschal | '55 Chevrolet |
| 4 | Herb Thomas | '55 Chevrolet |
| 5 | Jim Reed | '55 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Joe Weatherly | '56 Ford |
| 7 | Gwyn Staley | '55 Chevrolet |
| 8 | Lee Petty | '55 Dodge |
| 9 | Jimmy Massey | '55 Chevrolet |
| 10 | Buck Baker | '56 Ford |
| 11 | Marvin Panch | '56 Ford |
| 12 | Bobby Waddell | '55 Oldsmobile |
| 13 | Bill Blair | '55 Ford |
| 14 | Pop McGinnis | '55 Chevrolet |
| 15 | Russ Graham | '55 Chevrolet |
| 16 | Ted Cannady | '55 Oldsmobile |
| 17 | Eddie Skinner | '53 Oldsmobile |
| 18 | Jimmy Thompson | '55 Ford |
| 19 | Jim Thompson | '53 Hudson |
| 20 | Ed Cole | '55 Plymouth |
| 21 | Clarence DeZalia | '54 Ford |
| 22 | Joe Eubanks | '55 Chevrolet |
| 23 | Donald Thomas | '55 Buick |
| 24 | Tim Flock | '55 Chrysler |
| 25 | Fonty Flock | '55 Chrysler |
| 26 | Glen Wood | '55 Ford |
| 27 | Dink Widenhouse | '56 Ford |
| 28 | Jimmy Pardue | '55 Chevrolet |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM