Once more, today, we are going back, way back, into the history of the sport to a track loved by many drivers and fans, which today sits as a lonely, desolate reminder of the origins of the sport. The race we cover today was a 200 lap/125 mile event on a .625 mile dirt track in the Brushy Mountains of North Carolina. Yes, North Wilkesboro. This race was event number 4 for the 1952 season.
As with many of the events from the early days, my source (Greg Fielden's "Forty Years of Stock Car Racing") does not include much of the information so readily available for races in later seasons. But, as often repeated here, the purpose of these Minutes is to showcase the early days as well and great races in later years, although we haven't gone much past 1984.
Herb Thomas, one of eight Hudson drivers entered in this event, qualified for the pole with a speed of 75.075 mph. Buck Baker would start another Hudson in second place. Beyond those two, qualifying positions are no available to me. As for lap leaders, that is simple; Herb Thomas led the entire 200 laps and actually finished one lap, plus a little distance, over second place Fonty Flock driving an Oldsmobile. Of the eight Hudson entries, Herb was the ONLY Hudson running at the finish. In fact, there were only 7 of the 24 starters running at the end of the race and one of those, Otis Martin driving a Buick was 63 laps off the pace and finished 10th. The 7th, 8th, and 9th place cars ahead of Martin were out of the race.
There were 10,000 fans there for the race, all of whom were on their feet when the current points second place driver, Frankie Schneider, flipped his Oldsmobile on lap 40 and slid back down thetrack directly into the path of Perk Brown. Brown crashed hard into thealready mangled Rocket 88Oldsmobile of Schneider. Neither driver was injured.
Finishing order:
1. Herb Thomas, FABULOUS Hudson Hornet, $1,000.00
2.Fonty Flock, Air Lift Olds88,$700.00 (1 lap down)
3. Bill Blair, George Hutchens Olds 88 $450.00 (1 lap down)
4. Donald Thomas, T.D. Meeks Ford, $350.00 (1 lap down)
5. Dave Terrell, Terrell Plymouth, $200.00 (1 lap down)
6. Neil Cole
7.Buddy Shuman
8. Jim Paschal
9. Lee Petty
10. Otis Martin
11.Joe Eubanks
12. Leonard Tippett
13. ShortyGibbs
14. Charles Gattillia
15.Buck Baker
16. Marshall Teague
17. Bobby Courtwright
18. Frankie Schneider
19. Perk Brown
20. Curtis Turner
21. Tim Flock
22. Jimmie Lewallen
23. Dick Rathmann
24. Harold Mays
The average speed for the race was 58.597. Although my source does not include the number of action flag, I can say that, in addition to the spectacular crash between Schneider and Brown on lap 40, Harold Mays crashed his Chrysler on the first lap.
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future
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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
