The first race of the 1955 NASCAR Grand National season was in November 1954. Lee Petty won the 200-lap race at Tri-City Speedway in High Point, NC on November 7, 1954.
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/28567/november-7-1954-lee-petty-starts-1955-on-high-note
After race 1, however, the GN drivers didn't race again for about 90 days. The second race of the season was scheduled for February 6, 1955 at Palm Beach Speedway in West Palm Beach, FL.
Race preview from the Palm Beach Post .
The regular cast of characters made the trek to south Florida for the race. In addition, a local, transplanted Floridian was scheduled to make his first GN start. Jack Choquette, who relocated from New Jersey to Florida, was NASCAR's 1954 modified champion. But he also ran and won regular feature races at Palm Beach Speedway.
Dick Rathman timed quickest in qualifying and won the pole. Rathman made three starts at Palm Beach from 1953-1955, and he won the pole for each of those three races. He couldn't, however, convert a last lap into a race win - including the one on February 7, 1955.
Future NASCAR Hall of Famers claimed the next four starting spots:
2. Herb Thomas
3. Buck Baker
4. Junior Johnson
5. Lee Petty
Choquette qualified sixth - not bad for the hometown driver considering the experience and resources of those starting ahead of him.
The race was super-competitive - well except for a couple of fellas. Bill Lamont and Hooker Hood wrecked their cars during a practice session and never saw the green.
When the race got underway, Rathman leveraged his top starting spot to lead the first couple of laps. But after spotting him the first two, Herb Thomas came to the front to lead the next 13 laps. Buck Baker kept pace behind the duo & he decided it was time for him to lead by lap 15. He got around Thomas to lead as the lap count doubled to 30. Those early lead changes were a sign of good things to come for the fans. The race had 11 lead changes in first 150 laps of the race.
Though the drivers pitted for gas, apparently none stopped long enough to change tires - including during the race's two cautions. NASCAR's record keeping of facts in that era was pretty spotty (and some will argue it still is), but some speculated it was the first GN race completed without anyone making a tire change.
After a back-and-forth tussle between Thomas, Baker, Junior Johnson and Lee Petty over the first half of the race, the crowd began to thin. Lee Petty began to fade, and Junior Johnson hit the wall on lap 126. When the caution flew for Johnson, Thomas came to pit road for gas and surrendered the lead to Baker. Over the next 20 laps or so, Herb pursued Baker before retaking the lead with about 50 laps to go.
Thomas then found his groove and kept an even distance over second place Baker. But with the laps winding down, it was the hometown driver Choquette who made things interesting. From the sound of things, he raced a bit like David Pearson before David Pearson came along. After being in the hunt all day but never leading, he found another gear with the end of the race in sight. Steadily he closed in on Baker and got by him for second with 2 laps to go.
Choquette then set his sights on Thomas and quickly closed the gap as the white flag flew. But his rally came up just 3 car lengths' short. As he hustled his Hudson towards Herb, Thomas had just enough of a gap and power in reserve to narrowly defeat Choquette. Baker held on for third. Rathman finished 4th - his best finish of his three starts at the track.
Choquette's second place #23 Hudson.
The top two finishers shake hands.
Thomas' win was his second consecutive at Palm Beach after having won a year earlier on February 7, 1954. His win streak grew to three with his victory at the half-mile track on [ December 11, 1955 ]. Of the seven GN races promoted at the track from 1952 to 1956, Thomas won 4 of them.
The victory by Herb Thomas was also significant in that it was the final win for the FABULOUS Hudson Hornet. The car make tallied about 80 GN wins from 1951-1955.
Race report from the Palm Beach Post .
Choquette passed away February 23, 2013. Jeff Choquette, one of Jack's grandsons, has been racing late models and has made a limited number of NASCAR truck starts the last couple of years.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Herb Thomas | '54 Hudson |
| 2 | Jack Choquette | '54 Hudson |
| 3 | Buck Baker | '54 Oldsmobile |
| 4 | Dick Rathman | '54 Hudson |
| 5 | Lee Petty | '54 Chrysler |
| 6 | Blackie Pitt | '54 Oldsmobile |
| 7 | Arden Mounts | '54 Hudson |
| 8 | Dutch Hoag | '53 Oldsmobile |
| 9 | Lloyd Chick | '54 Buick |
| 10 | Bill Harrison | '53 Oldsmobile |
| 11 | Marion Edwards | '51 Plymouth |
| 12 | Allan Clarke | '54 Buick |
| 13 | Eddie Skinner | '53 Oldsmobile |
| 14 | Junior Johnson | '55 Oldsmobile |
| 15 | Ralph Liguori | '54 Hudson |
| 16 | Ken Fisher | '54 Chrysler |
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updated by @tmc-chase: 02/05/17 10:24:33AM
