Yesterday, I posted about one of Herb Thomas' worst days that took place at Charlotte Speedway on May 1, 1955. 364 days earlier, he had a much better one at the famed dirt circle Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania.
Race preview from Reading Eagle .
Lee Petty apparently started from the pole position - though the rest of the starting line-up seems to have been lost. Petty maximized the leverage of his top qualifying time. When the green flag dropped, Petty hit turn 1 in the lead and didn't surrender it...until. Papa Lee led the first half of the race until his Chrysler began overheating. Lee was able to continue for another 50 laps or so, but he was done for the day in terms of competing for the win.
With Petty out of the picture, Thomas took over the lead. Matching Lee's performance, Thomas led the SECOND half of the race on his way to the checkered flag.
Herb Thomas in victory lane with Smokey Yunick. - Getty Images
Race report from Daytona Beach Morning Journal.
Thomas backed up his May 2nd win at Langhorne with a repeat performance when the GN drivers returned. On September 26, 1954, he won the race again as [ documented here by Tim Leeming ].
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Herb Thomas | '54 Hudson |
| 2 | Al Keller | '54 Hudson |
| 3 | Dick Rathman | '54 Hudson |
| 4 | Joe Eubanks | '51 Hudson |
| 5 | Paul Pettit | '53 Hudson |
| 6 | Buck Baker | '53 Oldsmobile |
| 7 | Whitey Brainerd | '49 Ford |
| 8 | Blackie Pitt | '49 Plymouth |
| 9 | Lee Petty | '54 Chrysler |
| 10 | Gary Mathieson | '50 Ford |
| 11 | Bobby Courtwright | '50 Ford |
| 12 | Laird Bruner | '53 Oldsmobile |
| 13 | Wimpy Ervin | '51 Henry J |
| 14 | Jim Clark | '53 Oldsmobile |
| 15 | Bill Blair | '53 Hudson |
| 16 | Elton Hildreth | '54 Nash |
| 17 | Matt Gowan | '53 Plymouth |
| 18 | Russ Hepler | '53 Hudson |
| 19 | Bill Chevalier | '51 Ford |
| 20 | Harvey Eakin | '53 Nash |
| 21 | Jack Harrison | '54 Oldsmobile |
| 22 | Stan Kross | '54 Hudson |
| 23 | Gober Sosebee | '54 Oldsmobile |
| 24 | Dave Terrell | '54 Dodge |
| 25 | Eddie Skinner | '53 Oldsmobile |
--
Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 05/01/17 11:57:55PM
