35°8.31486′N 90°18.9617′W / 35.13858100°N 90.3160283°W / 35.13858100; -90.3160283

1955 Mid-South 250
Race details[1]
Race 33 of 45 in the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date August 14, 1955 (1955-August-14)
Official name Mid-South 250
Location Memphis-Arkansas Speedway (LeHi, Arkansas)
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (3.000 km)
Distance 160 laps, 250.1 mi (402.8 km)
Weather Hot with temperatures of 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 89.982 miles per hour (144.812 km/h)
Attendance 15,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Carl Keikhaefer
Most laps led
Driver Fonty Flock Carl Keikhaefer
Laps 88
Winner
No. 301 Fonty Flock Carl Keikhaefer

The 1955 Mid-South 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 14, 1955, at the Memphis-Arkansas Speedway in LeHi, Arkansas.

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

Race report

One hundred and sixty-seven laps were done on a dirt oval track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km).[2][3] There were no cautions and the time of the race was two hours, forty-seven minutes, and twelve seconds.[2][3] The average speed was 89.982 miles per hour (144.812 km/h) while the pole position speed was 99.944 miles per hour (160.844 km/h).[2][3] Fifteen thousand people attended this live and completely untelevised race.[2] Total winnings for this race were $10,625 ($116,070 when adjusted for inflation) with the winner receiving $2,950 ($32,226 when adjusted for inflation).[3]

Fonty Flock managed to break his brother's eight-race pole streak. However, Tim Flock qualified in second place for this race.[3] Fonty would eventually win the race in his 1955 Chrysler C-300[2] but Tim would finish in third place (one position worse than he started in).[3] Speeds achieved during qualifying range from 77.9 miles per hour (125.4 km/h) to 99.9 miles per hour (160.8 km/h); with most drivers being able to do a qualifying lap in less than 60 seconds.[4]

Lee Petty was knocked out of the race due to problem with his car's U joint; causing Petty to lose the point lead during the race. It was the first time he didn't lead the point standings since the 10th race of 1954, a 59-race streak. Jimmie Lewallen was forced out of the race due to a broken gas line. Ted Cannady and Banks Simpson would make their NASCAR debuts at this racing event while Ken Johns and Jim McLain would end their NASCAR careers here.[3] No record pertaining to the points system used in NASCAR was recorded for this event.[5]

Smokey Yunick and Carl Kiekhaefer were two of the most notable crew chiefs to attend this race; Yunick attended to Herb Thomas' car while Carl helped to service Tim Flock's vehicle.[6]

Qualifying

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Speed[4] Qualifying time[4] Owner
1 301Fonty Flock'55 Chrysler99.94454.030Carl Kiekhaefer
2 300Tim Flock'55 Chrysler99.26554.400Carl Kiekhaefer
3 89Buck Baker'55 Buick95.71156.420Buck Baker
4 8Billy Carden'55 Buick95.45756.570Bishop Brothers
5 78Jim Paschal'55 Oldsmobile95.32256.650Ernest Woods
6 87Speedy Thompson'54 Oldsmobile95.07056.800Bob Griffin
7 44Bob Welborn'55 Chevrolet94.27357.280Julian Petty
8 55Junior Johnson'55 Oldsmobile93.70157.630Jim Lowe (NASCAR) / Carl Beckham
9 98Dave Terrell'55 Oldsmobile92.67258.720Dave Terrell
10 23Ken Johns'55 Chevrolet92.26058.530unknown

Finishing order

Section reference:[2]

  1. Fonty Flock† (No. 301)
  2. Speedy Thompson† (No. 80)
  3. Tim Flock† (No. 300)
  4. Jim Paschal† (No. 78)
  5. Buck Baker† (No. 89)
  6. Bob Welborn† (No. 44)
  7. Junior Johnson† (No. 55)
  8. Slick Smith† (No. 14)
  9. Jimmy Ayers (No. 3)
  10. Ken Johns (No. 23)
  11. Dave Terrell (No. 98)
  12. Eddie Skinner† (No. 28)
  13. Joe Guide (No. 52)
  14. Herb Thomas† (No. 92)
  15. Ted Cannady (No. 32)
  16. Banks Simpson† (No. 20)
  17. Gene Simpson (No. 40)
  18. Al Watkins† (No. 33)
  19. Lee Petty*† (No. 42)
  20. Roscoe Rann† (No. 155)
  21. Jimmie Lewallen*† (No. 88)
  22. Jim McLain† (No. 39)
  23. Hooker Hood*† (No. 188)
  24. Jack Hubbard*† (No. 51-X)
  25. Harold Kite*† (No. 71)
  26. Woodie Wilson*† (No. 90)
  27. Billy Carden*† (No. 8)
  28. Gordon Smith*† (No. 19)
  29. Gwyn Staley*† (No. 56)

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Timeline

Section reference:[2]

  • Start of race: Fonty Flock started the race with the pole position.
  • Lap 3: Gwyn Staley became the last place finisher due to faulty bearings.
  • Lap 5: Gordon Smith's engine blew, which ended his race weekend a bit too soon.
  • Lap 11: Billy Carden noticed that the bearings on his vehicle were acting funny; forcing him to end his race weekend early.
  • Lap 18: Tim Flock takes over the lead from Fonty Flock; Woodie Wilson managed to overheat his vehicle.
  • Lap 23: Harold Kite had troubles with his pistons, ending his race weekend prematurely.
  • Lap 56: Jack Hubbard experienced enough problems with his push rod to not finish the event.
  • Lap 65: The push rod on Hooker Hood's vehicle became problematic, preventing him from finishing the race.
  • Lap 96: Jimmie Lewallen's gas line no longer worked properly, making him exit the event prematurely.
  • Lap 97: Fonty Flock takes over the lead from Tim Flock.
  • Lap 135: Lee Petty's vehicle developed a problematic U-joint, forcing him to leave the race.
  • Finish: Fonty Flock was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

  1. ↑ "Weather information for the 1955 Mid-South 250". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Racing information for the 1955 Mid-South 250". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Advanced information". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  4. 1 2 3 "Qualifying information for the 1955 Mid-South 250". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
  5. ↑ "Points scoring information for the 1955 Mid-South 250". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  6. ↑ "Crew chief information for the 1955 Mid-South 250". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
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