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1955 LeHi 300

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

1955 LeHi 300
Race details[1]
Race 40 of 45 in the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Date October 9, 1955 (1955-October-09)
Official name LeHi 300
Location Memphis-Arkansas Speedway (LeHi, Arkansas)
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (3.000 km)
Distance 200 laps, 300.1 mi (452.8 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds of 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)
Average speed 83.948 mph (135.101 km/h)
Attendance 8,500[2]
Pole position
Driver
Carl Keikhaefer
Most laps led
Driver Speedy Thompson Pete DePaolo
Laps 158
Winner
No. 297 Speedy Thompson Pete DePaolo

The 1955 LeHi 300 (known officially in NASCAR as 1955-40) was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 9, 1955, at 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 any more.

Race report

[edit]

The 200-lap race took three hours and thirty-four minutes to complete in front of 8500 live spectators.[2] Speedy Thompson defeated Marvin Panch[3] by ¾ of a single lap.[2] Ford would win their first race as a manufacturer since 1950. Fonty Flock earned the pole position with a speed of 100.390 miles per hour (161.562 km/h) while the winner of the race achieved a speed of 83.948 miles per hour (135.101 km/h).[2] Jim Reed was disqualified for using non-stock cylinder heads, and was considered a repeat violation according to NASCAR.[2] The in-race disqualification resulted in Reed given the last-place finish on lap 8.[2] All of the 41 drivers on the racing grid were Caucasian American-born males.[2] This was the 40th racing event out of the 45 done in the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series season.[2]

Bob Flock would make his only NASCAR Grand National Series start under car owner Carl Kiekhafer.[2] Due to strained relationships between Flock and Kiekhafer, Flock would never drive for him again.[2] In this race, 21 of the drivers had previously won in the NASCAR Grand National Cup Series.[2] This was also the 12th Of Buck Baker's 16 consecutive finishes to bring the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series to a conclusion.[2] It was also the 10th of 12 starts for Johnny Mantz.[2]

The total amount of prize winnings that could have been earned from this racing event was $9,120 ($103,730.09 when adjusted for inflation).[4] Smokey Yunick and Carl Kiekhaefer were the two notable crew chiefs that participated in the event.[5]

Tiny Lund would make his career start during this event and would make $60 for his troubles ($682.43 when adjusted for inflation).[2] Other drivers making their NASCAR Cup Series debut in this race included Johnny Allen, Bill Morton, Jim Murray, Norm Nelson, and Chuck Stevenson.[6] A lot of drivers would make their grand exits from NASCAR after this race: this relatively long list included Floyd Curtis, Hooker Hood, Roscoe Rann and Leland Sewell.[6] One-time race car drivers Bob Coleman, Al Hager, and Gene Rose would make their only NASCAR appearances during this race.[6]

Even during the 1950s, it was unusual to see four cars fail to finish the race due to problems with the vapor lock. It occurs when the liquid fuel changes state from liquid to gas while still in the fuel delivery system. This disrupts the operation of the fuel pump, causing loss of feed pressure to the carburetor, resulting in transient loss of power or complete stalling. Restarting the engine from this state may be difficult. The fuel can vaporize due to being heated by the engine, by the local climate or due to a lower boiling point at high altitude.

Qualifying

[edit]
Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 301 Fonty Flock '55 Chrysler Carl Kiekhaefer
2 300 Tim Flock '55 Chrysler Carl Kiekhaefer
3 87 Buck Baker '55 Ford Pete DePaolo
4 99 Billy Carden '55 Ford Charlie Schwam
5 95 Curtis Turner '55 Ford Charlie Schwam
6 98 Marvin Panch '55 Ford Pete DePaolo
7 92 Herb Thomas '55 Chevrolet Herb Thomas
8 86 Joe Weatherly '55 Ford Pete DePaolo
8 308 Bob Flock '55 Chrysler Carl Kiekhaefer
10 297 Speedy Thompson '55 Ford Pete DePaolo
11 25 Bill Widenhouse '55 Chevrolet Sam McCuthen
12 04 Jimmy Massey '55 Chevrolet Hubert Westmoreland
13 2 Gwyn Staley '55 Chevrolet Hubert Westmoreland
14 B-29 Dink Widenhouse '55 Ford Dink Widenhouse
15 68 Chuck Stevenson '55 Ford Pete DePaolo
16 17 Russ Graham '55 Chevrolet Earl Wright
17 70 Joe Eubanks '55 Chevrolet Lancaster Brothers
18 88 Jimmie Lewallen '55 Oldsmobile Ernest Woods
19 198 Dave Terrell '55 Oldsmobile Dave Terrell
20 49 Bob Welborn '55 Chevrolet Bob Welborn
21 15 Johnny Mantz '55 Ford unknown
22 188 Hooker Hood '54 Oldsmobile Hooker Hood
23 37 Tiny Lund '55 Chevrolet Carl Rupert
24 42 Lee Petty '55 Dodge Petty Enterprises
25 44 Ralph Liguori '55 Chevrolet Julian Petty

Top 10 finishers

[edit]
Pos[2] Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Winnings Laps led Time/Status
1 10 297 Speedy Thompson '55 Ford 200 $2,900 158 3:34:25
2 6 98 Marvin Panch '55 Ford 200 $1,450 0 +0.75 laps
3 12 04 Jimmy Massey '55 Chevrolet 196 $1,000 0 +4 laps
4 2 300 Tim Flock '55 Chrysler 195 $850 42 +5 laps
5 8 308 Bob Flock '55 Chrysler 195 $650 0 +5 laps
6 3 87 Buck Baker '55 Ford 194 $525 0 +6 laps
7 18 18 Jimmie Lewallen '55 Oldsmobile 190 $400 0 +10 laps
8 25 44 Ralph Liguori '55 Chevrolet 189 $350 0 +11 laps
9 14 B-29 Dink Widenhouse '55 Ford 185 $250 0 +15 laps
10 20 49 Bob Welborn '55 Chevrolet 183 $225 0 +17 laps

Timeline

[edit]

Section reference: [2]

  • Start of race: Tim Flock started the race with the pole position.
  • Lap 3: A piston located inside Ted Cannady's vehicle stopped working properly.
  • Lap 5: Radiator issues forced Fonty Flock into the sidelines for the remainder of the race.
  • Lap 8: Jim Reed was disqualified from the race.
  • Lap 10: The radiator on Floyd Curtis' vehicle no longer worked properly.
  • Lap 13: The gasket on Eddie Skinner's vehicle fell off.
  • Lap 19: The vapor lock on Curtis Turner's vehicle acted in an unusual manner.
  • Lap 22: Russ Graham's vehicle overheated; Bill Widenhouse's radiator started acting strangely.
  • Lap 27: Dave Terrell had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 29: Joe Weatherly's vehicle developed vapor lock issues.
  • Lap 38: Gwyn Staley's fuel pump started acting funny, forcing him off the track.
  • Lap 43: Speedy Thompson takes over the lead from Tim Flock.
  • Lap 46: Johnny Mantz suddenly had problems with his vapor lock along with Joe Eubanks.
  • Lap 55: Billy Carden had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 63: Jim Murray's fuel pump was giving him problems.
  • Lap 65: Tiny Lund had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 123: Bill Morton had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 132: The rear end of Herb Thomas' vehicle fell off, forcing him to leave the event.
  • Lap 162: Norm Nelson's engine became problematic, causing him to exit the race early.
  • Finish: Speedy Thompson was declared the winner of the race.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1955 LeHi 300 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "1955 LeHi 300 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
  3. ^ "1955 LeHi 300 race winner". Mcubed.net. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  4. ^ "1955 LeHi 300 total prize winnings information". Everything Stock Car. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  5. ^ "1955 LeHi 300 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  6. ^ a b c "1955 Memphis-Arkansas Speedway results". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
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