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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

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 ($99,628.92 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 ($655.45 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

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 301Fonty Flock'55 ChryslerCarl Kiekhaefer
2 300Tim Flock'55 ChryslerCarl Kiekhaefer
3 87Buck Baker'55 FordPete DePaolo
4 99Billy Carden'55 FordCharlie Schwam
5 95Curtis Turner'55 FordCharlie Schwam
6 98Marvin Panch'55 FordPete DePaolo
7 92Herb Thomas'55 ChevroletHerb Thomas
8 86Joe Weatherly'55 FordPete DePaolo
8 308Bob Flock'55 ChryslerCarl Kiekhaefer
10 297Speedy Thompson'55 FordPete DePaolo
11 25Bill Widenhouse'55 ChevroletSam McCuthen
12 04Jimmy Massey'55 ChevroletHubert Westmoreland
13 2Gwyn Staley'55 ChevroletHubert Westmoreland
14 B-29Dink Widenhouse'55 FordDink Widenhouse
15 68Chuck Stevenson'55 FordPete DePaolo
16 17Russ Graham'55 ChevroletEarl Wright
17 70Joe Eubanks'55 ChevroletLancaster Brothers
18 88Jimmie Lewallen'55 OldsmobileErnest Woods
19 198Dave Terrell'55 OldsmobileDave Terrell
20 49Bob Welborn'55 ChevroletBob Welborn
21 15Johnny Mantz'55 Fordunknown
22 188Hooker Hood'54 OldsmobileHooker Hood
23 37Tiny Lund'55 ChevroletCarl Rupert
24 42Lee Petty'55 DodgePetty Enterprises
25 44Ralph Liguori'55 ChevroletJulian Petty

Top 10 finishers

Pos[2] Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Winnings Laps led Time/Status
1 10297Speedy Thompson'55 Ford200$2,9001583:34:25
2 698Marvin Panch'55 Ford200$1,4500+0.75 laps
3 1204Jimmy Massey'55 Chevrolet196$1,0000+4 laps
4 2300Tim Flock'55 Chrysler195$85042+5 laps
5 8308Bob Flock'55 Chrysler195$6500+5 laps
6 387Buck Baker'55 Ford194$5250+6 laps
7 1818Jimmie Lewallen'55 Oldsmobile190$4000+10 laps
8 2544Ralph Liguori'55 Chevrolet189$3500+11 laps
9 14B-29Dink Widenhouse'55 Ford185$2500+15 laps
10 2049Bob Welborn'55 Chevrolet183$2250+17 laps

Timeline

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

  1. ↑ "1955 LeHi 300 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "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. 1 2 3 "1955 Memphis-Arkansas Speedway results". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
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