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1955 Wilkes 160

Former NASCAR race

The 1955 Wilkes 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 23, 1955, at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Summary

One hundred and sixty laps were competed on a dirt oval track spanning .625 mi. There were three cautions delivered down by NASCAR officials and the race lasted exactly one hour, twenty-one minutes, and sixteen seconds. Buck Baker defeated Lee Petty by a time of three seconds. Ford would make its first Grand National Series win at this speedway; making it a viable competitor against Dodge, Chevrolet and Chrysler. The average speed was 72.347 mi/h while the pole position speed was 79.815 mi/h. Ten thousand people attended this autumn race. This race would produce Joe Weatherly's first finish in the top five. Most of the drivers in this racing event were driver-owners who owned their own racing vehicle and drove their vehicle directly to the races instead of towing it from hundreds of miles away.

All the drivers in this event were racing for a prize purse that totalled $4,285 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Only 20 of the 28 competing drivers would gain financially from this race; with individual earnings that ranged from $1,110 ($ when adjusted for inflation) to a paltry $50 for the NASCAR drivers who finished in 13th place through 20th place ($ when adjusted for inflation). No financial compensation was given to the participants who finished in the bottom 9 due to NASCAR's limited budget for prize winnings in an era prior to "big money" sponsors like Sprint Nextel and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

Carl Kiekhaefer was one of the notable crew chiefs on attendance for this race; he helped to service Tim Flock's racing vehicle.

Qualifying

Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer
87	Buck Baker	'56 Ford	79.815 mph
92	Herb Thomas	'55 Chevrolet
98	Marvin Panch	'56 Ford
42	Lee Petty	'55 Dodge
B-29	Dink Widenhouse	'56 Ford
301	Fonty Flock	'55 Chrysler
99	Curtis Turner	'56 Ford
49	Bob Welborn	'55 Chevrolet
9	Joe Weatherly	'56 Ford
20	Speedy Thompson	'55 Chrysler

Results

Pos	Grid	Car #	Driver	Owner	Make	Laps	Laps led	Status	Winnings	1		1		87		Buck Baker†		Pete DePaolo		'56 Ford		160		160		Running		$1,100	2		4		42		Lee Petty†		Petty Enterprises		'55 Dodge		160		0		Running		$700	3		12		2		Gwyn Staley†		Hubert Westmoreland		'55 Chevrolet		159		0		Running		$475	4		9		9		Joe Weatherly†		Charlie Schwam		'56 Ford		159		0		Running		$365	5		11		300		Tim Flock†		Carl Kiekhaefer		'55 Chrysler		159		0		Running		$310	6		6		301		Fonty Flock†		Carl Kiekhaefer		'55 Chrysler		159		0		Running		$250	7		10		20		Speedy Thompson†		Carl Kiekhaefer		'55 Chrysler		157		0		Running		$200	8		5		B-29		Dink Widenhouse		Dink Widenhouse		'56 Ford		157		0		Running		$150	9		19		198		Dave Terrell		Dave Terrell		'55 Oldsmobile		156		0		Running		$100	10		16		44		Jim Paschal†		Julian Petty		'55 Chevrolet		154		0		Running		$100	11		17		04		Jimmy Massey		Hubert Westmoreland		'55 Chevrolet		154		0		Running		$75	12		18		88		Jimmie Lewallen†		Ernest Woods		'55 Oldsmobile		151		0		Running		$60	13		8		49		Bob Welborn†		Bob Welborn		'55 Chevrolet		145		0		Running		$50	14		23		24		Bobby Waddell		Jimmy Pardue		'55 Chevrolet		138		0		Running		$50	15		27		460		Ed Cole		Brooks Brothers		'55 Plymouth		136		0		Running		$50	16		24		28		Eddie Skinner		Frank Dodge		'53 Oldsmobile		132		0		Running		$50	17		25		27		John McVitty†		John McVitty		'55 Chevrolet		128		0		Wheel		$50	18		15		5		Ralph Liguori†		Ralph Liguori		'55 Buick		127		0		Stalled		$50	19		13		22		Bill Blair†		Bill Blair		'55 Oldsmobile		127		0		RF Hub		$50	20		7		99		Curtis Turner†		Charlie Schwam		'56 Ford		103		0		RF Hub		$50	21		2		92		Herb Thomas†		Herb Thomas		'55 Chevrolet		90		0		Crash		No Payout	22		21		89		Ned Jarrett		Ned Jarrett		'55 Buick		70		0		Fuel Pump		No Payout	23		3		98		Marvin Panch		Pete DePaolo		'56 Ford		50		0		Overheating		No Payout	24		14		70		Joe Eubanks†		Lancaster Brothers		'55 Chevrolet		40		0		Steering		No Payout	25		22		20		Banks Simpson		Banks Simpson		'55 Buick		40		0		Radiator		No Payout	26		20		55		Junior Johnson		Jim Lowe & Carl Beckham		'55 Oldsmobile		35		0		Bumper		No Payout	27		28		9A		Tom Pistone		Tom Pistone		'55 Chevrolet		28		0		Overheating		No Payout	28		26		71		Ted Cannady		Ted Cannady		'55 Oldsmobile		25		0		Steering		No Payout

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Race summary

Lead changes: 0
Cautions: 3
Red flags: N/A
Time of race: 1:21:16
Average speed: 72.347
Margin of Victory: 5 seconds

Timeline

Section reference:

Start of race: Buck Baker started the race with the pole position.
Lap 25: Ted Cannady's steering became problematic, sealing his last-place finish in the race.
Lap 28: Tom Pistone's vehicle overheated, forcing him to exit the race prematurely.
Lap 35: The bumper on Junior Johnson's vehicle fell off, damaging his vehicle and forcing him to exit the race prematurely.
Lap 40: Banks Simpson's radiator went berserk; Joe Eubanks' steering stopped working properly.
Lap 50: Marvin Panch's vehicle overheated while he was racing.
Lap 70: Ned Jarrett's fuel pump became problematic while he was driving the vehicle.
Lap 90: Herb Thomas had a terminal crash, forcing him to retire from the race.
Lap 103: The RF hub on Curtis Turner developed problems.
Lap 127: Ralph Liguori's vehicle stalled on the track; Bill Blair had some problems with his RF hub.
Lap 128: A wheel came off of John McVitty's vehicle, forcing him out of the race.
Finish: Buck Baker was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

"1955 Wilkes 160 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac.
"1955 Wilkes 160 race information". Racing Reference.
"Winning manufacturer for the 1955 Wilkes 160". Save the Speedway.
"1955 Wilkes 160 driver information". Driver Averages.
"1955 Wilkes 160 race information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet.
"1955 Wilkes 160 crew chief information". Racing Reference.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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