Dick Linder mathematically eliminated themselves from the championship by not taking part in this race.
Summary
Fireball Roberts acquired the
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
while driving speeds up to during the qualifying sessions.
However, on the first lap of the race, he was passed by
Red Byron.
Three laps later,
Fonty Flock took over the lead, and would eventually lead over 104 laps before being sidelined with a blown engine.
Byron took the lead back, and would lead 30 more laps, but he was sidelined with a broken spindle.
would inherit the lead, but with eight laps to go, Leon Sales, in his first start, took over the lead, and would defeat Jack Smith by an unknown margin of victory.
Sales would qualify in eleventh place for this racing event.
[''1950 Wilkes 200''](_blank)
information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Seven thousand people would watch this race that took place on a dirt track spanning .
All 26 drivers on the starting grid were born in the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
; no foreign drivers made the grid.
Most of the DNFs in the race were caused by wheel and engine problems; although two drivers were taken out the race due to a
crash
Crash or CRASH may refer to:
Common meanings
* Collision, an impact between two or more objects
* Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond
* Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating
* Couch su ...
and a troublesome spindle.
Other notable drivers in this race were
Billy Carden
Billy Carden (April 1, 1924 – October 25, 2004) was an American stock car racing driver from Mableton, Georgia. He was a stock car racing pioneer and an early NASCAR competitor. He made over 50 NASCAR Grand National (now Cup) starts and also d ...
, future
1955 Southern 500
The 1955 Southern 500, the sixth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event. The event was held on September 5, 1955, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. This race spanned 500 miles on a paved oval track. An ...
winner
Herb Thomas and
Curtis Turner.
The lowest paid driver got $50 in winnings ($ when adjusted for inflation) while the winner received $1,000 in total prize money ($ when adjusted for inflation).
NASCAR would offer a total purse of $3,900 for this racing event ($ when adjusted for inflation).
The oldest car in the race was a 1947
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
which was one of the models manufactured shortly after the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Most of drivers on the field were driving 1950 model year vehicles with no entries from the
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
manufacturer until later in the decade.
Even a
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
vehicle made an entry in the race. This was the first race of the Grand National series to not have at least one Ford in the field.
Oldsmobile drivers would use the
Oldsmobile 88
The Oldsmobile 88 (marketed from 1989 on as the Eighty Eight) is a full-size car that was sold and produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 until 1974, the 88 was the division's most profitable line, particularly the entry level mod ...
as their vehicle for this event.
Debuts and retirements
Herbert Burns, Leon Sales, Ewell Weddle, and Jerry Wimbish would introduce themselves to the NASCAR scene during this race while Jack Carr and Tex Keene would retire from NASCAR after this race.
[''1950 Wilkes 200''](_blank)
information at Race-Database
Results
Race summary
* Lead changes: 5
* Cautions: N/A
* Red flags: N/A
* Time of race: N/A
* Average speed: N/A
* Margin of Victory: N/A
Timeline
Section reference:
References
{{Tyson Holly Farms 400
Wilkes 200
The Tyson Holly Farms 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held annually from 1949 to 1996 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was the second of two Winston Cup Series races held annually (with the ...
Wilkes 200
The Tyson Holly Farms 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held annually from 1949 to 1996 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was the second of two Winston Cup Series races held annually (with the ...
NASCAR races at North Wilkesboro Speedway