Herbert Watson Thomas (April 6, 1923 – August 9, 2000) was a

stock car racer Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

who was one of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

's most successful drivers in the 1950s. Thomas was NASCAR's first multi-time Cup Champion.

Background

Born in the small town of Olivia, North Carolina, Thomas worked as a farmer and worked in a sawmill in the 1940s before his interest turned to auto racing.

NASCAR career

In 1949, Thomas took part in NASCAR's first Strictly Stock (the forerunner to the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handica ...

and ultimately the modern

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

) race and made four starts in the series' first year. The following year, he made thirteen appearances in the series, now renamed the Grand National division. He scored his first career win at

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...

in a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

. He started the 1951 season with moderate success in his Plymouth (plus one win in an

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...

) before switching to a Hudson Hornet, at the suggestion of fellow driver Marshall Teague. Thomas won the

Southern 500 The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is and consists of 367 laps. F ...

rather handily in what was famously dubbed "The

Fabulous Hudson Hornet The Fabulous Hudson Hornet is a famous NASCAR Grand National Series and AAA stock car campaigned during the early 1950s that was produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company. Several drivers, including Marshall Teague and Herb Thomas, drove Hudso ...

", which would be the first of six wins in two months. His late charge helped him narrowly defeat Fonty Flock to win the Grand National championship. With help from crew chief Smokey Yunick, Thomas subsequently became the first owner/driver to take the championship in the process. In 1952, Thomas and his Hornet were involved in a close championship race with another Flock, Fonty's younger brother Tim. The two drivers won 8 races in their respective Hudsons, but Flock came out on top at the end, despite another late-season charge from Thomas. He returned with a vengeance in 1953 and dominated the entire season, winning a series-best twelve races ''en route'' to becoming the first two-time series champion. Thomas won twelve races again in 1954, including a second

win (making him the first driver to win twice at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

), but he was beaten by a more consistent

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup c ...

in the championship standings. After four successful years in a Hudson, Thomas began driving Chevrolets and

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 ...

s in races in 1955. He crashed heavily behind the wheel of a Buick at a race in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, forcing him to miss three months of the season. He returned to score his third

win in his Motoramic Chevy, one of three wins during the season. He finished 5th in the championship on the strength of his win at Darlington. In 1956, Thomas briefly abandoned being an owner/driver and, after winning a race for himself early in the season, he drove for two other owners. He won once for Yunick, after which the two broke ties, and three consecutive races while driving

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automot ...

s for

Carl Kiekhaefer Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer (June 4, 1906 – October 5, 1983) was the owner of ''Kiekhaefer Mercury'' (later Mercury Marine) and ''Kiekhaefer Aeromarine'' and also a two-time NASCAR championship car owner. Kiekhaefer Mercury founder Mr Kiekhaefer ...

, then dominating NASCAR with the first professional team. Thomas eventually returned to being an owner/driver at season's end, and had clinched second behind Petty in the championship when he was severely injured at a race in

Shelby, North Carolina Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. It lies near the western edge of the Charlotte combined statistical area. The population was 20,323 at the 2010 census. History The area was originally ...

. The wreck effectively ended his NASCAR career, though he had two starts in 1957 and one in 1962 without success. The three consecutive wins would end up being his final three wins.

Career summary

Thomas ended his career with 48 victories, which currently ranks 14th all-time. He won 21.05% of his starts(48 wins/228 starts) during his career, which ranks as the highest win percentage all-time among drivers with 100 career starts.

Brother Donald

Herb's younger brother Donald made 79 starts in the Grand National division between 1950 and 1956, winning at

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Lakewood Speedway Lakewood Speedway was a race track located south of Atlanta, Georgia, in Lakewood, just north of the eastern arm of Langford Parkway (formerly Lakewood Freeway). The track held many kinds of races between 1919 and 1979, including events sanctione ...

in 1952. Donald was the youngest driver to ever win a race in series history until

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...

broke the record in 2005.

Awards

Thomas was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994 and was named one of

NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers is an alphabetical list of NASCAR drivers. In 1998, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, NASCAR gathered a panel to select the "50 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time." It was inspired in part by the NBA's de ...

in 1998. Thomas was inducted into the

NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, honors drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, broadcasters and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning ...

on February 8, 2013. He was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...

in 2017.Herb Thomas
at the

He and the Fabulous Hudson Hornet are on a historical

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

on the side of a building at 133 N. Steele Street that was commissioned in 2016 by the City of Sanford.

Death

On August 9, 2000, Thomas suffered a heart attack and died in

Sanford, North Carolina Sanford is a city in Lee County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 30,261 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lee County. History Sanford was named for C.O. Sanford, a railroad civil engineer instrumental in the building ...

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Grand National Series

References

External links

* *
Article on Thomas' passing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Herb 1923 births 2000 deaths Burials in North Carolina International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees NASCAR Cup Series champions NASCAR drivers People from Harnett County, North Carolina Racing drivers from North Carolina Hudson Motor Car Company NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees