1954 Wilkes County 160
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 37 in the 1954 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 North Wilkesboro Speedway | |||
| Date | April 4, 1954 | ||
| Official name | Wilkes County 160 | ||
| Location | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.625 mi (1.00 km) | ||
| Distance | 160 laps, 100 mi (160 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly with temperatures approaching 64.9 °F (18.3 °C); wind speeds up to 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 68.435 miles per hour (110.135 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Gober Sosebee | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Gober Sosebee | Gober Sosebee | |
| Laps | 112 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dick Rathman | John Ditz | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1954 Wilkes County 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on April 4, 1954 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.[2] Until the 1957 running of the Wilkes 160, North Wilkesboro Speedway was an unpaved oval track that naturally slowed down the speeds of the vehicles.
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 anymore.
Summary
It took one hour and twenty-seven minutes for the race to reach its full conclusion.[2] Dick Rathmann would acquire a significant victory over Herb Thomas by a margin of twenty seconds in front of five thousand and five hundred people. All 24 drivers that were involved in this racing event were born in the United States; no foreigners attempted to qualify for this event.[2] Notable speeds were: 68.454 miles per hour (110.166 km/h) as the average speed and 78.698 miles per hour (126.652 km/h) as the pole position speed.[2] John Ditz would win his first race as an owner during this event; a diverse range of automobile manufacturers would enjoy starting positions within the relatively unregulated NASCAR atmosphere of the mid-1950s.[2] Monetary winnings for each driver ranged from a then-incredible amount of $1,000 ($11,345.72 when considering inflation) to a meager $25 ($283.64 when considering inflation). Total winnings for this race were $3,825 ($43,397.4 when considering inflation).[3]
This race was also notable for being held the week before April 11, 1954; which has been analyzed by a computer search engine as being the least interesting day in the 20th century. Rock and Roll Music was "invented" at a New York City recording studio on April 12 (Monday) when Bill Haley & His Comets would record the incredibly famous song Rock Around the Clock.[4][5][6] Rock Around the Clock quickly became a number one single on both the US and UK charts and also re-entered the UK Singles Chart in the 1960s and 1970s.
No NASCAR Cup Series races were held on Sunday, April 11, 1954.
Finishers
- Dick Rathmann[7]
- Herb Thomas[7]
- Joe Eubanks[7] (the third and final driver to end the race on the lead lap)
- Curtis Turner[7]
- Lee Petty[7]
- Ralph Liguori
- Al Keller
- Andy Winfree
- Jim Paschal
- Jimmie Lewallen
- Bob Welborn
- Gober Sosebee
- Fred Dove
- Billy Irvin
- Buck Baker
- Eddie Skinner (last driver to complete the entire race – 21 laps behind)
- Bud Harless* (involved in the only crash of the race)
- Ralph Dutton*
- Elton Hildreth* (drove a Nash vehicle)
- Ted Rambo* (drove a Lincoln vehicle – also involved in the crash with Bud Harless)
- Arden Mounts*
- Dave Terrell*
- Stan Kross*
- Blackie Pitt*
* Driver failed to finish race
Timeline
- Start of race: Gober Sosebee started the race with the pole position
- Lap 12: Blackie Pitt had problems with his vehicle's wheel
- Lap 26: Stan Kross' vehicle developed a problematic post on, forcing him to leave the race
- Lap 31: Dave Terrell had a problem with his vehicle's bearings, causing him to withdraw from the race
- Lap 44: Steering wheel problems ended Arden Mounts' day on the track
- Lap 46: Ted Rambo had a terminal crash; forcing him to withdraw from the event
- Lap 58: A hose problem on Elton Hildreth's vehicle meant that his race weekend was over prematurely
- Lap 70: Ralph Dutton would see no more racing this weekend when his steering wheel started acting funny
- Lap 95: Dick Rathmann takes over the lead from Gober Sosebee
- Lap 97: Gober Sosebee takes over the lead from Dick Rathmann
- Lap 115: Dick Rathmann takes over the lead from Gober Sosebee
- Lap 129: Bud Harless had a terminal crash, forcing him to withdraw from the event
- Finish: Dick Rathmann was officially declared the winner of the event
References
- ^ "1954 Wilkes County 160 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
- ^ a b c d e "1954 Wilkes County 160 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
- ^ "1954 Wilkes County 160 information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
- ^ Levy, Andrew (November 25, 2010). "Here isn't the news: April 11, 1954... the most boring day of the 20th century". London: The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- ^ Simons, David (2004). Studio Stories – How the Great New York Records Were Made. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. Cf. pp.168–169.
- ^ Gray, Christopher (June 18, 2009). "An Improbable Cradle of Rock Music". New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "1954 Wilkes County 160 top five finishers information". Save the Speedway. Retrieved 2011-01-09.