1949 Wilkes 200
Race details[1][2]
Race 8 of 8 in the 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock season
North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Date October 16, 1949 (1949-October-16)
Official name Wilkes 200
Location North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.500 mi (0.804 km)
Distance 200 laps, 100 mi (150 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures reaching up to 68.0 °F (20.0 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Average speed 53.364 miles per hour (85.881 km/h)
Attendance 10,000
Pole position
Driver
(Dailey Moyer owner)
Time 31.27 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Bill Blair (Sam Rice owner)
Laps 180
Winner
No. 7 Bob Flock (Frank Christian owner)
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1949 Wilkes 200 was a NASCAR Strictly Stock Series racing event that took place on October 16, 1949.[where?][3]

Ten thousand people would attend this live racing event where Kenneth Wagner qualified for the race with a pole position speed of 57.563 miles per hour (92.639 km/h) – the equivalent of 31.27 seconds.[2][3] The entire race took place on a dirt track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) per lap.[2][3] Weather conditions for the race were recorded at nearby Hickory Regional Airport; a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of nearby Hickory, North Carolina.[1]

Summary

This would be the final race of the 1949 NASCAR season and would take place at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.[2][3]

Bob Flock would defeat Lee Petty by an entire football field – 100 yards (91 m) – to win NASCAR's first racing event with an established name.[2][3] Flock would earn a mere $1,500 in prize winnings ($18,448.95 when inflation is taken into effect).[4] Frank Mundy would receive a last-place finish for only finishing 38 laps out of the mandated 200 laps.[2][3] Bill Blair would lead the most laps in this race with 180 laps led out of 200.[3]

Red Byron would go on to win NASCAR's first ever championship while Sara Christian would become one of its first female drivers.[5] Byron almost became a cripple after being shot by an enemy fighter plane while serving as a tail gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber during World War II. He spent two years in military hospitals rehabilitating his leg so that he could compete in NASCAR after the war ended.[5]

Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in the race were Buddy Elliott, Julian Petty, Buddy Helms, Red Vogt, and Cliff Rainwater.[6]

While Red Byron and Lee Petty were the better drivers of the 1949 NASCAR Cup Series season, Bill Blair was the most consistent driver along with Petty.

Timeline

Section reference:[2]

Results

POS[7] ST # DRIVER SPONSOR / OWNER CAR LAPS MONEY STATUS LED
1 7   Bob Flock Bob Flock Garage   (Frank Christian) '49 Oldsmobile 200 1500 running 20
2 42   Lee Petty Petty Enterprises '49 Plymouth 200 750 running 0
3 47   Fonty Flock Green Leaf Cafe   (Ed Lawrence) '47 Buick 199 400 running 0
4 19   Clyde Minter Clyde Minter '47 Ford 199 300 running 0
5 92   Herb Thomas Herb Thomas '49 Ford 197 175 running 0
6 14   Roy Hall Parks Novelty   (Raymond Parks) '49 Oldsmobile 196 150 0
7 5   Ray Erickson Ed Hastings '49 Mercury 194 100 0
8 9   Raymond Lewis Robert Dixon '49 Cadillac 194 75 0
9 41   Curtis Turner Frank Christian '49 Oldsmobile 193 50 0
10 2 44   Bill Blair Sam Rice '49 Cadillac 191 50 engine 180
11 11   Bob Apperson Bob Apperson '47 Ford 191 50 0
12 71   Sara Christian Frank Christian '49 Oldsmobile 188 50 0
13 28   Slick Smith Buddy Helms '47 Hudson 174 50 0
14 20   H.F. Stikeleather '48 Lincoln 167 50 0
15 1 15   Kenneth Wagner Moyer Co.   (Dailey Moyer) '49 Lincoln 165 50 0
16 22   Red Byron Parks Novelty   (Raymond Parks) Oldsmobile 155 0
17 21   Bobby Green Bobby Greene '48 Ford 148 0
18 1   Bill Greever '48 Mercury 134 0
19 90   Tim Flock Buddy Elliott '49 Oldsmobile 117 0
20 8   Dick Linder LaBelle Motors '49 Kaiser 59 0
21 4   Otis Martin Raymond Lewis '47 Buick 50 0
22 2   Frank Mundy '49 Ford 38 0

Race summary

References

  1. ^ a b "1949 Wilkes 200 temperature information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "1949 Wilkes 200 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "1949 Wilkes 200 racing results (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
  4. ^ "Bob Flock's prize winnings (1949 Wilkes 200)". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  5. ^ a b "NASCAR's first champion and first female driver". Save the Speedway. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  6. ^ "1949 Wilkes 200 crew chiefs". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  7. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
Preceded byinaugural race Wilkes 200 races 1949 Succeeded by1950
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