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 ($19,208.39 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]

  • Start of race: Bill Blair starts off the race in the pole position
  • Lap 38: Frank Mundy withdrew from the race for reasons unknown
  • Lap 155: Red Byron withdrew from the race for reasons unknown, he was assumed not have been paid for participating in this event
  • Lap 181: Bob Flock takes over the lead from Bill Blair
  • Lap 188: Sara Christian ended the racing event 12 laps behind Herb Thomas
  • Lap 191: Bill Blair had a terminal problem with his engine, forcing him out of the race
  • Lap 196: Roy Hall may or may not have finished the race six laps behind Thomas, records of this race were not kept in the NASCAR archives
  • Finish: Bob Flock was officially declared the winner of the event

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

  • Lead changes: 2
  • Cautions: N/A
  • Red flags: N/A
  • Time of race: 1 hours, 52 minutes, and 16 seconds
  • Average speed: 53.364 miles per hour (85.881 km/h)
  • Margin of Victory: 100 yards

References

  1. ^ a b "1949 Wilkes 200 temperature information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "1949 Wilkes 200 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "1949 Wilkes 200 racing results (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  4. ^ "Bob Flock's prize winnings (1949 Wilkes 200)". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "NASCAR's first champion and first female driver". Save the Speedway. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  6. ^ "1949 Wilkes 200 crew chiefs". Racing Reference. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
Preceded by
inaugural race
 Wilkes 200 races
1949 		Succeeded by
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Wilkes_200
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