Nascar's very first stock car race took place on June 19, 1949. It was the first race of an 8 race series to determine Nascar's first champion.
More than 13,000 spectators attend the inaugural Strictly Stock National Championship race at the 3/4-mile Charlotte Speedway. NASCAR Publicity Director Houston Lawing reports more than 5000 fans were turned away due to lack of grandstand space.The race was set for 200 laps. The purse was an unimaginable $5,000, including $2,000 for the winner and $1,000 for the runner-up.
Qualifying was run on Saturday.. #7 Bob Flock in his 1946 Hudson owned by the Davis Brothers won the pole on Saturday with a pole speed of 67.958mph.
#90 Tim Flock in his Buddy Elliott, '49 Oldsmobile was 2nd, followed by #22 Red Byron in his Parks Novelty '49 Oldsmobile in 3rd.
Bob Flock (Photo)
Saturday's Qualifying Results (Only Know top 14, the rest listed qualified for the race in no particular order)
Start Car# Driver Sponsor Owner Car1 7 Bob Flock Davis Brothers '46 Hudson
2 90 Tim Flock Buddy Elliott '49 Oldsmobile
3 22 Red Byron Parks Novelty Raymond Parks '49 Oldsmobile
4 19 Otis Martin '48 Ford 5 47 Fonty Flock Grady Cole '49 Hudson
6 41 Curtis Turner Curtis Turner '46 Buick
7 25 Glenn Dunnaway Hubert Westmoreland '47 Ford
8 44 Bill Blair R.B. McIntosh '49 Lincoln
9 38 Lee Petty Petty Enterprises '46 Buick
10 ? Pee Wee Martin '49 Oldsmobile
11 Uknown
12 34 Jim Roper Mecklenburg Motors R.B. McIntosh '49 Lincoln
13 71 Sara Christian Frank Christian '47 Ford
14 2 Sam Rice Rice Racing Sam Rice '49 Oldsmobile
- 31 Sterling Long Long Racing Sterling Long '46 Hudson
- 25 Bob Smith Lane's Motor Co. '49 Oldsmobile
- 16 Bill Snowden Snowden Racing Bill Snowden '48 Mercury
93 Herb Thomas Thomas Racing Herb Thomas '47 Ford
- ? Frank Smith Smith Racing Frank Smith '47 Chrysler
- 36 Jimmy Thompson Bruce Thompson '46 Chrysler
- 87 Buck Baker Penny Mullis '48 Kaiser
- 0 Jimmie Lewallen Jimmie Lewallen '46 Ford
- 11 Skimp Hersey Skimp Hersey '47 Ford
- 1 B.E. Renfro B.E. Renfro '49 Hudson
- 5 Felix Wilkes Felix Wilkes '49 Lincoln
- 4 Frank Mundy Sam Rice '49 Cadillac
- 29 Clarence Boston Clarence Boston '49 Ford
- 10 Fred Johnson Fred Johnson ?
- Archie Smith Frank Smith '46 Ford
- Slick Smith Slick Smith '49 Oldsmobile
- Jack Smith Bishop Brothers '48 Ford
- Jim Paschal Jim Paschal '46 Ford
- John Barker - '47 Kaiser
- George Mantooth - ?
Notes before the race..
In the race there was 10 Fords, 6 Oldsmobiles, 4 Hudsons, 3 Lincolns, 2 Chryslers, 2 Kaisers, 2 Buicks, 1 Cadillac, 1 Mercury, and 2 unknowns.
#7 Bob Flock Nascar's 1st pole sitter.
#71 Sara Christian was born in 1918 in Dahlonega, GA. Married to Frank Christian. It was a car owned by her husband Frank, that she qualified in her first race. Sara Christian was Nascar's first woman driver to qualify for a race. She qualified an impressive 13th in her '47 Ford
#38 Lee Petty driving for his own Petty Enterprises qualified 9th. His son Richard Petty who was just 9 years old at the time, not old enough even to be allowed into the pits sold race programs in the pits "To most everybody, it was just a bunch of people having a race," said racing legend Richard Petty. "Daddy (the late Lee Petty) borrowed a friend's '46 Buick and drove it to a Texaco station near the track. He and Uncle Julian changed the oil, greased it, gassed it and went racing," added Richard Petty.
Lee Petty (Photo)
1949 Pole Standings 1. Bob Flock - 1
The Race..
When the green flag fell on the field. Bob Flock led the first five laps in his '46 Hudson. Then Bill Blair in the #44, R.B. McIntosh '49 Lincoln took the lead on lap 6 and looked to have the winning car early in the race. On lap 38 #7 Bob Flock's Hudson blew an engine, ending Bob's day and giving him a 32nd place finish in the race.
On Lap 105 #38 Lee Petty blew a tire and his Buick flipped over, his race was done and Petty finished 17th in the race. "Daddy ran about halfway before the right-rear blew and rolled it over. They used a rollback to get it back to Greensboro the next day. I don't know how they explained the wrecked car to the guy they'd borrowed it from. I'm sure Daddy made it good, but I don't remember ever hearing about it." explained Richard Petty.
Seven of out the 33 cars that started the race overheated and that seemed to be an issue in the race. Bill Blair continued to lead the race until lap 150, when his Lincoln would also overheat, sending him to a 12th place finish.
Glenn Dunnaway in the #25 Ford took over the lead, dominated the rest of the race and won the race, at least he thought he had won the race.
Hours later, Chief Inspector Al Crisler disqualified Dunnaway. Rules clearly prohibited modifications, but owner Hubert Westmoreland had shored up the chassis by spreading the rear springs, a favorite trick of bootleggers looking to improve traction and handling. Glenn Dunaway's Ford was a former moonshine car.
Jim Roper who was running in 2nd place, 3 laps down in his '49 Lincoln was declared the official winner. Westmoreland was so incensed by the DSQ that he sued NASCAR. A North Carolina judge threw it out, the first of many times France and NASCAR have carried the day.
Driver Notes..
#34 Jim Roper from Halstead, Kansas. Roper drove a new 1949 Lincoln owned by R.B. McIntosh, a Lincoln dealer from Great Bend, Kansas, to Charlotte, North Carolina where they painted a #34 on it and entered it in the race. Roper won The the first NASCAR Strictly Stock (now Sprint Cup Series). Roper heard about the first race at 3/4 mile dirt track in Charlotte, by reading a note about it in Zack Mosley's 'Smiling Jack' comic strip in his local newspaper.
Jim Roper (Photo)
#71 Sara Christian, Nascar's first female driver ran a very competative race. However, the overheating problem that was happening to 6 other cars happend to her '47 Ford. Sara dropped out of the race but still came home with a 14th place finish.
#11 Skimp Hersey from St. Augustine Florida, who finished 18th in his '47 Ford would never race again. Sadly the next year in June of 1950 at a local short track race at Lakewood Park Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia Skimp crashed his car in the race and received severe burns. He died the next day, and became the first known fatality from injuries in a NASCAR sanctioned event.
#41 Curtis Turner in his '46 Buick finished 9th.
Jack Smith (Left) Curtis Turner (right)(Photo)
#29 Clarence Benton from North Wilkesboro, NC who dropped out of the race early in his '49 Ford finished 31st. Clarence would never race again in the Nascar series.
Jack Smith from Metropolis, Illinois, in his '48 Ford finished 13th after his car overheated. Jack did not race again until 1950.
Jack Smith (Photo) John Barker in his '47 Kaiser who finished 15th, did not race again intil 1951.
Jim Paschal in the '46 Ford who finished 23rd due to an overheating problem, would not race again in 1949. He returned to Nascar the next year in 1950.
Pee Wee Martin in the '49 Oldsmobile who finished 28th did not race again until 1950.
George Mantooth who finished 26th did not race again until 1956.
"The next race came up just like that first one had," Richard Petty said.
Final Race Results...
Finish Car# Driver Sponsor Owner Car Money Laps Status
1 34 Jim Roper Mecklenburg Motors R.B. McIntosh '49 Lincoln 2,000 197
2 47 Fonty Flock Grady Cole '49 Hudson 1,000
3 22 Red Byron Parks Novelty Raymond Parks '49 Oldsmobile 500
4 2 Sam Rice Rice Racing Sam Rice '49 Oldsmobile 300
5 90 Tim Flock Buddy Elliott '49 Oldsmobile 200
6 - Archie Smith Frank Smith '46 Ford 175
7 31 Sterling Long Long Racing Sterling Long '46 Hudson 150
8 - Slick Smith Slick Smith '49 Oldsmobile 125
9 41 Curtis Turner Curtis Turner '46 Buick 100
10 36 Jimmy Thompson Bruce Thompson '46 Chrysler 75
11 87 Buck Baker Penny Mullis '48 Kaiser 50
12 44 Bill Blair R.B. McIntosh '49 Lincoln 50 150 Overheating
13 - Jack Smith Bishop Brothers '48 Ford 50 Overheating
14 71 Sara Christian Frank Christian '47 Ford 50 Overheating
15 - John Barker - '47 Kaiser 50
16 0 Jimmie Lewallen Jimmie Lewallen '46 Ford 25
17 38 Lee Petty Petty Enterprises '46 Buick 25 105 Crash
18 11 Skimp Hersey Skimp Hersey '47 Ford 25
19 25 Bob Smith Lane's Motor Co. '49 Oldsmobile 25
20 19 Otis Martin '48 Ford 25 Overheating
21 - Frank Smith Smith Racing Frank Smith '47 Chrysler 0
22 16 Bill Snowden Snowden Racing Bill Snowden '48 Mercury 0 Overheating
23 - Jim Paschal Jim Paschal '46 Ford 0 Overheating
24 1 B.E. Renfro B.E. Renfro '49 Hudson 0
25 10 Fred Johnson Fred Johnson 0
26 George Mantooth - ? 0
27 5 Felix Wilkes Felix Wilkes '49 Lincoln 0 Overheating
28 - Pee Wee Martin '49 Oldsmobile 0
29 93 Herb Thomas Thomas Racing Herb Thomas '47 Ford 0 Springs
30 4 Frank Mundy Sam Rice '49 Cadillac 0 Rf Spindle
31 29 Clarence Boston Clarence Boston '49 Ford
32 7 Bob Flock Davis Brothers '46 Hudson 0 38 Engine
33 25 Glenn Dunnaway Hubert Westmoreland '47 Ford 0 200 Disqualified
Lap Leaders
Bob Flock 1-5
Bill Blair 6-150
Jim Roper 151-197
Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsboro, NC was the site of NASCAR race #3 of 8. 17,000 fans showed up to watch the race.
Occoneechee was one of a handful of tracks on the first Nascar schedule in 1949. It is one of only three tracks from the original schedule that is still around today. Occoneechee was considered a dream venue for Big Bill France, but that dream would turn into a nightmare. Tickets were issued for the races, but many fans found ways to enter the track without paying. Some fans would climb trees that bordered the track to watch the races. Others crossed the nearby Eno river to sneak into the infield and strike up a conversation with their favorite drivers. Not only was Occoneechee a fan favorite, it was a favorite for the drivers. Never before had the stars of Nascar raced on a track that was bigger than a half a mile. Essentially, it was Nascar's first Superspeedway. The Occoneechee Speedway started as a half-mile horse track built by General Julian Carr on the Occoneechee farm. It stayed that way until the mid 1940's when Bill France spotted the track while flying his plane. Seeing the track, France saw potential in expanding it and bringing his newly formed racing league to Hillsborough. France purchased the land from Carr in January 1948, and 5 months later, the first flag was waved.
The final race was run on September 15th, 1968
