The 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock season was the inaugural season of professional stock car racing in the United States. Beginning at Charlotte Speedway on June 19, 1949, the season included eight races and two exhibition races. The season concluded with the Wilkes 200 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on October 16. Raymond Parks won the Owners' Championship, while Red Byron won the Drivers' Championship with a 16th-place finish at the final race of the season.
Charlotte Speedway was the site of NASCAR's first Strictly Stock Series race on June 19, 1949. The Daytona Beach Road Course held the first race sanctioned by NASCAR in 1948. The track was a few miles west of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, on Little Rock Road. It was owned by Carl C. Allison Sr. and his wife, Catherine Montgomery Allison. The track was forced to close when construction of Interstate 85 took its parking area.
The 1950 NASCAR Grand National season was the second season of professional stock car racing in the United States. Beginning at the Daytona Beach Road Course on February 5, 1950, the season included 19 races. The season concluded at Occoneechee Speedway on October 29. Bill Rexford won the Drivers' Championship with a 26th-place finish at the final race of the season, racing for Julian Buesink.
The 1952 NASCAR Grand National Series was the fourth season of the premier stock car racing championship sanctioned by NASCAR. Once the season was concluded, driver Tim Flock was crowned the Grand National champion after winning 8 of the 33 events that he competed in. This was the first year that NASCAR scheduled its events to avoid the conflicts of having two races, at two different tracks, on the same day. The only exception was on June 1, when races were held at both Toledo Speedway in Ohio, and Hayloft Speedway in Augusta, Georgia. Herb Thomas finished second to Flock after competing in 32 races, and Lee Petty finished third in the standings that year. Throughout the 1952 season, a total of 261 drivers entered at least one of the 34 events. Virtually every American car manufacturer had at least one of their cars start that season.
The 1953 NASCAR Grand National Series began on February 1 and ended on November 1. Future NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Herb Thomas, driving his own No. 92 Hudson Hornet, won the championship and became the first repeat champion of the series. It is also the season with the most one-off races. 9 of the 37 races took place on racetracks that only held a cup race in the 1953 season.
The 1955 Southern 500, the sixth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event. The event was held on September 5, 1955, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. This race spanned 500 miles on a paved oval track. An unofficial 30-minute highlight film of this race would appear on the collector's set of Stock Cars of 50s & 60s – Stock Car Memories: Darlington-Southern 500; which was released in 2008.
The 1955 NASCAR Grand National season began on November 7, 1954, and ended on October 30, 1955. Even though the season was resolved in the course of two different years, all NASCAR personnel were allowed to have their traditional two-month silly season that traditionally comes between mid-November and mid-February. Tim Flock won the 1955 championship by a margin of 1508 over top of Buck Baker. This season was unusual because of its 11-month season. As the ninth season of the series now known as the Cup Series, most of the drivers involved were still the first-generation race car drivers. They did not have any ties to the stock car racing world through their parents or grandparents although some of them served in World War II prior to their NASCAR careers. However, the generation that would gain notoriety and fame through nepotism would emerge about ten years later. The average horsepower of a stock car competing the 1955 NASCAR Grand National season would be 230 horsepower.
The 1956 Wilkes County 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 8, 1956, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, United States.
The 1955 Wilkes County 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 3, 1955, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
The 1952 Wilkes County 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on March 30, 1952, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
The 1955 Mid-South 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 14, 1955, at the Memphis-Arkansas Speedway in LeHi, Arkansas.
The 1951 Southern 500, the second running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 3, 1951, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. The winner of the race was Herb Thomas. The event had the most starters in NASCAR history with 82 cars starting the race, of which 58 cars would not finish the race and only one car finished on the lead lap.
The 1952 Southern 500, the third running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 1, 1952, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
The 1954 Wilkes County 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event held on April 4, 1954, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Until the 1957 running of the Wilkes 160, North Wilkesboro Speedway was a dirt oval track.
The 1955 Richmond 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 22, 1955, at Richmond Fairgrounds in Richmond, Virginia. Two hundred laps took place on a dirt track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km). The exact time of the race was one hour, fifty minutes, and thirty seconds.
The 1953 Wilkes 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 11, 1953, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
The 1958 Wilkes 160 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 19, 1958, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
The 1954 NASCAR Grand National season consisted of 37 races from February 1, 1954, and to November 1. Lee Petty, driving for Petty Enterprises, won the championship, his first of three in the series.
The 1956 NASCAR Grand National Season began on November 13, 1955, and ended on November 18, 1956, lasting slightly longer than a full year.
Palm Beach Speedway was a motor sports racing venue located in West Palm Beach, Florida. The speedway hosted a total of 7 NASCAR races between January 20, 1952 and December 11, 1956. Dick Rathman had the most poles at 3, and Herb Thomas captured the most wins with 4. The half mile dirt oval was built in 1949, paved in 1955 and torn down in 1984.
