The Fabulous Hudson Hornet is a famous NASCAR Grand National Series and AAA stock car campaigned during the early 1950s that was produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company. [1] Several drivers, including Marshall Teague and Herb Thomas, drove Hudson Hornets that were nicknamed the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet". [2] [3] The Hudson Hornet had an outsized impact on stock car racing. [4]
Hudson Motor Car Company was an early proponent of auto racing as an integral component of the automaker's marketing strategy. The company began directly backing their racing teams and "providing the team cars with everything they needed to make their cars faster." [5] Drivers that were part of the Hudson team included Marshall Teague, Herb Thomas, Dick Rathmann, Tim Flock, Fonty Flock, Jack McGrath, Frank "Rebel" Mundy, and Lou Figaro. Together they accounted for 13 wins in 1951, 49 in 1952, and 46 in 1953. [5]
With the lowest center of mass among standard-sized cars at the time, the Hudson was praised for its great handling and roadworthiness so that stock car racers embraced these cars and "christened them with the 'Fabulous' prefix that followed this line through its days of track dominance." [5] This combined with the car's light weight due to the advanced unibody construction that Hudson called 'step down' design, allowed Hudson drivers to win various stock car racing events from 1951 through 1954. Drivers "proved it could out-handle and out-accelerate much of its supposedly more powerful V-8 competition." [6] The company used the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet, national stock car champion" description in its advertising. [7]
Marshall Teague approached the Hudson Motor Car Company by traveling to Michigan and visiting their plant without an appointment. By the end of the visit, Hudson executives assured Teague of corporate support and cars and the relationship was formalized shortly thereafter. Teague was also instrumental in helping Hudson tune the inline six-cylinder-powered Hudson Hornet to its maximum stock capability. His first time driving the Hornet in the February 1951 Daytona Beach and Road Course resulted in a first-place finish. [8] Teague nicknamed his Hudson Hornet the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" and had that name painted on the sides of the car. [8] Teague went on to win five of the fifteen NASCAR Grand National races in 1951. [8]
Teague and his crew chief Smokey Yunick won 27 of 34 events in major stock car events, [9] including seven NASCAR events. Teague left NASCAR during the 1952 season in a dispute with NASCAR's owner Bill France, Sr.
Teague was awarded the 1951 AAA Stock Car Driver of the Year, and the 1952 and 1954 AAA National Stock Car Champion while driving in the Fabulous Hudson Hornet.
The original Fabulous Hudson Hornet can be found today, fully restored, at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan. This Hornet is also occasionally used in classic car racing.
Herb Thomas began the 1951 NASCAR Grand National season with moderate success in a Plymouth car, plus one win in an Oldsmobile. He switched mid-season to his Fabulous Hudson Hornet and won the 1951 championship.
Thomas dominated the entire 1953 NASCAR Grand National season. He won a series-best 12 races en route to becoming the first two-time series champion. [10]
A 1952 model was purchased by Thomas from a Hudson dealer sometime in late July or August 1952, and he campaigned it during the next season and a half, ultimately capturing fifteen wins, as well as the 1953 championship with it. [11] When Thomas purchased a replacement car to race in the 1954 season, his 1952 model was sold as a used car and subsequently driven in the southern U.S. ending up in eastern Kentucky by the mid-1970s. [11] After being put in storage, changing owners, and verifying the serial numbers that it was the original number 92 raced by Thomas, the car was restored and shown at the 1998 EyesOn Design show. [11]
This car is in the National Historic Vehicle Register. [12] This recognition is limited to cars with "important American historic events, association with important American historic figures, its design or construction value, and its informational value" and shown at 2014 "Cars At The Capital" - the first-ever automotive heritage celebration held on the National Mall. [11] [13]
Julius Timothy Flock (May 11, 1924 – March 31, 1998), an early NASCAR two-time series champion, won the 1952 Grand National Champion Cup as driver of one of the three Fabulous Hudson Hornets. His second championship cup, in 1955, was won using a Chrysler automobile. He was forced out of NASCAR after supporting a 1961 unionization attempt, but continued to race under other sanctioning bodies.
Despite Hudson's racing success, the marketplace competition and fierce rivalry between Ford and Chevrolet was too much to save the small-scale independent automaker. [14] Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation in 1954 to become American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was finally retired in 1957, as AMC transformed into Rambler. The Hornet name was used by AMC for their compact sedan from 1970 to 1977. When automakers began returning to racing venues as a form of advertising and industrial prowess, AMC was competitive in the drag racing scene with their AMX taking the SS/D class record for ten years, and successfully fielding the AMC Javelin in the Trans-Am Series winning the manufacturer trophies in 1970 and 1971. [15] The AMC Matador was developed into a winner and favorite on the NASCAR circuits during the early 1970s. [16] [17] The Hornet model name was acquired by Chrysler Corporation with the acquisition of AMC in 1987. The new Dodge Hornet SUV is a high-performance version of the Alfa Romeo Tonale. [18]
The 2006 Pixar film Cars tells the story of a hotshot race car named Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) who finds himself stuck in the Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. The town's local judge and doctor is a 1951 Hudson Hornet named Doc Hudson (voiced by Paul Newman), who turns out to be the actual Fabulous Hudson Hornet himself. Doc Hudson closely resembles the real "Fabulous Hudson Hornet." [19] He shares many of the same records as the real car, although their fates differ. His number is 51, a reference to his model year, despite that no #51 Hornet existed in real life.
car emblazoned with "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" on its sides Teague went on to win five of the fifteen NASCAR.
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.
The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other branded automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., from 1909 until 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was discontinued.
The AMC Hornet is a compact automobile manufactured and marketed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) and made from 1970 through 1977—in two- and four-door sedan, station wagon, and hatchback coupe configurations. The Hornet replaced the compact Rambler American line, marking the end of the Rambler marque in the American and Canadian markets.
Marshall Pleasant Teague was an American race car driver nicknamed by NASCAR fans as the "King of the Beach" for his performances at the Daytona Beach Road Course.
Herbert Watson Thomas was a stock car racer who was one of NASCAR's most successful drivers in the 1950s. Thomas was NASCAR's first multi-time Cup Champion.
The Nash Ambassador is a luxury automobile that was produced by Nash Motors from 1927 until 1957. For the first five years it was a top trim level, then from 1932 on a standalone model. Ambassadors were lavishly equipped and beautifully constructed, earning them the nickname "the Kenosha Duesenberg".
The Nash Rambler is a North American automobile that was produced by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation from 1950 until 1954 in sedan, wagon, and fixed-profile convertible body styles.
The Daytona Beach and Road Course was a motorsport race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set.
The Hudson Hornet is a full-size car manufactured by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1951 until 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Hudson automobiles continued to be marketed under the Hudson brand name through the 1957 model year.
The Hudson Jet is a compact automobile produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, during the 1953 and 1954 model years. The Jet was the automaker's response to the popular Nash Rambler. The costs of developing and marketing the Jet ultimately led to Hudson's merger with Nash.
Abraham Edward Barit was an American industrialist who served as the president and CEO of the Hudson Motor Car Company from 1936 to 1954 when Hudson merged with Nash Motors to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Barit served on the board of AMC following the merger of the two automakers.
Doc Hudson is an anthropomorphic 1951 Hudson Hornet who appears in the 2006 Pixar film Cars. In the film, Doc is the medical doctor and local judge for Radiator Springs. After meeting the rookie racecar Lightning McQueen, Doc reveals that he is actually a former Piston Cup racer known as the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and returns to the Piston Cup to act as Lightning's crew chief in his races. It is implied that Doc died prior before the events of Cars 2, and he appears in flashback sequences in Cars 3.
The Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan is an automotive museum that features cars assembled at the nearby Willow Run Plant and vehicles made by Hudson Motors. The museum is an official site of the MotorCities National Heritage Area, which is "dedicated to preserving, interpreting and promoting the automotive and labor heritage of the State of Michigan."
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 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 USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently competed in races and won championships. Several NASCAR drivers raced in USAC Stock Cars at various points in their careers.
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.
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.
