Nascar 1949 Archie Smith

1949 Nascar’s Inaugural Race - June 19, 1949, Denton NC own Archie Smith finishes 6th place in a 1946 Ford

Archie Smith is a former NASCAR driver from Denton, NC. He competed in two Sprint Cup Series events in his career, recording top-ten finishes both times. Both of his races came in 1949, when Smith debuted in the series' inagural event atCharlotte. He ran well in that event, coming home with a career-best 6th effort. Although he was not able to improve on that later in the year at Martinsville, Smith still drove home with a solid 10th place finish.

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.Saturday's

Qualifying Results (Only Know top 14, the rest listed qualified for the race in no particular order)

Start Car# Driver Sponsor Owner Car

1 1 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

the rest is no particluar order

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

36 Jimmy Henderson Smith Racing Frank Smith '47 Chrysler

? Archie Smith Frank Smith '46 Ford

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 ?

? 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.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. #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. #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. 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... 1949 Nascar’s Inaugural Race - June 19, 1949

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 - 36 Jimmy Henderson 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 laps Disqualified

Hubert Westmoreland had shored up the chassis by spreading the rear springs,

Lap Leaders: Bob Flock 1-5 - Bill Blair 6-150 - Jim Roper 151-197 - NASCAR Strictly Stock standings for 1949

The sixth race of the Strictly Stock season 1949 was held September 25 at Martinsville Speedway. Curtis Turner won the pole.Red Byron all but wrapped up the 1949 Strictly Stock championship with an overwhelming triumph in the 100-miler at Martinsville Speedway. The 33 year old veteran out of Atlanta, drove his Oldsmobile into the lead on lap 104 and led the rest of the way. Finishing second, three laps behind Byron, was lee Petty's Plymouth. Ray Erickson finished third, Clyde Minter fourth, and Bill Blair fifth. Pole sitter Curtis Turner led the opening 18 laps, but gave way to the hard-charging Fonty Flock, who started fourth. Flock was pacing the field when his Buick last a right front wheel and crashed into Slick Smith's Hudson. Byron took the lead when Flock departed and was never seriously challenged the rest of the way. Turner faded after leading early and wound up ninth, 29 laps off the pace.

Top Ten Results

1949-07

Footnote 2/11/2012 : Talk to Archie Smith on Feb. 11,2012 to verify the above info. , Archie Smith said that he is the only Driver that is living today [2/12/2012] that ran in the 1949 nascar race, all the other drivers has past away.

Watch Archies Smith Interview on YouTube Here.............................

Archies 57 chevy that he dragged race in after giving up nascar.

Archie said that he liked drag racing better and started drag racing and won over 200 drag races in his 1957 chevy. You could win as many as 5-6 races on a sunday afternoon, if you won the first one, you just moved up to the next class and raced again.

Sub Pages: 1933 Denton Baseball Field Contract * B 52 Crash near Denton NC 1961 * Churches Denton NC * Contributions of BI Harrison told by grandson Jim Harrison * Denton Depot HP T D Railroad * Denton Doctor History * Denton Folks * Denton Misc old building photos * Denton NC first Fire Truck * Denton School History/Photos * Howell Harrison contributions to the growth and development of Denton *.Jabber Lanier story by Buddy * Max Lanier * Veterans of Denton Area