The 1955 Wilkes 160 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on October 23, 1955 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro Speedway was a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996...

 in the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 community of North Wilkesboro

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina

North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was approximately 4,116 at the 2000 census and is now 4,245 as of the 2010 census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's Home Improvement, which continues to have a major presence in...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

.

Summary

One hundred and sixty laps were competed on a dirt oval track spanning 0.625 miles (1 km). There were three cautions delivered down by NASCAR officials and the race lasted exactly one hour, twenty-one minutes, and sixteen seconds. Buck Baker

Buck Baker

Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. , better known as Buck Baker, was an American race car driver.-Racing career:...

 defeated Lee Petty

Lee Petty

Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. He was born near Randleman, North Carolina.-Career:...

 by a time of three seconds. The average speed was 72.347 mi/h while the pole position speed was 79.815 mi/h. Ten thousand people attended this autumn race. This race would produce Joe Weatherly

Joe Weatherly

Joseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...

's first finish in the top five.

Finishers

1. Buck Baker†
2. Lee Petty†
3. Gwyn Staley
   Gwyn Staley
   Gwyn Staley was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Burlington, North Carolina, USA.-Career:...
   
   †
4. Joe Weatherly†
5. Tim Flock
   Tim Flock
   Julius Timothy Flock was one of NASCAR's early pioneers, and a two time series champion. He was a brother to NASCAR's second female driver Ethel Mobley and NASCAR pioneers Bob Flock and Fonty Flock.- NASCAR career :...
   
   †
6. Fonty Flock
   Fonty Flock
   Truman Fontello "Fonty" Flock of Fort Payne, Alabama was an early NASCAR driver.-Flock family:He was the brother of NASCAR pioneers Tim Flock and Bob Flock, and the second female NASCAR driver Ethel Mobley...
   
   †
7. Speedy Thompson
   Speedy Thompson
   Alfred Bruce "Speedy" Thompson was a NASCAR pioneer and driver in the Grand National series from 1950 to 1971; capturing 20 wins along the way.-Racing career:...
   
   †
8. Dink Widenhouse
   Dink Widenhouse
   David "Dink" Widenhouse is a retired NASCAR Grand National Series driver. From the age of 22 to the age of 24, Widenhouse has competed in and 3097 laps of racing...
   
   
9. Dave Terrell
   Dave Terrell
   Dave Terrell is a retired NASCAR Grand National driver/owner who participated from 1952 to 1957....
   
   
10. Jim Paschal
    Jim Paschal
    James Roy "Jim" Paschal, Jr. was a NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup driver. He won twenty-five races and twelve poles over his career. Elected to the "Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame" in 1977, he won the World 600 in 1964 and the 1967 Charlotte Motor Speedway...
    
    †
11. Jimmy Massey
    Jimmy Massey
    Jimmy Massey is a retired NASCAR Grand National driver who has competed in 51 races . Out of these 51 races, there has been twelve finishes in the top-five and twenty-eight finishes in the top ten. Massey's total career earnings was considered to be $14,974...
    
    
12. Jimmie Lewallen
    Jimmie Lewallen
    Jimmie Lewallen was an American racecar driver from High Point, North Carolina, USA. He competed in NASCAR's Strictly Stock/Grand National division from its first race at Charlotte Speedway in 1949 until 1960.-Racing career:Lewallen began his racing career in motorcycles in 1934...
    
    †
13. Bob Welborn
    Bob Welborn
    Robert "Bob" Joe Welborn of Denton, North Carolina, USA is a former NASCAR Grand National driver. He was named to NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers list in 1998...
    
    †
14. Bobby Waddell
15. Ed Cole
    Ed Cole
    Edward Nicholas Cole was an American automotive executive for General Motors.- Career :Cole was the son of a dairy farmer. In his youth, he designed, built, and sold homemade radio sets, and as a teenager became a field representative for a tractor manufacturer...
    
    
16. Eddie Skinner
17. John McVitty
    John McVitty
    John McVitty was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Mamaroneck, New York, USA. During his two-year NASCAR career, McVitty had raced in eleven races with three finished in the top ten and 1382 laps of experience under his belt - the equivalent of . McVitty's total earning were considered to be $800...
    
    *†
18. Ralph Liguori
    Ralph Liguori
    Ralph Liguori is a former American racing driver from New York City.-Indycar career:He competed in the USAC Championship Car series from 1957 to 1971 making 61 starts. His best finish was 2nd place at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway in 1970. 1966 was his most active year, when he made 7...
    
    *
19. Bill Blair*†
20. Curtis Turner
    Curtis Turner
    Curtis Turner was an early NASCAR driver. In addition to his success in racing, he made a fortune, lost it, and remade it buying and selling timberlands. Throughout his life he developed a reputation for drinking and partying...
    
    *†
21. Herb Thomas
    Herb Thomas
    Herbert Watson Thomas was a NASCAR pioneer who was one of the series' most successful drivers in the 1950s.-Background:...
    
    *†
22. Ned Jarrett
    Ned Jarrett
    Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...
    
    *
23. Marvin Panch
    Marvin Panch
    Marvin Panch Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (born May 28, 1926, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver.-Early career:He started his racing career as a car owner in Oakland, California. One week, his driver did not show up, and he raced the car to a third place finish...
    
    *
24. Joe Eubanks
    Joe Eubanks
    Joe Eubanks was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. Eubanks raced from 1950 to 1961 collecting one win, thirty-seven finishes in the top five, and eighty-one finishes in the top ten along the way. His total career earnings were $35,338 and he successfully...
    
    *†
25. Banks Simpson
    Banks Simpson
    Banks Simpson is a retired NASCAR Grand National driver who participated in only the 1955 season. He was a competitor in the 1955 Southern 500, the 1955 Mid-South 250, and the 1955 Wilkes 160...
    
    *
26. Junior Johnson
    Junior Johnson
    Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...
    
    *
27. Tom Pistone
    Tom Pistone
    "Tiger" Tom Pistone is a former NASCAR Grand National driver from Chicago. He made his Grand National debut in 1955. He won two races and finished 6th in championship points in the 1959 season for Carl Rupert, his best season statistically...
    
    *
28. Ted Cannady*

* denotes that the driver failed to finish the race

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased