1952 Southern 500

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1952 Southern 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 25 of 34 in the 1952 NASCAR Grand National Series season
Fonty Flock makes his way into "Winner's Circle" with the help of crew chief Red Vogt.
Fonty Flock makes his way into "Winner's Circle" with the help of crew chief Red Vogt.
Date September 1, 1952 (1952-September-01)
Official name Southern 500
Location Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
1.250 mi (2.011 km)
Distance 500 laps, 500.0 mi (804.6 km)
Weather Hot with temperatures reaching up to 91 °F (33 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)
Average speed 74.512 miles per hour (119.915 km/h)
Attendance 32,400
Pole position
Driver
Frank Christian
Most laps led
Driver Fonty Flock Frank Christian
Laps 341
Winner
No. 14 Fonty Flock Frank Christian
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

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.

Background

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

The track is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval.[3] The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees.[3] The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees.[3] Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.[3]

Summary

Seven cautions were waved for forty laps in front of 32,400 audience members.[2] The notable speeds were: 74.512 miles per hour (119.915 km/h) as the average speed and 88.550 miles per hour (142.507 km/h) as the pole position speed.[2] This race was constantly threatened to be postponed because of rain and was red flagged once because of actual rainfall.[4] It took six hours, forty-two minutes, and thirty-seven seconds for the race to reach its conclusion, making it the slowest Southern 500 ever; Fonty Flock was the winner.[2] He would stop on the front straight, climb up on his hood and lead the entire crowd in singing his own version of the classic Southern American song Dixie.[4] Flock's uniform would consist of Bermuda shorts and argyle socks in addition to a pencil-thin moustache reminiscent of Clark Gable.[5][6]

Total winnings for this race were $23,855 ($212,572.56 when adjusted for inflation). Sixty-six divers competed; all of them were born in the United States of America.[2] Jim Paschal was the last place driver of the race; finishing in 66th with an engine problem on lap 18.[2]

Ranier-Lundy Racing and Petty Enterprises were the only non-independent racing teams to show up for this racing event.[7]

Top forty finishers

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  1. Fonty Flock (in his 1952 Oldsmobile 88)
  2. Johnny Patterson (in his 1952 Hudson Hornet)
  3. Herb Thomas
  4. Bub King
  5. Banjo Matthews
  6. Lee Petty
  7. Joe Eubanks
  8. Herschel Buchanan
  9. Buck Baker
  10. Ray Duhigg
  11. Jack Smith
  12. Rollin Smith
  13. Jimmy Thompson
  14. Speedy Thompson
  15. Lloyd Moore
  16. Joe Weatherly
  17. Buddy Shuman
  18. Keith Hammer
  19. Clyde Pittinger
  20. Pat Kirkwood
  21. Gene Comstock
  22. W.E. Baker
  23. Herb Fry
  24. Iggy Katona
  25. Dick Passwater
  26. Bill Miller
  27. Tony Bonadies
  28. Donald Thomas
  29. Bob Flock
  30. Erwin Blatt
  31. Ted Chamberlain
  32. Al Fleming
  33. Tim Flock
  34. E.C. Ramsey
  35. Dick Rathmann
  36. Al Conroy
  37. Coleman Lawrence
  38. Charles Weidler
  39. Rudy Hires
  40. Ralph Liguori

Timeline

  • Start of race: Fonty Flock has the pole position
  • Lap 18: Tommy Thompson took over the lead from Fonty Flock
  • Lap 32: Gene Darragh had a terminal crash
  • Lap 35: Curtis Turner had a terminal crash
  • Lap 38: Fonty Flock takes over the lead from Tommy Thompson
  • Lap 61: Johnny Gouveia managed to overheat his vehicle's vital parts
  • Lap 74: Gwyn Staley managed to overheat his vehicle's vital parts
  • Lap 105: Dick Rathmann takes over the lead from Fonty Flock
  • Lap 125: Weldon Adams had a terminal crash
  • Lap 140: Fonty Flock takes over the lead from Dick Rathmann
  • Lap 181: Herb Thomas takes over the lead from Fonty Flock
  • Lap 185: Fonty Flock takes over the lead from Herb Thomas
  • Lap 193: Possum Jones managed to overheat his vehicle's vital parts
  • Lap 223: Bill Blair managed to overheat his vehicle's vital parts
  • Lap 240: Tommy Moon managed to overheat his vehicle's vital parts
  • Lap 244: Johnny Bridgers managed to overheat his vehicle's vital parts
  • Lap 254: Lamar Crabtree managed to blow a piston while he was racing
  • Lap 256: Ralph Liguori managed to overheat his vehicle's vital parts
  • Lap 315: Dick Rathmann had a terminal crash
  • Lap 321: Tim Flock had a terminal crash
  • Lap 383: Jimmy Thompson had a terminal crash
  • End of race: Fonty Flock wins the race

References

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Preceded by Southern 500 races
1952		 Succeeded by
1953
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