1949 Wilkes 200
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 8 in the 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock season | |||
North Wilkesboro Speedway
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| Date | October 16, 1949 | ||
| Official name | Wilkes 200 | ||
| Location | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.625 mi (1.006 km) |
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| Distance | 200 laps, 100 mi (150 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly with temperatures reaching up to 68.0 °F (20.0 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 53.364 miles per hour (85.881 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Dailey Moyer | ||
| Time | 31.27 seconds | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Blair | Sam Rice | |
| Laps | 180 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 21 | Bob Flock | Frank Christian | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1949 Wilkes 200 was a NASCAR Strictly Stock (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) racing event that took place on October 16, 1949.
Ten thousand people would attend this live racing event where Kenneth Wagner qualified for the race with a pole position speed of 57.563 miles per hour (92.639 km/h) – the equivalent of 31.27 seconds. The entire race took place on a dirt track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km) per lap. Weather conditions for the race were recorded at nearby Hickory Regional Airport; a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of nearby Hickory, North Carolina.
This would be the final race of the 1949 NASCAR season and would take place at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.Bob Flock would defeat Lee Petty by an entire football field – 100 yards (91 m) – to win NASCAR's first racing event with an established name. Flock would earn a mere $1,500 in prize winnings ($15,098.60 when inflation is taken into effect).Frank Mundy would receive a last-place finish for only finishing 38 laps out of the mandated 200 laps.Bill Blair would lead the most laps in this race with 180 laps led out of 200.Red Byron would go on to win NASCAR's first ever championship while Sara Christian would become one of its first female drivers.
Byron almost became a cripple after being shot by an enemy fighter plane while serving as a tail gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber during World War II. He spent two years in military hospitals rehabilitating his leg so that he could compete in NASCAR after the war ended.
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