The 1959 Hickory 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 2, 1959, at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.
Harlan Richardson would make his grand debut into the NASCAR Cup Series during this event.[1]
Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars".
The track first opened in 1951 as a NaNmiles dirt track. Gwyn Staley won the first race at the speedway and later became the first track champion. Drivers such as Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, and Ralph Earnhardt also became track champions in the 1950s, with Earnhardt winning five of them.
In 1953, NASCAR's Grand National Series visited the track for the first time. Tim Flock won the first race at the speedway, which became a regular part of the Grand National schedule. After winning his track championship in 1952, Junior Johnson became the most successful Grand National driver at Hickory, winning there seven times.
The track has been re-configured three times in its history. The track became a 0.4-mile (644 meters) dirt track in 1955, which was paved for the first time during the 1967 season.
There were 21 drivers who were on the starting grid for this 250-lap racing event. Drivers who were on the lead lap were Junior Johnson, Speedy Thompson, Joe Weatherly, and Buck Baker. Eleven drivers were knocked out of the race due to various vehicle-related problems; Rex White was credited with the last-place finish due to troubles with his transmission on lap 27. All of the drivers were born in the United States of America. Only four cautions slowed the race for an undetermined number of laps. Five thousand people eventually got to see Junior Johnson defeat Joe Weatherly by two and a half laps.[2]
The average speed of all the stock cars in this event was 62.195mph; closer to the pole position speed of 68.9mph set by Junior Johnson than in today's NASCAR competitions. The entire race was done on a dirt track. Delta Auto Sales was the only "corporate" sponsor for the drivers in this event. Model years for the vehicles ranged from 1957 to 1959. Most of the field were driving Chevrolet stock cars.[2]
The time it took the race to go from the first green flag to the checkered flag was one hour and thirty-six minutes.[2] Individual prize winnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $800 ($ when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finishers' share of $50 ($ when adjusted for inflation). The entire prize purse for this event added up to $3,375 ($ when adjusted for inflation).[3]
| Grid | Driver | Manufacturer | Owner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Junior Johnson | Paul Spalding | ||
| 2 | 42 | Lee Petty | Petty Enterprises | ||
| 3 | 40 | Ken Rush | Paul Walton | ||
| 4 | 34 | G.C. Spencer | G.C. Spencer | ||
| 5 | 5 | Rex White | Tiny Lund | ||
| 6 | 7 | Jim Reed | Jim Reed | ||
| 7 | 41 | Joe Weatherly | Doc White | ||
| 8 | 38 | Ned Jarrett | Ned Jarrett | ||
| 9 | 69 | Shep Langdon | Shep Langdon | ||
| 10 | 45 | Bobby Waddell | Bobby Waddell | ||
| 11 | 6 | Cotton Owens | W.H. Watson | ||
| 12 | 22 | Harlan Richardson | Harlan Richardson | ||
| 13 | 27 | Jimmy Pardue | Jimmy Pardue | ||
| 14 | 96 | Bobby Keck | Bobby Keck | ||
| 15 | 81 | Harvey Hege | Harvey Hege | ||
| 16 | 74 | L.D. Austin | L.D. Austin | ||
| 17 | 1 | Speedy Thompson | Steve Pierce | ||
| 18 | 87 | Buck Baker | Buck Baker | ||
| 19 | 39 | Buck Brigance | unknown | ||
| 20 | 19 | Herman Beam | Herman Beam | ||
| 21 | 0 | Bunk Moore | Richard Riley |
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