Editor’s note: NASCAR will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2023. Founded in 1934, SPEED SPORT was already on its way to becoming America’s motorsport governing body when NASCAR was formed. As a result, we bring you Chapter 7 of a 75-part series covering the history of NASCAR as told through the pages of National Speed Sport News and SPEED SPORT Magazine.
Fresh off the most dominant season in NASCAR’s six-year history, Herb Thomas opened the 1954 schedule with a spectacular victory in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Thomas was leading down the home straight with Buck Baker on the bumper, but hit the wall five yards from the finish line. However, his momentum propelled him over the strip just ahead of Baker. He followed that happy event with victories at Jacksonville, Fla., and Atlanta Speedways, earning him top honors in three of the first four races on the NASCAR Grand National Division schedule.
Thomas’ performance earlier in the season in his No. 92 Hudson Hornet pointed to a repeat of 1953, but “Mr. Consistency,” Lee Petty never let the champion run out. Petty watched from behind as Thomas won the first race of the season as he fell behind the reigning NASCAR champion in the final points tally of 1953.
Two weeks later, at the 4.1-mile Daytona Beach street course, Petty secured pole position with a record speed of 123 mph and led the field into the North Turn but skidded to the rim. Just as his 1954 Chrysler brushed the rail, Thomas dove under the #42 car for the point. Petty regained control and took the lead again on lap 11 before Tim Flock passed him a few laps later and held Petty back for the apparent win.
However, Petty inherited Daytona Beach’s famous laurels when Flock was disqualified for an altered carburetor found in his 1954 Oldsmobile 88.
Loyalty to strict storage requirements
Although car owner Ernest Woods insisted that Flock see the car for the first time when he arrived for the race, Bill France stood by NASCAR’s decision about Flock’s loyalty to NASCAR’s strict stock specifications. Prior to Daytona Beach Speedweek, France appointed Tom McCahill to oversee Speedweek activities and enforce the strict stock classification he wished to legitimize.
The Feb. 17 issue of NSSN quoted Benny Kahn, sports editor of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, on the significance of McCahill’s appointment: “Under the supervision of respected automotive authority McCahill, NASCAR speed trials will be 100 percent on par this year.”
Issue of the NSSN of February 24, 1954.
McCahill made post-race inspections, like the one that denied Flock’s victory, mandatory for all participants in all stock-car only races.
Thus Kahn concluded: “If they find any extracurricular knick-knacks in or out of the engine, or get a whiff of doped fuel from the gas tank, or discover other tampering to spice up the production-only cars, the entry will be thrown out.” Period.”
NASCAR members wrestle with the specifics regarding the all-stock vehicle specifications. Controversy arose when the Hudson Motor Corp. introduced their models with Twin H drive in 1954.
Non-Hudson drivers complained that Twin H Power was a performance-enhancing kit similar to the kind NASCAR wanted to eliminate from the Grand National Division.
Other automakers feared Hudson’s increasing dominance on the victory road.
After much debate, the Twin-H-Power decision appeared in the January 20 issue of NSSN: “Due to the fact that cars come off the assembly line so equipped and are advertised by Hudson as available to everyone, this car is going to be legal Take compete in NASCAR Grand National Circuit events.”
However, the Hudsons so equipped were required to “wear a plaque on the hood or the regular Twin H Power insignia identifying Hudson cars so equipped.”
Meanwhile, the battle between the auto companies continued on the track as Hudson-loyal Thomas, Oldsmobile drivers Baker and Chrysler, and Dodge exponent Petty fought for the top three position overall.
Thomas raced through the schedule setting record after record at routes across the country.
The lead-footed pilot circumnavigated the field in Hickory, NC, and at 12, matched his record for most wins in a season. He secured eight poles and 37 top 10 finishes en route to becoming NASCAR’s first $30,000 winner.
Meanwhile, Baker won four races and had 28 top 10 finishes to secure third place overall.
Presentation of “Mr. Consistency’
True to his nickname “Mr. Constance,” Petty finished 33 of the 34 races he started in the top 10, including seven wins. Petty also earned over $20,000 for the third straight year en route to finishing sixth in the top four points in his six years of NASCAR Grand National competition.
Petty’s consistency led to his first championship.
Two months before Petty clinched his title with a win at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, on August 25, NSSN recorded Bill France’s historic announcement: “After extensive study, planning, engineering and financial details, the project (Daytona Beach Superspeedway) ready to move forward.”
Bill France’s dream oval was about to become a reality when the Daytona Beach Racing and Recreation Authority accepted a proposal from a Cincinnati, Ohio municipal bond company to sell $1.5 million in bonds to fund speedways.
In the other NASCAR divisions, Jim Reed repeated himself as the late-model short-track champion, and Californian Danny Graaves clinched the Sportsman title. Jack Choquette raced to the modified crown while Connecticut’s Chuck Arnold was the dwarf king. NASCAR expanded across the country with the notable addition of the tracks under Robert Barkhimer of California Stock Car Racing Ass’n.
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