NASCAR Speedway Division

NASCAR Speedway Division

Category	Open wheel
Country	United States
Inaugural season	1952
Folded	1953
Last Drivers' champion	Pete Allen

The NASCAR Speedway Division was a short-lived series brought forth in 1952 by NASCAR president and founder Bill France Sr. The series consisted of open-wheel race cars competing with stock engines. The idea of the series was to draw from the popularity of other open-wheel racing events such as the Indianapolis 500.^[1]

History

1952 season

The first Speedway Division race was held at Darlington Raceway and was won by Buck Baker with a Cadillac engine.^[1][2] The series' second race was held at Martinsville Speedway on May 25, with only 17 entries.^[3] The pole at Martinsville was won by Bill Miller in an "Olds 88 Special". Tex Keene, driving a car with a stock Mercury engine came from 16th place to win the race. A total of seven races were run in 1952 with Buck Baker becoming the series champion.^[4]

1953 season

In 1953, Speedway Division events were paired with those in the Sportsman Division. Three races were held with few entries before the series was quietly discontinued. The final series champion was Pete Allen.^[5][6]

Statistics

Race wins

Driver	NASCAR Speedway Division (1952–1953)
Campbell, WallyWally Campbell	3
Cherry, TomTom Cherry	2
Allen, PetePete Allen	1
Keller, AlAl Keller	1
Keene, TexTex Keene	1
Baker, BuckBuck Baker	1
Alspaugh, WayneWayne Alspaugh	1

Championships

Driver	NASCAR Speedway Division (1952–1953)
Allen, PetePete Allen	1
Baker, BuckBuck Baker	1

References

1. Burt, William M. (2001). The American Stock Car (Second ed.). St. Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company. p. 34. ISBN 0-7603-0977-9.
2. "1952 Season Summary". Know Your NASCAR. NASCAR/Turner Productions, Inc. 2001. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
3. Fielden, Greg (2003). NASCAR Chronicle. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, Ltd. p. 67. ISBN 0-7853-8683-1.
4. "1952 NASCAR Speedway Division". Champ Car Stats. 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
5. Capps, Don (2003). "1952 NASCAR Speedway Division Championship". The AUTOSPORT Bulletin Board. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
6. "1953 NASCAR Speedway Division". Champ Car Stats. 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-13.