Rexford Wins Title in NASCAR’s Second Season

BY BEN WHITE

NASCAR’s newly named Grand National division – dropping the Strictly Stock title – was attracting drivers in search of an adventure. NASCAR founder Bill France sanctioned 19 races as the organization’s premier series visited Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia. Seventeen of the races were on dirt tracks with the new paved superspeedway in Darlington, South Carolina, and the combination beach/road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, adding variety to the schedule.

Oldsmobiles won 10 of the 19 events with drivers Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, Bill Rexford, Dick Linder and Fonty Flock. Plymouth drivers Johnny Mantz, Leon Sales, Herb Thomas and Lee Petty joined Ford/Lincoln-Mercury pilots Bill Blair, Lloyd Moore, Harold Kite, Tim Flock and Bill Florian in Victory Lane.

Rexford, a virtual unknown from Western New York, began his championship quest with a victory at Ohio’s Canfield Motor Speedway on May 30 in an Oldsmobile owned by Julian Buesink. But the title fight came down to a battle between Rexford and Roberts over the final three races. Rexford led the standings after a sixth-place finish at the fairgrounds in Vernon, New York, on Oct. 1, a race Roberts did not enter. Following race No. 17, Roberts was back on top after finishing sixth at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway, but Rexford ended up third on the same day at Winchester Speedway in Indiana and retook the point lead. Roberts’ blown engine in the final race at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsboro, North Carolina, clinched the 1950 Grand National championship for the 23-year-old Rexford.

Season Recap

DATE CIRCUIT WINNER

Feb. 5 Daytona Beach & Road Course Harold Kite

April 2 Charlotte Speedway Tim Flock

April 16 Langhorne Speedway Curtis Tuner

May 21 Martinsville Speedway Curtis Turner

May 30 Canfield Motor Speedway Bill Rexford

June 18 Vernon Fairgrounds Bill Blair

June 25 Dayton Speedway Jimmy Florian

July 2 Monroe County Fairgrounds Curtis Turner

July 23 Charlotte Speedway Curtis Turner

Aug. 13 Occoneechee Speedway Fireball Roberts

Aug. 20 Dayton Speedway Dick Linder

Aug. 27 Hamburg Speedway Dick Linder

Sept. 4 Darlington Raceway Johnny Mantz

Sept. 17 Langhorne Speedway Fonty Flock

Sept. 24 North Wilkesboro Speedway Leon Sales

Oct. 1 Vernon Fairgrounds Dick Linder

Oct. 15 Martinsville Speedway Herb Thomas

Oct. 15 Funk’s Speedway Lloyd Moore

Oct. 29 Occoneechee Speedway Lee Petty

Top Cars

GLENN “FIREBALL” ROBERTS, of Palatka, Florida, wheeled Sam Rice’s Oldsmobile to one victory and five top-10 finishes in nine series starts.

PRESIDENT: HARRY S TRUMAN NO. 1 SONG: “GOODNIGHT, IRENE” BY GORDON JENKINS

TOP NEWS: JAN. 17: THE GREAT BRINKS ROBBERY IN BOSTON JUNE 16: “FATHER OF THE BRIDE” RELEASED AUG. 5: FLORENCE CHADWICK SWIMS THE ENGLISH

Best Driver

DRIVING THE NO. 41

Oldsmobile owned by John Eanes, Curtis Turner scored four wins in 16 starts. He visited Victory Lane at Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Rochester, New York, and Charlotte (N.C.) Speedway en route to a fifth-place finish in the championship standings. The native of Floyd, Virginia, recorded 10 top-10 results with an average start of 5.2 and an average finish of 14.7.

Best Race

JOHNNY MANTZ, winner of the inaugural Southern 500 at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway on Sept. 4, 1950, became a NASCAR star with only one career victory. The native of Long Beach, California, used hard truck tires, similar to those seen in Indy car racing, and led 351 of 400 laps as he capitalized on the heavy attrition. Mantz gained the lead at lap 50 and never looked back. He participated in only 12 NASCAR premier series events through 1956.