Jimmie Lewallen

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Jimmy Lewallen
JimmieLewallenNASCAR.jpg
Born(1919-08-22)August 22, 1919
Archdale, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedOctober 16, 1995(1995-10-16) (aged 76)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of deathCancer
NASCAR Cup Series career
142 races run over 12 years
Best finish8th (1954)
First race1949 Race No. 1 (Charlotte)
Last race1960 International 200 (Bowman Gray)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 57 1
NASCAR Convertible Division career
38 races run over 3 years
Best finish6th (1956)
First race1956 Race No. 12 (Langhorne)
Last race1959 (Hickory)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 26 1

Jimmie Lewallen (August 22, 1919 – October 16, 1995) was an American stock car racing driver from High Point, North Carolina, USA. He competed in NASCAR's Strictly Stock/Grand National division (now called the NASCAR Cup Series) from its first race at Charlotte Speedway in 1949 until 1960.

Racing career[]

Lewallen began his racing career in motorcycles in 1934. He switched to racing cars in the late 1930s when he delivered illegal moonshine to other parts of North Carolina.[1] Many early NASCAR drivers were moonshine runners.[1] He raced at a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt track in High Point, until he went off to World War II in 1941.[1] He served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) until 1945, including the Battle of Normandy.[1] He was wounded twice and received numerous medals.[1]

He resumed racing after he returned home from the war. Lewallen attended an October 12, 1946 meeting that formed NASCAR.[1] The meeting was held at the Rex Hotel on Peachtree Street in Atlanta Georgia. Around twelve people attended, including Bill France Sr., , and Raymond Parks. Bill France offered him a chance to "buy into NASCAR" for $500.00 ($6,635.67 when adjusted for inflation) but Lewallen turned him down, saying "it would never amount to anything".[1]

Lewallen raced in NASCAR's first stockcar race at Charlotte Speedway in 1949. He finished sixteenth and earned $25 ($271.92 when adjusted for inflation).[2] Lewallen won the Modified championship at Bowman Gray Stadium in 1950 and would later drive a second car for Petty Enterprises in 1953 at . That would result in finishing second for that race behind teammate Lee Petty. He had three consecutive Top 10 finishes in the series points from 1953 until 1955.[2] His best career race finish was second, which he accomplished four times.[1] While Lewallen never won in the Grand National Division, he won dozens of races in NASCAR's Modified and Sportsman divisions as well as the 1950 Bowman Gray Stadium Modified Championship.[1] Lewallen raced for various owners throughout his career.[2] He raced in various divisions until 1975. He helped found the "Old Timer Racing Club". Lewallen died from cancer on October 16, 1995 at a Winston-Salem hospital.[1]

Lewallen, Fred Harb, and Bill Blair Sr. are the subject of the upcoming independent movie Red Dirt Rising, which is based on the book "Red Dirt Tracks: The Forgotten Heroes of Early Stockcar Racing" by Gail Cauble Gurley.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Jimmie Lewallen[permanent dead link]; historicracing.com; Retrieved December 23, 2007
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c NASCAR Grand National Driving statistics Retrieved December 23, 2007
  3. ^ Movie tells stories of race drivers and the community they live in[permanent dead link]; Jamie Kennedy Jones, July 15, 2007, Greensboro News & Record; Retrieved December 24, 2007

External links[]

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