|| *Comments on the 1953 unnamed race (1953-25):* View the most recent comment <#8> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. RaceFanX posted: 12.11.2008 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Only start for Ernie Derr, Red Untiedt and Keith Lucas First start for Jerry Draper Last start for Tubby Harrison and Paul Newkirk 2. Spen posted: 05.22.2012 - 11:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) To date, the only Cup race ever held in Iowa. Keith Lucas is the closest I'll ever get to having a driver from my current hometown. Sperry's only about fifteen miles from here. And hey, he got to beat Ernie Derr! That's a pretty good accomplishment in Iowa. 3. Anonymous posted: 09.23.2012 - 4:59 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Only start for Ernie Derr, who was a 12 time (!) champion in the long-defunct IMCA Stock Car series. 4. A posted: 03.05.2014 - 10:13 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Imagine finishing 11th in a NASCAR race and winning 25 dollars. 5. Kevin Nauta posted: 08.02.2015 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Geoff Unteidt, Red's grandson, shared this article with us on our NASCAR History Until 1972 Facebook page. Some things in here you can add to the race statistics! (Daily Times, Monday Aug 3, 1953) "Gamble on Gasoline Supply Pays Off; Herb Thomas Wins 100-mile." Herb Thomas gambled and won the Grand National 100-mile stock car race at the Mississippi Valley Amusement Park before a throng of 6,486 "dust soaked" fans Sunday afternoon. His tank went dry and his motor died just as soon as he received the checkered flag, signaling him as the winner of the longest race to be run on Quad City tracks in many years. Lee Petty and Fonty Flock didn't take the same chance. Petty stopped for fuel on the 196th lap of the 200-lap grind, and Flock went into the pits on the 198th lap. However, by that time it didn't make much difference, for Thomas, not taking any undue chances on the curves had lapped the field. Buck Baker finished second. Only chance of any of his closest pursuers depended on his gas supply, but Thomas' payoff gamble netted him the top prize of $1,000.00. Thomas completed the 100-mile run in 1 hour and 36 minutes flat for an average of 62.4 miles an hour. The fast time was made despite a two-lap slowdown when Keith Lucas of Sperry, IA flipped on the southwest curve. His car hit the fence, spilled gasoline, and then rolled onto the edge of the track. The Gasoline caught fire, and the blaze was extinguished but not until burning debris caused a dense cloud of smoke. Lucas was running on his 143rd lap at the time, having made a couple of pit stops previously for mechanical troubles, and once for loss of a wheel. Lucas wasn't the only one to have trouble, however. The race wasn't even started before Ed Skinner of Yerrington, Nevada went out. His car flipped during the time trials. Skinner suffered a head injury and was taken to the hospital for observation. His car was damaged but mechanics put it in order to start the race with popular Red Untiedt of Davenport as the driver. The car gave him plenty of trouble, and the redhead had to quit after 21 laps. Ernie Derr of Keokuk also had to give up on the 119th lap because of mechanical difficulty. Jerry Draper of Moline lost wheel on the 85th lap and later dropped out. Petty who finished third, took the lead early in the race and by the end of the 17th lap he had lapped six cars in the field. Thomas passed Petty on the 48th time around. By the end of the 82nd lap Thomas had passed every one of the 14 entries but Petty. He lapped him on the 132nd to go ahead to stay. Baker drove a steady race but he never could pull into contending position. He paced the field in the time trials, doing the ½ mile in 33.16 seconds. The final order: 1. Herb Thomas (Olivia, NC) - $1,000 2. Buck Baker (Charlotte, NC) - $700 3. Lee Petty (Randleman, NC) - $450 4. Dick Rathman (Atlanta, GA) - $350 5. Fonty Flock (Decatur, GA) - $200 6. Bill Harrison (Topeka, KS) - $100 7. Mel Krueger (Raleigh, NC) - $75 8. Johnny Beauchamp (Anita, IA) - $75 9. Tubby Harrison (Topeka, KS) - $50 10. Keith Lucas (Sperry, IA) - $50 11. Ernie Derr (Keokuk, IA) - $25 12. Jerry Draper (Moline, IL) - $25 13. Paul Newkirk (Cedar Rapids, IA) - $25 14. Red Untiedt (Davenport, IA) - $25 6. nascar_vd / racing-reference.info posted: 03.07.2016 - 8:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Note: Driver Standings after this race (top20): 1) Herb Thomas = 5318 points 2) Dick Rathman = 4986 3) Lee Petty = 4836 4) Buck Baker = 3639 5) Tim Flock = 3447 6) Fonty Flock = 3274 7) Dick Passwater = 2526 8) Joe Eubanks = 2313 9) Slick Smith = 1890 10) Ray Duhigg = 1802 11) Jim Paschal = 1695 12) Bill Blair = 1663 13) Jimmy Lewallen = 1442 14) Gober Sosebee = 1427 15) Hershel Buchanan = 1419 16) Donald Thomas = 1154 17) Elton Hildreth = 1127 18) Curtis Turner = 1063 19) Bub King = 1046 20) Ralph Liguori = 1034 7. nascar_vd / racing-reference.info posted: 04.05.2016 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Note: reason of withdraw for Eddie Skinner = head injury in practice crash. 8. possum posted: 03.30.2021 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Per @5's race report, pole time was 33.16 seconds, which is 54.28 MPH. 54.397 shown on this site looks to be a copy/paste error from the previous race at N Platte. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. 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