All photos, unless otherwise noted, are from www.gmheritagecenter.com

The latest edition to the GM Heritage Center’s collection is a replica of Herb Thomas’ 1955 Southern 500 winning ’55 Chevy 150 Sedan with a 265ci small-block V8 Power Pak engine. This addition also pays respect to GM Performance Parts, whose beginnings in NASCAR have helped performance enthusiasts over the next 60 years.

Thomas, a former truck driver, was a farmer during the week and racer on the weekends, parlaying his talent into two NASCAR Championship in 1951 and 1953. Most of his racing and winning came early on in his career driving the legendary Hudson Hornet.

The actual racecar on the track. Photo from www.chevyhardcore.com

In 1954 Thomas joined one of the most experimental car owner/builders in racing history, signing on with the legendary car owner Smokey Yunick.  Thomas had another great year in ’54, racking up 12 victories and his second Southern 500 win. The Southern 500 was a big deal in this era, running at one of the newest tracks, the Darlington Speedway. Thomas finished second in the Championship points to Lee Petty, the patriarch of the Petty racing family.

This was the very beginning of the Chevy small-block V8, the most winningest engine in NASCAR, and a staple in the GM Performance Parts lineup for several decades.

The start of 1955 saw Thomas drive his own car to the final win for the Hudson Hornet nameplate at West Palm Beach in February, the second race of the season. By the season’s 7th race at Hillsboro, North Carolina, Thomas had switched to the 1955 Chevy 150 Sedan platform. The only driver to do so except car owner Frank Christian, who supported Fonty Flock at several races in the season.

Sponsorship was not as common as it is now. Three brothers, Ed, Zeke, and Gus Justice became the first multi-car sponsor in NASCAR with the Wynn’s Friction Proofing oil products. They eventually started their own car care line of Justice Brother Products.

Thomas and his Chevrolet struggled to find success against some of the more powerful cars like the Chrysler 300s and the Oldsmobile Rocket 88s. Thomas and Yunick kept at it, proving that the Chevy engine was dependable enough to withstand the grueling 200 and 300 mile races. By the time the 1955 Southern 500 rolled around, 23 of the 69 starters for the 503 mile race were the 1955 Chevrolet 150 Sedans. That is fully one-third of the field.

Many of these early cars were either hauled with an open trailer or driven from track to track. These racecars typically had license plates on them.

The race started simply enough with the Fords of Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly battling the Buick of Fireball Roberts and the Kiekhaefer owned Chrysler of Tim Flock. Kiekhaefer’s mighty Chryslers were difficult to beat and looked like a shoe in to win every race. Herb Thomas and his Chevy started in eighth, ran a solid race, holding his spot until lap 279 when he moved to the front.

One-by-one, the leaders began to drop off. Turner broke a tie rod on lap 133. Fonty Flock crashed a Kiekhafer Chrysler on lap 190.  Speedy Thompson Oldsmobile dropped out with a vapor lock on lap 235. Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson faded to the rear of the field with poor handling cars, along with Joe Weatherly, who had lead the race twice for a total of 141 laps.

As the mighty teams continued to fall of the pace, the Chevrolet teams started to move forward, bunching up at the front. Eight of the top 15 cars were Chevys.

Other than a couple of add-on gauges, these cars looked just like the ones families drove daily. No window nets or other safety items. The driver just rolled the window down when he came into the pits.

Within sight of the finish line, two of the Chevys finally gave out with Jimmy Massey’s car experiencing transmission failure on lap 352 and Bill Widenhouse’s Chevy, which had led the race at the midway point, experiencing wheel problems on the next lap.

When the checkered flag fell on lap 366, Herb Thomas had won and the 1955 Chevys had finished in seven of the top ten spots. In addition to Thomas winning his third Southern 500 race, this raced marked the turning point for Chevrolet in NASCAR, and there has been no turning back from here.

Back when stock car racing was done with stock cars.

The GM Heritage Center’s 1955 NASCAR Chevrolet #92 replica pays tribute to GM Performance and the legendary small-block Chevy V8, the engine that has gone on to win more NASCAR races than any other.

The GM North American Heritage Collection is made up of approximately 600 cars and trucks, located in an 81,000 square foot facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The collection is not open to the public for individual visits; however, the GM Heritage Center can be reserved for group tours, conferences, meetings and special events or visited online at www.gmheritagecenter.com