The 1955 Mid-South 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on August 14, 1955, at the Memphis-Arkansas Speedway in LeHi, Arkansas. The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation. This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.
Background
The Memphis-Arkansas Speedway was a dirtoval track located just west of West Memphis, Arkansas, United States, in the community of LeHi. This speedway had a total distance spanning. Its elevation is 200 feet above sea level and all races used the Central Time Zone. While the track opened on October 7, 1954, it soon ran out of money. Paving the track cost $100,000 and the dirt surface was unmanageable after a certain number of years. As a result, the track was closed permanently in 1957 when it was sold to a local farmer named Clayton Eubanks Sr., who used the abandoned race track for catfish, rice, and soybeans for a number of years. The proposed Interstate highway that was being built near the abandoned rack track was not finished in time to save it.
Race report
One hundred and sixty-seven laps were done on a dirt oval track spanning. There were no cautions and the time of the race was two hours, forty-seven minutes, and twelve seconds. The average speed was while the pole position speed was. Fifteen thousand people attended this live and completely untelevised race. Total winnings for this race were $10,625 with the winner receiving $2,950. Fonty Flock managed to break his brother's eight-race pole streak. However, Tim Flock qualified in second place for this race. Fonty would eventually win the race in his 1955 Chrysler C-300 but Tim would finish in third place. Speeds achieved during qualifying range from to ; with most drivers being able to do a qualifying lap in less than 60 seconds. Lee Petty was knocked out of the race due to problem with his car's U joint and Jimmie Lewallen was forced out of the race due to a broken gas line. Ted Cannady and Banks Simpson would make their NASCAR debuts at this racing event while Ken Johns and Jim McLain would end their NASCAR careers here. No record pertaining to the points system used in NASCAR was recorded for this event. Smokey Yunick and Carl Kiekhaefer were two of the most notable crew chiefs to attend this race; Yunick attended to Herb Thomas' car while Carl helped to service Tim Flock's vehicle.
