Jimmie Lewallen (August 22, 1919 – October 16, 1995) was an American

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

racing driver from High Point,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, USA. He competed in

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

's Strictly Stock/Grand National division (now called the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

) from its first race at

Charlotte Speedway Charlotte Speedway was the site of NASCAR's first Strictly Stock Series (now NASCAR Cup Series) race on June 19, 1949. The Daytona Beach Road Course held the first race sanctioned by NASCAR in 1948. The track was a few miles west of the NASCAR ...

in 1949 until 1960.

Racing career

Lewallen began his racing career in

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...

s in 1934. He switched to racing cars in the late 1930s when he delivered illegal

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

to other parts of North Carolina. Many early NASCAR drivers were moonshine runners. He raced at a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt track in High Point, until he went off to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1941. He served in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

(ETO) until 1945, including the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. He was wounded twice and received numerous medals. He resumed racing after he returned home from the war. Lewallen attended an October 12, 1946 meeting that formed NASCAR. The meeting was held at the Rex Hotel on Peachtree Street in Atlanta Georgia. Around twelve people attended, including

Bill France Sr. William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992), also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill, was an American businessman and racing driver. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based stock ...

Red Vogt Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

, and Raymond Parks. Bill France offered him a chance to "buy into NASCAR" for $500.00 ($ when adjusted for inflation) but Lewallen turned him down, saying "it would never amount to anything". Lewallen raced in NASCAR's first stock car race at Charlotte Speedway in 1949. He finished sixteenth and earned $25 ($ when adjusted for inflation).NASCAR Grand National Driving statistics
Retrieved December 23, 2007 Lewallen won the Modified championship at

Bowman Gray Stadium Bowman Gray Stadium is a NASCAR sanctioned asphalt flat oval short track and longstanding football stadium located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most legendary venues, and is referred to as "NASCAR's longes ...

in 1950 and would later drive a second car for

Petty Enterprises Petty Enterprises (formerly Lee Petty Engineering) was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, North Carolina, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Maurice Petty. The team was later owned by Richard Petty, h ...

in 1953 at West Palm Beach Speedway. That would result in finishing second for that race behind teammate

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup ch ...

. He had three consecutive Top 10 finishes in the series points from 1953 until 1955. His best career race finish was second, which he accomplished five times. While Lewallen never won in the Grand National Division, he won dozens of races in NASCAR's

Modified Modified may refer to: * ''Modified'' (album), the second full-length album by Save Ferris *Modified racing, or "Modifieds", an American automobile racing genre See also * Modification (disambiguation) * Modifier (disambiguation) Modifier may re ...

and Sportsman divisions as well as the 1950 Bowman Gray Stadium Modified Championship.Jimmie Lewallen
historicracing.com; Retrieved December 23, 2007 Lewallen raced for various owners throughout his career. 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. 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.Movie tells stories of race drivers and the community they live in
Jamie Kennedy Jones, July 15, 2007,

Greensboro News & Record The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensb ...

; Retrieved December 24, 2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewallen, Jimmie 1919 births 1995 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in North Carolina NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from North Carolina United States Army soldiers