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. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southe ...

racing driver from

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

, United States. 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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

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

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

) 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; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

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

moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1941. He served in the

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

(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 liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

. 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) was an American businessman and racing driver. He was also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based s ...

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 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, 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 multi-use sports facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The complex consists of a paved oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track and a gridiron football field. The complex has held various major events since ...

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, Randolph County, North Carolina, Level Cross, North Carolina, United States, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Ma ...

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 is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its f ...

. 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 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 Greensbo ...

; 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