The 1954 Mid-South 250 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on October 10, 1954 at Memphis-Arkansas Speedway

Memphis-Arkansas Speedway

The Memphis-Arkansas Speedway was a dirt oval track located just west of West Memphis, Arkansas, USA in the community of LeHi.This speedway would have 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,...

 in the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 community of LeHi, Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

.

Summary

One hundred and sixty seven laps were raced on a dirt track spanning 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Twelve thousand people would attend this live untelevised race where Buck Baker

Buck Baker

Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. , better known as Buck Baker, was an American race car driver.-Racing career:...

 would win in his 1954 Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

 vehicle. Other notable competitors included Lee Petty

Lee Petty

Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. He was born near Randleman, North Carolina.-Career:...

 (who led 150 laps which was considered to be the most laps), Marvin Panch

Marvin Panch

Marvin Panch Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (born May 28, 1926, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver.-Early career:He started his racing career as a car owner in Oakland, California. One week, his driver did not show up, and he raced the car to a third place finish...

, Jimmie Lewallen

Jimmie Lewallen

Jimmie Lewallen was an American racecar driver from High Point, North Carolina, USA. He competed in NASCAR's Strictly Stock/Grand National division from its first race at Charlotte Speedway in 1949 until 1960.-Racing career:Lewallen began his racing career in motorcycles in 1934...

, Arden Mounts

Arden Mounts

Enoch Arden Mounts was an American NASCAR Grand National Series driver from Gilbert, Mingo County, West Virginia. His primary vehicle was the #18 self-owned Pontiac machine; although he would occasionaly drive a Hudson vehicle on the race track.-Summary:He raced in the NASCAR Grand National Series...

, and Junior Johnson

Junior Johnson

Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...

. The average speed of the race was 89.013 mi/h and the race took two hours, forty-eight minutes, and fifty-one seconds to complete. There was no record of the pole speed, the number of cautions, or even the margin of victory that Buck Baker had over Dick Rathmann

Dick Rathmann

Dick Rathmann was an American racecar driver....

. This event was the 35th race out of 37 in the 1954 Grand National season. Even though it was advertised as a 250-mile race, the actual distance of the race was 250.5 miles (403.1 km).

One of the major sponsors of the race was for the gasoline brand Pure

Pure Oil

Pure Oil Company was an American petroleum company founded in 1914 and sold to what is now Union Oil Company of California in 1965. The Pure Oil name returned in 1993 as a cooperative which has grown to supply 350 members in 10 Southern states.-History:Three companies operating in the United...

; which is now a defunct oil company that services ten Southern

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

 states as a cooperative

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

. Vapor lock from the fuels being used in the NASCAR Cup Series back then led to the elimination of three drivers from the race (John Erickson, Bud Harless

Bud Harless

Bud Harless was a NASCAR Grand National Series driver. He raced for six years and in 28 races . Harless' average starting position was 23rd while his average finishing position was 22nd. The number of laps that Harless raced in his career was 4074 - the equivalent of...

, and Charles Brinkley). When NASCAR switches to fuel injection

Fuel injection in NASCAR

The idea behind fuel injection in NASCAR is that the stock car automobile technology can catch up to the technology used by actual Toyota, Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford vehicles on the road today....

in the 2012 season, it is assumed that the vapor lock problem will be solved permanently.

Richard Jones achieved the race's last place finish due to a crash on the first lap of the race.