| Jimmie Lewallen | |||||||
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| Born | (1919-08-22)August 22, 1919 High Point, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | October 16, 1995(1995-10-16) (aged 76) Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Cause of death | Cancer | ||||||
| NASCARCup Series career | |||||||
| 142 races run over 12 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 8th (1954) | ||||||
| First race | 1949Race No. 1 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 1960International 200 (Bowman Gray) | ||||||
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| NASCARConvertible Division career | |||||||
| 38 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 6th (1956) | ||||||
| First race | 1956 Race No. 12 (Langhorne) | ||||||
| Last race | 1959Catawba 250 (Hickory) | ||||||
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Jimmie Lewallen (August 22, 1919 – October 16, 1995) was an Americanstock car racing driver fromHigh Point, North Carolina, United States. He competed inNASCAR's Strictly Stock/Grand National division (now called theNASCAR Cup Series) from its first race atCharlotte Speedway in 1949 until 1960.
Lewallen began his racing career inmotorcycles in 1934. He switched to racing cars in the late 1930s when he delivered illegalmoonshine to other parts of North Carolina.[1] Many early NASCAR drivers were moonshine runners.[1] He raced at a one-mile (1.6 km)dirt track in High Point, until he went off toWorld War II in 1941.[1] He served in theEuropean Theater of Operations (ETO) until 1945, including theBattle of Normandy.[1] He was wounded twice and received numerous medals.[1]
He resumed racing after he returned home from the war. Lewallen attended an October 12, 1946 meeting that formed NASCAR.[1] The meeting was held at the Rex Hotel on Peachtree Street in Atlanta Georgia. Around twelve people attended, includingBill France Sr.,Red Vogt, andRaymond Parks. Bill France offered him a chance to "buy into NASCAR" for $500.00 ($8,062.29 when adjusted for inflation) but Lewallen turned him down, saying "it would never amount to anything".[1]
Lewallen raced in NASCAR's first stock car race at Charlotte Speedway in 1949. He finished sixteenth and earned $25 ($330.38 when adjusted for inflation).[2] Lewallen won the Modified championship atBowman Gray Stadium in 1950 and would later drive a second car forPetty Enterprises in 1953 atWest Palm Beach Speedway. That would result in finishing second for that race behind teammateLee Petty. He had three consecutive Top 10 finishes in the series points from 1953 until 1955.[2] His best career race finish was second, which he accomplished five times.[1] While Lewallen never won in the Grand National Division, he won dozens of races in NASCAR'sModified and Sportsman divisions as well as the 1950 Bowman Gray Stadium Modified Championship.[1] Lewallen raced for various owners throughout his career.[2] 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.[1]
Lewallen,Fred Harb, andBill Blair Sr. are the subject of the upcoming independent movieRed Dirt Rising, which is based on the book "Red Dirt Tracks: The Forgotten Heroes of Early Stockcar Racing" by Gail Cauble Gurley.[3]
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