Herb Thomas

Herbert Thomas
Herbert Thomas
Born	April 6, 1923; Olivia, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	August 9, 2000 (aged 77); Sanford, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Achievements	1951 NASCAR Grand National Series Champion; 1953 NASCAR Grand National Series Champion; 1951, 1954, 1955 Southern 500 Winner; NASCAR's First Two-Time Champion; Led Cup Series in Wins 3 times (1952, 1953, 1954) Highest win percentage of any driver with over 100 starts (21.05%).
Awards	International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1994); NASCAR Hall of Fame (2013); Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998); Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
	228 races run over 10 years
Best finish	1st (1951, 1953)
First race	1949 Race No. 1 (Charlotte)
Last race	1962 Gwyn Staley 400 (North Wilkesboro)
First win	1950 (Martinsville)
Last win	1956 (Merced)
NASCAR Convertible Division career
	1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	40th (1956)
First race	1956 Race #1 (Daytona Beach & Road Course)
	Statistics current as of February 20, 2013.

Herbert Watson Thomas (April 6, 1923 – August 9, 2000) was a stock car racer who was one of NASCAR's most successful drivers in the 1950s. Thomas was NASCAR's first multi-time Cup Champion.

Background

Born in the small town of Olivia, North Carolina, Thomas worked as a farmer and worked in a sawmill in the 1940s before his interest turned to auto racing.

NASCAR career

In 1949, Thomas took part in NASCAR's first Strictly Stock (the forerunner to the Grand National and ultimately the modern NASCAR Cup Series) race and made four starts in the series' first year. The following year, he made thirteen appearances in the series, now renamed the Grand National division. He scored his first career win at Martinsville Speedway in a privateer Plymouth.

He started the 1951 season with moderate success in his Plymouth (plus one win in an Oldsmobile) before switching to a Hudson Hornet, at the suggestion of fellow driver Marshall Teague. Thomas won the Southern 500 rather handily in what was famously dubbed "The Fabulous Hudson Hornet", which would be the first of six wins in two months. His late charge helped him narrowly defeat Fonty Flock to win the Grand National championship. With help from crew chief Smokey Yunick, Thomas subsequently became the first owner/driver to take the championship in the process.

In 1952, Thomas and his Hornet were involved in a close championship race with another Flock, Fonty's younger brother Tim. The two drivers won 8 races in their respective Hudsons, but Flock came out on top at the end, despite another late-season charge from Thomas.

He returned with a vengeance in 1953 and dominated the entire season, winning a series-best twelve races en route to becoming the first two-time series champion. Thomas won twelve races again in 1954, including a second Southern 500 win (making him the first driver to win twice at Darlington), but he was beaten by a more consistent Lee Petty in the championship standings.

After four successful years in a Hudson, Thomas began driving Chevrolets and Buicks in races in 1955. He crashed heavily behind the wheel of a Buick at a race in Charlotte, forcing him to miss three months of the season. He returned to score his third Southern 500 win in his Motoramic Chevy, one of three wins during the season. He finished 5th in the championship on the strength of his win at Darlington.

In 1956, Thomas briefly abandoned being an owner/driver and, after winning a race for himself early in the season, he drove for two other owners. He won once for Yunick, after which the two broke ties, and three consecutive races while driving Chryslers for Carl Kiekhaefer, then dominating NASCAR with the first professional team. Thomas eventually returned to being an owner/driver at season's end, and had clinched second behind Petty in the championship when he was severely injured at a race in Shelby, North Carolina. The wreck effectively ended his NASCAR career, though he had two starts in 1957 and one in 1962 without success. The three consecutive wins would end up being his final three wins.

Career summary

Thomas ended his career with 48 victories, which currently ranks 14th all-time. He won 21.05% of his starts (48 wins out of 228 starts) during his career, which ranks as the highest win percentage all-time among drivers with 100 career starts.

Family

Herb's younger brother Donald made 79 starts in the Grand National division between 1950 and 1956, winning at Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway in 1952. Donald was the youngest driver to ever win a race in series history until Kyle Busch broke the record in 2005.

Awards

Thomas was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994 and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

Thomas was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on February 8, 2013.^[1]

He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2017.^[2]

He and the Fabulous Hudson Hornet are on a historical mural on the side of a building at 133 N. Steele Street that was commissioned in 2016 by the City of Sanford.^[3]

Death

On August 9, 2000, Thomas suffered a heart attack and died in Sanford, North Carolina.^[4]^[5]

Pop culture impact

Herb Thomas was one of the primary inspirations for the character of Doc Hudson in Pixar's Cars series of films. Many aspects of Doc's life were based on Thomas, as well as the design of the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" car and racing livery.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	NGNC	Pts	Ref
1949	Thomas Racing	93	Ford	CLT 29																																																								25th	132	^[6]
		9			DAB 12
		92				HBO 26	LAN	HAM	MAR	HEI	NWS 5
1950		92		DAB	CLT 9	LAN 23	MAR 14	CAN																																																				11th	590.5	^[7]
		91	Plymouth						VER 20	DSP
		92									MCF 21	CLT 3	HBO 8	DSP 3	HAM	DAR DNQ	LAN 13	NWS 4	VER 11	MAR 1*	WIN	HBO 18
1951		92		DAB 16	CLT 4	NMO 3	GAR	HBO 7	ASF 22	NWS 13	MAR 4	CAN 4	CLS 3	CLB 4	DSP 24	GAR	GRS 11	BAI 12		AWS 3	MCF 15	ALS 2		FMS 5	MOR 29	ABS 6			CCS 1																															1st	4208.45	^[8]
	Hubert Westmoreland	41.5	Olds																HEI 1*
	Thomas Racing	92	Hudson																				MSF 57				DAR 1*	CLB 20		LAN 1	CLT 1*	DSP	WIL 14	HBO 1	TPN 26	PGS	MAR 18	OAK	NWS 21	HMS 28
	Marshall Teague	9	Hudson																																						JSP 1*	ATL 19	GAR
	Leonard Tippett	99	Hudson																																									NMO 21
1952	Thomas Racing	92	Hudson	PBS	DAB 2	JSP 2	NWS 1**	MAR 8	CLB 17	ATL 8	CCS 1	LAN 21	DAR 13	DSP 6	CAN 1	HAY	FMS 21	HBO 16	CLT 1*	MSF 3	NIF 2	OSW 2	MON 2	MOR 24	PPS 18	MCF 2	AWS 3	DAR 3	CCS 2	LAN 37	DSP 5	WIL 1	HBO 27	MAR 1		ATL 13*	PBS 1**																							2nd	6752.5	^[9]
1952		9																																	NWS 1*																									2nd	6752.5	^[9]
1953		92		PBS 21	DAB 4	HAR 1**	NWS 1	CLT 12	RCH 10	CCS 2	LAN 7	CLB 8	HCY 20	MAR 2*	PMS 1	RSP 4	LOU 3*	FIF 1	LAN 4	TCS 1	WIL 3	MCF 2	PIF 1*	MOR 1*	ATL 2	RVS 1*	LCF 2*	DAV 1*	HBO 2	AWS 2	PAS 1*	HCY 2	DAR 5	CCS 6	LAN 2	BLF 1	WIL 1**	NWS 15	MAR 26	ATL 14*																				1st	8460	^[10]
1954				PBS 1	DAB 59	JSP 1*	ATL 1	OSP 10	OAK	NWS 2	HBO 1	CCS 18	LAN 1*	WIL 10	MAR 9	SHA 10	RSP 9	CLT 10	GAR	CLB 6	LND 7	HCY 1**	MCF 2*	WGS 1*	PIF 1	AWS 1	SFS 2	GRS 22	MOR 2	OAK	CLT 14	SAN 6	COR 4	DAR 1	CCS 20	CLT 6	LAN 1*	MAS 4	MAR 16	NWS 3																				2nd	8366	^[11]
1955				TCS 3	PBS 1*	JSP 3		OSP 4																									FOR 21	CLT																										5th	5186	^[12]
			Packard				DAB 36
			Chevy						CLB 10	HBO 16		MGY 5																							MAS 14		DAR 1*	MGY 2	LAN 2	RSP 2	GPS	MAS 22	CLB 3	MAR 4	LVP	NWS 21	HBO 4
	Arden Mounts	18	Hudson								NWS 14
	Thomas Racing	92	Buick										LAN 5	CLT 21	HCY	ASF	TUS	MAR	RCH	NCF	FOR	LIN	MCF	FON	AIR	CLT	PIF	CLB	AWS	MOR	ALS	NYF				RSP 1
1956	Thomas Racing		Chevy	HCY 16	CLT 11	WSS	PBS 1	ASF 9				ATL 3	NWS 4								MAR 20												RSP 4			CHI 18	CCF 8	MGY 6	OKL 4	ROA 6	OBS 7		NOR 10	PIF 4	MYB 13		DAR 49	CSH 6	CLT 5	LAN 5	POR	CLB 8	HBO 4	NWP 5	CLT 7	CCF 17	MAR	HCY	WIL	2nd	8568	^[13]
	Smokey Yunick		Chevy						DAB 9	PBS 3	WIL 1
	Carl Kiekhaefer		Chrysler											LAN 2
			Dodge												RCH 2
		501	Dodge													CLB 6
		300B	Chrysler														CON 3			HBO 11				POR 1	EUR 1*	NYF	MER 1				POR 11	AWS 5
		901	Dodge															GPS 14
		502																	HCY 4			LIN 4*	CLT					MAS 7
		500B																											CLT 6	MCF 3
		500D																																PIF 17	CSF
	Jack Chatenay	30	Plymouth																																							SAN 36
	Thomas Racing	52N	Chevy																																											POR 7
1957	Thomas Racing	92	Pontiac	WSS	CON	TIC	DAB	CON	WIL	HBO	AWS	NWS	LAN	CLT	PIF	GBF	POR	CCF	RCH	MAR	POR	EUR	LIN	LCS	ASP	NWP	CLB	CPS	PIF	JAC	RSP 46	CLT	MAS	POR	HCY	NOR	LCS	GLN	KPC	LIN 28	OBS	MYB	DAR	NYF	AWS	CSF	SCF	LAN	CLB	CCF	CLT	MAR	NBR	CON	NWS	GBF				NA	-	^[14]
1962	Stoney Johnson	91	Chevy	CON	AWS	DAY	DAY	DAY	CON	AWS	SVH	HBO	RCH	CLB	NWS 14	GPS	MBS	MAR	BGS	BRI	RCH	HCY	CON	DAR	PIF	CLT	ATL	BGS	AUG	RCH	SBO	DAY	CLB	ASH	GPS	AUG	SVH	MBS	BRI	CHT	NSV	HUN	AWS	STR	BGS	PIF	VAL	DAR	HCY	RCH	DTS	AUG	MAR	NWS	CLT	ATL				97th	312	^[15]

References

^ White, Rea (2012-05-24). "Wallace, Wood among 2013 Hall class". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
^ Herb Thomas at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
^ "Murals: Unlocking Sanford's History With Art". City of Sanford, NC. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
^ "NASCAR pioneer Thomas dies of heart attack at 77". Sun Journal. Raleigh, North Carolina. August 10, 2000. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
^ "Herb Thomas, NASCAR champion, passes away". NASCAR.com. ESPN Media Ventures. August 9, 2000. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1950 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1951 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1952 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1953 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1954 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1955 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1956 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1957 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
^ "Herb Thomas – 1962 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved June 30, 2019.

External links

Herb Thomas driver statistics at Racing-Reference
Herb Thomas owner statistics at Racing-Reference
Article on Thomas' passing Archived 2015-09-30 at the Wayback Machine

Preceded by Bill Rexford	NASCAR Grand National Champion 1951	Succeeded by Tim Flock
Preceded by Tim Flock	NASCAR Grand National Champion 1953	Succeeded by Lee Petty