1952 Grand National Series

1952 Grand National Series
Duration	January 20, 1952 through November 30, 1952
Season statistics
No. of races	34
First race	1952-01
Last race	1952-34
Drivers' champion	Tim Flock
Manufacturers' champion	Hudson
Most popular driver	Lee Petty
Previous	1951
Next	1953

The 1952 Grand National Series was the 4th season of the NASCAR Grand National Series. The season began at Palm Beach Speedway on January 20 and ended at Palm Beach Speedway on November 30. Tim Flock won the championship with 8 wins, scoring a second consecutive championship for a driver driving the Hudson Hornet. Hudson had a dominant season, scoring 27 wins in 34 events.

The season was notable for including NASCAR’s first international event, a race held in Stamford Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada on July 1.

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track
1	January 20, 1952	1952-01	Palm Beach Speedway
2	February 10, 1952	1952-02	Daytona Beach Road Course
3	March 6, 1952	1952-03	Speedway Park
4	March 30, 1952	Wilkes County 200	North Wilkesboro Speedway
5	April 6, 1952	1952-05	Martinsville Speedway
6	April 12, 1952	1952-06	Columbia Speedway
7	April 20, 1952	1952-07	Lakewood Speedway
8	April 27, 1952	1952-08	Central City Speedway
9	May 4, 1952	1952-09	Langhorne Speedway
10	May 10, 1952	1952-10	Darlington Raceway
11	May 18, 1952	1952-11	Dayton Speedway
12	May 30, 1952	Poor Man's 500	Canfield Speedway
13	June 1, 1952	1952-13	Hayloft Speedway
14	June 1, 1952	1952-14	Fort Miami Speedway
15	June 8, 1952	1952-15	Occoneechee Speedway
16	June 15, 1952	1952-16	Charlotte Speedway
17	June 29, 1952	Motor City 250	Michigan State Fairgrounds
18	July 1, 1952	1952-18	Stamford Park
19	July 4, 1952	1952-19	Shangri-La Motor Speedway
20	July 6, 1952	1952-20	Monroe Speedway
21	July 11, 1952	1952-21	Morristown Speedway
22	July 20, 1952	1952-22	Playland Park Speedway
23	August 15, 1952	1952-23	Monroe County Fairgrounds
24	August 17, 1952	1952-24	Asheville-Weaverville Speedway
25	September 1, 1952	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway
26	September 7, 1952	1952-26	Central City Speedway
27	September 14, 1952	1952-27	Langhorne Speedway
28	September 21, 1952	1952-28	Dayton Speedway
29	September 28, 1952	1952-29	Wilson Speedway
30	October 12, 1952	1952-30	Occoneechee Speedway
31	October 19, 1952	1952-31	Martinsville Speedway
32	October 26, 1952	Wilkes 200	North Wilkesboro Speedway
33	November 16, 1952	1952-33	Lakewood Speedway
34	November 30, 1952	1952-34	Palm Beach Speedway

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
1	1952-01	Tim Flock	Tim Flock	Hudson	2		0.000
2	1952-02	Pat Kirkwood	Marshall Teague	Hudson	0	0	85.612	2
3	1952-03	Marshall Teague	Marshall Teague	Hudson	1	4	55.197	0
4	1952 Wilkes County 200	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	Hudson			58.597	0
5	1952-05	Buck Baker	Dick Rathman	Hudson	4		42.862	7
6	1952-06	Buck Baker	Buck Baker	Hudson			53.460	3
7	1952-07	Tim Flock	Bill Blair				66.877	3
8	1952-08	Jack Smith	Herb Thomas	Hudson			53.853	1
9	1952-09	Herb Thomas	Dick Rathman	Hudson			67.669	1
10	1952-10	Fireball Roberts	Dick Rathman	Hudson			83.318	7
11	1952-11	Fonty Flock	Dick Rathman	Hudson	1		65.526	2
12	1952 Poor Man's 500	Dick Rathman	Herb Thomas	Hudson	4		48.057
13	1952-13	Tommy Moon	Gober Sosebee				0.000
14	1952-14	Fonty Flock	Tim Flock	Hudson			47.175	1
15	1952-15	Fonty Flock	Tim Flock	Hudson			81.008
16	1952-16	Fonty Flock	Herb Thomas	Hudson	3		64.820	1
17	1952 Motor City 250	Dick Rathman	Tim Flock	Hudson			59.908	4
18	1952-18	Herb Thomas	Buddy Shuman	Hudson	3		45.610
19	1952-19	Tim Flock	Tim Flock	Hudson			56.603
20	1952-20	Tim Flock	Tim Flock	Hudson			44.499
21	1952-21	Herb Thomas	Lee Petty				59.661	2
22	1952-22	Herb Thomas	Tim Flock	Hudson			41.889	1
23	1952-23	Pappy Hough	Tim Flock	Hudson			0.000	3
24	1952-24	Herb Thomas	Bob Flock	Hudson			57.288
25	1952 Southern 500	Fonty Flock	Fonty Flock		7	40	74.512	6
26	1952-26	Fonty Flock	Lee Petty				48.404	3
27	1952-27	Herb Thomas	Lee Petty				72.463	5
28	1952-28	Fonty Flock	Dick Rathman	Hudson			61.643	3
29	1952-29	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	Hudson			35.398
30	1952-30	Bill Blair	Fonty Flock		2		73.489	1
31	1952-31	Perk Brown	Herb Thomas	Hudson	3		47.556	7
32	1952 Wilkes 200	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	Hudson	3	12	67.044	2
33	1952-33	Donald Thomas	Donald Thomas	Hudson	3		64.853	6
34	1952-34	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	Hudson			58.008	0

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Tim Flock	33	8	22	25	4	6858.5
2	Herb Thomas	32	8	19	22	10	6752.5	-106
3	Lee Petty	32	3	21	27	0	6498.5	-360
4	Fonty Flock	29	2	14	17	7	5183.5	-1,675
5	Dick Rathmann	27	5	14	14	2	3952.5	-2,906
6	Bill Blair	19	1	10	13	1	3499	-3,360
7	Joe Eubanks	19	0	4	9	0	3090.5	-3,768
8	Ray Duhigg	18	0	4	10	0	2986.5	-3,872
9	Donald Thomas	21	1	5	14	1	2574	-4,285
10	Buddy Shuman	15	1	3	7	0	2483	-4,376
11	Ted Chamberlain	18	0	0	6	0	2208	-4,651
12	Buck Baker	14	1	3	6	2	2159	-4,700
13	Perk Brown	19	0	3	6	1	2151.5	-4,707
14	Jimmie Lewallen	20	0	2	7	0	2033	-4,826
15	Bub King	10	0	2	5	0	1993	-4,866
16	Herschel Buchanan	5	0	4	5	0	1868	-4,991
17	Johnny Patterson	5	0	2	2	0	1708	-5,151
18	Jim Paschal	15	0	1	7	0	1694	-5,165
19	Neil Cole	11	0	1	7	0	1618	-5,241
20	Lloyd Moore	8	0	2	4	0	1513.5	-5,345
21	Gene Comstock	8	0	1	3	0	1339	-5,520
22	Banjo Matthews	3	0	1	1	0	1240	-5,619
23	Ralph Liguori	12	0	1	6	0	1230	-5,629
24	Jack Reynolds	10	0	2	6	0	1177.5	-5,681
25	Dick Passwater	6	0	1	3	0	1148	-5,711
26	Bucky Sager	10	0	1	3	0	1119.5	-5,739
27	Frankie Schneider	6	0	3	4	0	931	-5,928
28	Otis Martin	5	0	0	2	0	873.5	-5,985
29	Coleman Lawrence	8	0	0	3	0	846	-6,013
30	Ed Samples	8	0	2	4	0	827	-6,032

Manufacturer's Championship

With 27 wins, Hudson won the first Manufacturer's Championship. 15 different makes of cars earned manufacturer's points during the season.

Position	Make	Race Wins
1	Hudson	27
2		3
3		3
4		0
5		1