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The 1953 Grand National Series was the 5th season of the NASCAR Grand National Series. The season began at Palm Beach Speedway on February 1 and ended at Lakewood Speedway on November 1.

Herb Thomas won his second Grand National Championship, becoming the first two-time champion in NASCAR. He won 12 races in 1953, setting a record for the most wins in a season at the time. Between May 17 and September 7, He had a streak of 20 consecutive top-five finishes, and finished in the Top 10 in 31 out of his 37 starts.

The season was notable for seeing the debut of Glen Wood, driving for his family operation which would go on to become the Wood Brothers Racing team. Future champion Ned Jarrett also debuted at Hickory in August. Hudson continued to dominate the Grand National series, scoring 22 wins in the season.

Schedule[]

Round Date Race Name Track
1 February 1, 1953 1953-01 Palm Beach Speedway
2 February 15, 1953 1953-02 Daytona Beach Road Course
3 March 8, 1953 1953-03 Harnett Speedway
4 March 29, 1953 Wilkes County 200 North Wilkesboro Speedway
5 April 5, 1953 1953-05 Charlotte Speedway
6 April 19, 1953 Richmond 200 Richmond Fairgrounds
7 April 26, 1953 1953-07 Central City Speedway
8 May 3, 1953 1953-08 Langhorne Speedway
9 May 9, 1953 1953-09 Columbia Speedway
10 May 16, 1953 1953-10 Hickory Speedway
11 May 17, 1953 1953-11 Martinsville Speedway
12 May 24, 1953 1953-12 Powell Motor Speedway
13 May 30, 1953 Raleigh 300 Raleigh Speedway
14 June 7, 1953 1953-14 Louisiana Fairgrounds
15 June 14, 1953 1953-15 Five Flags Speedway
16 June 21, 1953 International 200 Langhorne Speedway
17 June 26, 1953 1953-17 Tri-City Speedway
18 June 28, 1953 1953-18 Wilson Speedway
19 July 3, 1953 1953-19 Monroe County Fairgrounds
20 July 4, 1953 1953-20 Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds
21 July 10, 1953 1953-21 Morristown Speedway
22 July 12, 1953 1953-22 Lakewood Speedway
23 July 22, 1953 1953-23 Rapid Valley Speedway
24 July 26, 1953 1953-24 Lincoln City Fairgrounds
25 August 2, 1953 1953-25 Davenport Speedway
26 August 9, 1953 1953-26 Occoneechee Speedway
27 August 16, 1953 1953-27 Asheville-Weaverville Speedway
28 August 23, 1953 1953-28 Princess Anne Speedway
29 August 29, 1953 1953-29 Hickory Speedway
30 September 7, 1953 Southern 500 Darlington Raceway
31 September 13, 1953 1953-31 Central City Speedway
32 September 20, 1953 1953-32 Langhorne Speedway
33 October 3, 1953 1953-33 Bloomsburg Fairgrounds
34 October 4, 1953 1953-34 Wilson Speedway
35 October 11, 1953 Wilkes 160 North Wilkesboro Speedway
36 October 18, 1953 1953-36 Martinsville Speedway
37 November 1, 1953 1953-37 Lakewood Speedway

Results[]

Round Race Pole Winner Winner Make Cautions Caution Laps Average Speed Number of Lead Changes
1 1953-01 Dick Rathman Lee Petty Dodge badge 60.220 2
2 1953-02 Bob Pronger Bill Blair Oldsmobile 1981 badge 0 0 89.789 2
3 1953-03 Herb Thomas Herb Thomas Hudson 48.826 0
4 1953 Wilkes County 200 Herb Thomas Herb Thomas Hudson 71.907 6
5 1953-05 Tim Flock Dick Passwater Oldsmobile 1981 badge 0.000 16
6 1953 Richmond 200 Buck Baker Lee Petty Dodge badge 45.535
7 1953-07 Fonty Flock Dick Rathman Hudson 56.417 2
8 1953-08 Tim Flock Buck Baker Oldsmobile 1981 badge 72.743 5
9 1953-09 Herb Thomas Buck Baker Oldsmobile 1981 badge 53.707
10 1953-10 Tim Flock Tim Flock Hudson 0.000
11 1953-11 Tim Flock Lee Petty Dodge badge 0.000 2
12 1953-12 Fonty Flock Herb Thomas Hudson 56.127
13 1953 Raleigh 300 Slick Smith Fonty Flock Hudson 70.629 6
14 1953-14 Herb Thomas Lee Petty Dodge badge 53.199
15 1953-15 Dick Rathman Herb Thomas Hudson 63.316
16 1953 International 200 Lloyd Shaw Dick Rathman Hudson 4 64.434 1
17 1953-17 Herb Thomas Herb Thomas Hudson 58.186
18 1953-18 Fonty Flock Fonty Flock Hudson 53.803
19 1953-19 Tim Flock Herb Thomas Hudson 56.939 1
20 1953-20 Buck Baker Lee Petty Dodge badge 56.934
21 1953-21 Herb Thomas Dick Rathman Hudson 69.417 5
22 1953-22 Herb Thomas Herb Thomas Hudson 70.685 2
23 1953-23 Herb Thomas Herb Thomas Hudson 57.270
24 1953-24 Herb Thomas Dick Rathman Hudson 54.380
25 1953-25 Buck Baker Herb Thomas Hudson 62.500
26 1953-26 Curtis Turner Curtis Turner Oldsmobile 1981 badge 2 75.125 0
27 1953-27 Curtis Turner Fonty Flock Hudson 62.434
28 1953-28 Curtis Turner Herb Thomas Hudson 51.040
29 1953-29 Tim Flock Fonty Flock Hudson 0.000 1
30 1953 Southern 500 Fonty Flock Buck Baker Oldsmobile 1981 badge 4 17 92.881 35
31 1953-31 Joe Eubanks Speedy Thompson Oldsmobile 1981 badge 55.172 7
32 1953-32 Herb Thomas Dick Rathman Hudson 4 67.046 4
33 1953-33 Jim Paschal Herb Thomas Hudson 0.000
34 1953-34 Herb Thomas Herb Thomas Hudson 56.022 0
35 1953 Wilkes 160 Buck Baker Speedy Thompson Oldsmobile 1981 badge 3 16 71.202 13
36 1953-36 Fonty Flock Jim Paschal Dodge badge 56.013 2
37 1953-37 Tim Flock Buck Baker Oldsmobile 1981 badge 63.180 3

Final Points Standings[]

Pos. Driver Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Points Difference
1 Herb Thomas 37 12 27 31 12 8460
2 Lee Petty 36 5 26 32 0 7814 -646
3 Dick Rathmann 35 5 21 24 3 7362 -1,098
4 Buck Baker 33 4 16 25 5 6713 -1,747
5 Fonty Flock 33 4 17 17 3 6174 -2,286
6 Tim Flock 26 1 11 18 3 5011 -3,449
7 Jim Paschal 23 1 6 9 1 4211 -4,249
8 Joe Eubanks 24 0 7 15 2 3603 -4,857
9 Jimmie Lewallen 22 0 7 13 0 3508 -4,952
10 Curtis Turner 19 1 3 5 3 3373 -5,087
11 Speedy Thompson 7 2 5 7 0 2958 -5,502
12 Slick Smith 23 0 0 10 1 2670 -5,790
13 Elton Hildreth 25 0 1 5 0 2625 -5,835
14 Gober Sosebee 17 0 2 9 0 2525 -5,935
15 Bill Blair 21 1 6 8 0 2457 -6,003
16 Fred Dove 20 0 0 4 0 1997 -6,463
17 Bub King 14 0 0 5 0 1624 -6,836
18 Gene Comstock 13 0 0 3 0 1519 -6,941
19 Donald Thomas 17 0 0 4 0 1408 -7,052
20 Ralph Liguori 12 0 2 3 0 1336 -7,124
21 Pop McGinnis 13 0 2 5 0 1113 -7,347
22 Otis Martin 8 0 0 2 0 1068 -7,392
23 Andy Winfree 7 0 0 3 0 954 -7,506
24 Bob Welborn 11 0 2 6 0 761 -7,699
25 Johnny Patterson 11 0 1 2 0 753 -7,707
26 Ted Chamberlain 9 0 0 3 0 738 -7,722
27 Neil Roberts 2 0 0 1 0 738 -7,722
28 Buddy Shuman 5 0 0 0 0 713 -7,747
29 Arden Mounts 10 0 0 1 0 644 -7,816
30 Bobby Myers 2 0 0 1 0 644 -7,816

Manufacturer's Championship[]

With 22 wins, Hudson won the 1953 Manufacturer's Championship.

Position Make Race Wins
1 Hudson 22
2 Oldsmobile 1981 badge 9
3 Dodge badge 6
4 Plymouth text 0
5 Nash 0
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