The 1951 Wilkes 200, the 36th race of the 41-race 1951 NASCAR Grand National Series season, was held on Sunday, October 21 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
A crowd of 7,800 watched the 26-car field battle on the rough 0.625-mile dirt oval for 200 laps (125 miles). Herb Thomas, driving the #92 Hudson, captured the pole with a qualifying speed of 68.828 mph and led the first 82 laps before a radiator leak forced him out of the race.
Fonty Flock, piloting the #7 Gray Ghost Oldsmobile for owner Ted Chester, took over the lead and dominated the remainder of the event to score the victory. He held off Lee Petty for the win, with Joe Eubanks finishing third, Tim Flock fourth, and Cotton Owens fifth. Flock’s triumph came at an average speed of 67.791 mph and earned him $1,000. It marked his eighth win of the season.
The race was typical of the era’s dirt-track grind, with mechanical failures (including Thomas’s early exit) playing a major role in the outcome. Fonty Flock left North Wilkesboro trailing championship leader Herb Thomas by 322.2 points, keeping the title fight alive heading into the final races of the season.
