The April 3, 1955 Grand National race at North Wilkesboro Speedway delivered one of the most dramatic finishes stock car racing had seen to that date. Contested over 160 laps on the track’s rugged .625-mile dirt surface, the event drew a crowd of 10,000 fans and featured a 22-car field for the eighth race of the season. Local favorite Dick Widenhouse claimed the pole position at 77.72 mph, but once the green flag dropped it was Buck Baker who immediately took command. Driving the No. 87 Griffin Motors Oldsmobile 88, Baker started second, surged to the front, and controlled the pace on the slick dirt oval from start to finish.
Even though Baker officially led every lap, victory was anything but easy. As the leaders thundered off the final corner after nearly two hours of racing, Dick Rathmann charged alongside and nearly stole the win at the stripe. Baker prevailed by a margin of just three feet, making it the closest finish in Grand National history to that point. The race average speed was a brisk 73.126 mph, impressive for a dirt track of that size and era.
Behind the top two, Curtis Turner finished third, followed by Lee Petty in fourth and Eddie Skinner in fifth. The race became an early classic at Wilkesboro, remembered not for domination despite Baker’s wire-to-wire run, but for the thrilling photo-finish that left fans buzzing long after the dust settled.
