Herb Thomas

NASCAR Winston Cup Career: 1949-57, 1962

Thomas, a former truck driver, was the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion in 1951 and 1953. He won 48 races in 230 starts, picking up 38 pole positions along the way, which is still 10th on the all-time list. Thomas won the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in 1951, 1954 and 1955; his '55 Southern 500 victory came despite being badly injured in racing accident three-and-a-half months earlier. He was first in laps led and races led for three consecutive seasons, beginning in 1952. Thomas was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in 1965 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in 1994. Thomas died in August 2000.