Sunday 20th January 1952

Tim Flock won the 100-mile NASCAR season opener at Palm Beach Speedway in West Palm Beach, Florida. The race was 200 laps on the half-mile dirt track. A solid field of 27 cars made the trek to south Florida – a great showing for NASCAR whose GN division was beginning only its 3rd full season.Tim Flock in his #91 Hudson claimed the pole, and Jack Smith qualified alongside him. Frankie Schneider and Ed Samples took the 2nd row in a pair of Oldsmobiles. Iggy Katona – who later made a solid career in ARCA – qualified deep in the field in the sixth start of his 13-race GN career. Al Keller made his 5th start of a limited GN career. Two years later, Keller would be the first driver to win a GN race in a foreign car manufacturer with a victory in Linden NJ driving a Jaguar. Bernard Alvarez escaped injury when his olds flipped over and the roof caved in. NASCAR rules were amended to require the use of steel roll bars on all race cars.