Lee Petty driving the car he won with at the first NASCAR premier series race in Kentucky at Corbin Speedway in August of 1954. Photo – Courtesy of Indy Big John

Long before Kentucky Speedway, there was Corbin Speedway. Corbin, a small town 150 miles south of Sparta – home of Kentucky Speedway – is best known as the home of Colonel Harlan Sanders and the birthplace of his Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Not as well-known is that it hosted Kentucky’s only NASCAR Sprint Cup race in the series’ first 60 years.

Like most tracks of its day, Corbin Speedway was a half-mile dirt track. The NASCAR Grand National race in 1954 was a 100-mile event, same as most races on the schedule that season.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty was chasing his first NASCAR championship, after finishing runner-up in 1949 and 1953.  He entered the race in first place, leading fellow Hall of Famers Buck Baker and Herb Thomas.

Petty emerged victorious – his sixth win of the season – and all but wrapped up his first championship. He left Corbin 534 points ahead of Baker with just seven races remaining.  He finished the season with seven wins, a career-high and a feat he matched two other times – in his two other championship seasons (’58, ’59).

While Petty, the sport’s Most Popular Driver was the fan favorite, there was also a local hero in the field. Corbin-native Bub King finished 18th in the race, his last of 35 career NASCAR starts.