1950 Turkey Bowl

1950 Turkey Bowl

Race 10 of 10 in the 1950 National Stock Car Series season
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200px National Stock Car Series Race
Date	12 November 1950
Location	Agawam, Massachusetts, United States
Venue	Riverside Park Speedway
Course	Paved oval
Circuit Length	0.250 mi
Distance	400 Laps, 100.0 mi
Weather	Overcast with maximum temperatures at 43°F with wind speeds approaching 17 mph
Average Speed	61.162 mph
Pole Position
Driver	Peter Stafford	Stafford Garage
Most Laps Lead
Driver	Howard Joyce	Howard Joyce
Laps	273
Podium
First	Howard Joyce	Howard Joyce
Second	Amos Thompson	Thompson Brothers Racing
Third	Cameron Yost	Ted Hansen

The 1950 Turkey Bowl was the second running of the Turkey Bowl, and took place on November 12, 1950 at Riverside Park Speedway as the season finale of the inaugural season of professional stock car racing. The race comprised 400 laps around the quarter-mile paved oval. Peter Stafford - entering the race as the championship leader - won the pole and led the opening three laps, but would suffer an engine failure after the race passed the 2/3 completion mark, ending his championship bid. Will Gordon, who entered the race third (but mathematically still eligible) in the championship race, was the first retirement after a clutch failure at lap 20. Howard Joyce lead 273 of the 400 laps and won the race, the first win for Hudson; Cameron Yost secured the championship with a third place finish, his sixth consecutive podium finish.

Race

The race covered 400 laps around the quarter-mile paved oval and took one hour, thirty-eight minutes, and six seconds to complete. An estimated crowd of 9,100 was in attendance.

Will Gordon, who entered the race 138 points back, was still mathematically eligible to win the championship; he would need to finish on the podium to have a shot at the title, and would need bad days from both Peter Stafford and Cameron Yost. Though he started sixth, he fell out of the race after just twenty laps due to a failure within the transmission, later diagnosed as an issue with the clutch.

Peter Stafford lead the opening three laps before settling into fifth place. Howard Joyce and Amos Thompson would trade the lead for the remainder of the race, with Joyce leading 273 laps to Thompson's 124. Cameron Yost started alongside Stafford on the front row and managed to hold third place for the majority of the race, while Stafford was forced to retire at lap 266 with an engine failure. Stafford's retirement meant that Yost only needed to place seventh or better to secure the championship, and he did so with a third place finish.

Results

Position	No.	Driver	Owner	Car	Points
1	9	Howard Joyce	Howard Joyce	Hudson Hornet	200
2	62	Amos Thompson	Thompson Brothers Racing	Plymouth Belvedere	160
3	96	Cameron Yost	Ted Hansen	Studebaker Champion	140
4	777	Emmett Newton	Lucky Hornick	Hudson Hornet	120
5	4	Jimmy Stafford	Stafford Garage	Oldsmobile 88	100
6	73	Ollie Duncan	Ollie Duncan	Mercury Coupe	80
7	428	Keith Clayton	Keith Clayton	Plymouth Belvedere	60
8	29	James August	Floyd Logan	Chevrolet Bel Air	40
9	12	Roy Stephenson	Roy Stephenson	Ford Victoria	20
10	19	Elmer Lyons	Angelo Lyons	Ford Victoria	10

• Note: Only drivers scoring points are shown.

Post-Race Standings

	Pos.	Driver	Points	To Lead	To Next
1	1	Cameron Yost	1382	-	-
1	2	Peter Stafford	1283	99	99
	3	Will Gordon	1145	237	138
2	4	Amos Thompson	958	424	197
1	5	James August	899	483	59
1	6	Ben Rogers	824	459	35
4	7	Howard Joyce	764	618	133
1	8	Scott Duran	695	687	69
1	9	Jimmy Stafford	683	699	12
2	10	Donna Buckley	669	713	14
2	11	Chuck Wilder	636	746	33
	12	Glenn Barker	522	860	42
2	13	Roy Stephenson	516	866	10
1	14	Ralph Stanton	506	876	10
1	15	Alton Walker	497	885	9
	16	Leon Lara	250	1132	247
6	17	Keith Clayton	204	1178	46
1	18	Jay Woodward	200	1182	4
10	19	Emmett Newton	178	1204	22
2	20	Joe Bartlett	154	1228	24

• Note: Only the top twenty drivers are shown.