1956 NASCAR Convertible Series

Race #1

The NASCAR Convertible Series made their 1st stop of 1956 at the Beach & Road Course.

Herb Thomas led the field to the green in the inaugural event of NASCAR's newest series the NASCAR Convertible Series however it was Dick Joslin who would forever write his name in the history books as he led the first lap. The tricky four mile road course was a challenge for drivers but amazingly only one caution would fly leaving room for tons of racing action as Joe Weatherly would write his own name in the history books as being the first person to drop out of a NASCAR Convertible Series race after a Header broke on his Pete DePaolo owned Ford. Up front it was a four car battle all day as pole sitter Herb Thomas, Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts and Dick Joslin would trade the lead nearly every lap before pit stops begin and that's were the tone of the race changed.

On Lap 19 nearly all twenty seven cars pitted however NASCAR officials hadn't warned the drivers about the oil put down by Weatherly's car, causing drivers to slide into their pits, causing them to lose time and some going multiple laps down, however only one driver didn't get stuck and that was Curtis Turner who would put his car in first gear and slowly drive out of the pits with the lead and would go on to lead the remaining laps and score an easy win and writing his name in the history books forever as the first winner in the new NASCAR Convertible Series.

Other Noticeables:
Curtis Turner scored his 1st win of the year,
Turner led 2 times for 27 laps, including the final 20 laps,
It was the 1st win of his career in the NASCAR Convertible Series in his 1st start,
All 28 drivers made their NASCAR Convertible Series debuts
Curtis Turner, who finished 1st is the points leader, leading George Bumgardner by 15 points

1.26-Curtis Turner (27 laps led)
2.11-George Bumgardner
3.111-John Schipper
4.77-Dave Hirschfield-1 lap
5.86-Don Oldenberg-1 lap
6.7-Jimmy Thompson-1 lap
7.32-Bob Vance-1 lap
8.22-Fireball Roberts-1 lap (7 laps led)
9.71-Dick Joslin-1 lap (5 laps led)
10.92-Herb Thomas-1 lap
11.98-Marvin Panch-1 lap
12.16-Bud Palmer-1 lap
13.90-Gene Blair-2 laps
14.3-Bill Lutz-2 laps
15.55-Mel Larson-2 laps
16.41-Pete Peterson-2 laps
17.8-Ray Atkinson-2 laps
18.99-Bob Pronger-2 laps
19.17-Larry Odo-2 laps
20.47-Herschel White-2 laps
21.4-Art Binkley-2 laps
22.76-Larry Frank-2 laps
23.5-Tom Pistone-2 laps
24.1-Jim Reed-2 laps
25.186-Red Duvall-2 laps
26.45-Bill Brown-3 laps
27.27-Jack Lawrence-3 laps
28.12-Joe Weatherly-34 laps (Header)

Herb Thomas-Pole
Dick Joslin-1-2
Curtis Turner-3-9
Fireball Roberts-10-14
Dick Joslin-15
Fireball Roberts-16-17
Dick Joslin-18-19
Curtis Turner-20-39

6 Lead Changes among 3 drivers

Caution Flags: 1 for 5 laps
Lap 4 (Car #4 Spin Backstretch after contact from 98)

Margin of Victory: 2 Minutes and 16.469 seconds

Time of Race: 1 Hour, 53 Minutes and 32 Seconds

The field has finished qualifying for the 2nd race of the season at the Charlotte Speedway.

Curtis Turner won the pole with a time of 19.114 seconds, beating Paul Goldsmith by 0.415 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
Curtis Turner won his 1st pole of the year,
Turner won his 1st career pole in the NASCAR Convertible Series in his 2nd start,
Turner, who will be starting 1st, will be trying to improve on his 15 point lead over George Bumgardner

1.26-Curtis Turner
2.33-Paul Goldsmith
3.90-Gene Blair
4.22-Fireball Roberts
5.186-Darel Dieringer
6.49-Bob Welborn
7.71-Dick Joslin
8.86-Don Oldenberg
9.4-Art Binkley
10.7A-Larry Odo
11.99X-Bob Pronger
12.32-Ken Wheeler
13.99-Bill Cornwall
14.7-Jimmy Thompson
15.5-Tom Pistone
16.76-Larry Frank
17.45-Bill Brown
18.12-Joe Weatherly
19.3-Bill Lutz
20.20-Curly Martin
21.77-Dave Hirschfield
22.98-Marvin Panch

Race #2

It was a clear night in Charlotte, North Carolina as the NASCAR Convertible Series made their second stop of the 1956 season at the Charlotte Speedway.

Curtis Turner led the field to the green however it was Paul Goldsmith who would lead the first five laps as for the first time they new Convertible Series ran on a short track and a crowd of 7,800 fans packed the place to see what all the buzz was about in the new series, however they were disappointed when the lower lane of track turned out to be too muddy for passes so only the high lane had any grip.

Paul Goldsmith dominated the early half of the race as only one caution would fly during the first 100 laps, when Marvin Panch wrecked on the Backstretch, but when Goldsmith caught lap traffic, his car began to fade, allowing Bob Welborn to pass him and would lead until the second and final caution would come out setting up a ten lap shootout, a battle that Welborn would easily win.

Other Noticeables:
Bob Welborn scored his 1st win of the year,
Welborn led 1 time for 70 laps, including the final 70 laps,
It was the 1st win of his career in the NASCAR Convertible Series in his 1st start,
Bob Welborn(1st), Paul Goldsmith(4th), Ken Wheeler(5th), Bill Cornwall(6th), Curly Martin(10th) and Darel Dieringer(16th) made their NASCAR Convertible Series debuts,
Don Oldenberg, who finished 2nd is the new points leader, leading Jimmy Thompson by 10 points

1.49-Bob Welborn (70 laps led)
2.86-Don Oldenberg
3.7-Jimmy Thompson
4.33-Paul Goldsmith (57 laps led)
5.32-Ken Wheeler
6.99-Bill Cornwall
7.71-Dick Joslin
8.22-Fireball Roberts (6 laps led)
9.90-Gene Blair
10.20-Curly Martin
11.45-Bill Brown
12.76-Larry Frank
13.5-Tom Pistone
14.4-Art Binkley
15.26-Curtis Turner-1 lap
16.186-Darel Dieringer-1 lap
17.99X-Bob Pronger-1 lap
18.77-Dave Hirschfield-1 lap
19.12-Joe Weatherly-1 lap
20.7A-Larry Odo-1 lap
21.3-Bill Lutz-1 lap
22.98-Marvin Panch-125 laps (Accident)

Curtis Turner-Pole
Paul Goldsmith-1-5
Fireball Roberts-6-11
Paul Goldsmith-12-63
Bob Welborn-64-133

3 Lead Changes among 3 drivers

Caution Flags: 2 for 8 laps
Lap 10 (Car #98 Accident Backstretch),
Lap 121 (Cars #77 and 33 Spin Turn 3)

Margin of Victory: 2.106 seconds

Time of Race: 48 Minutes and 41 Seconds

The field has finished qualifying for the 3rd race of the season at the Orange Speedway.

Dave Hirschfield won the pole with a time of 26.856 seconds, beating Curtis Turner by 0.084 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
Dave Hirschfield won his 1st pole of the year,
Hirschfield won his 1st career pole in the NASCAR Convertible Series in his 3rd start,
Don Oldenberg, who will be starting 17th, will be trying to improve on his 10 point lead over Jimmy Thompson

1.77-Dave Hirschfield
2.26-Curtis Turner
3.186-Darel Dieringer
4.3-Bill Lutz
5.12-Joe Weatherly
6.7A-Larry Odo
7.5-Tom Pistone
8.4-Art Binkley
9.99-Bill Cornwall
10.33-Gwyn Staley
11.98-Marvin Panch
12.45-Bill Brown
13.X-Bob Pronger
14.7-Jimmy Thompson
15.76-Larry Frank
16.90-Gene Blair
17.86-Don Oldenberg
18.71-Dick Joslin
19.27-Jack Lawrence

*Note: I used Monroe County Fairgrounds as a replacement as Orange Speedway hasn't been made for NR2003.