1956 NASCAR Convertible Series

Race #6

It was a clear night in Montgomery, Alabama as the NASCAR Convertible Series made their 6th stop of the 1956 season at the Montgomery Speedway.

Darel Dieringer led the field to the green but it would be Ray Atkinson who would lead the first lap before Darel Dieringer would take the lead back one lap later as Joe Weatherly would drive up from his 10th starting spot and would quickly begin to lap drivers and would lead more then a hundred laps and appeared on his way to his first ever NASCAR Convertible Series win. However when drivers made their pit stops, Weatherly's car seemed to lose power as he would battle briefly with points leader Don Oldenberg before Marvin Panch, who at one point was more then ten seconds behind, would catch up and pass Weatherly and would go on to score his first NASCAR Convertible Series win.

Other Noticeables:
Marvin Panch scored his 1st win of the year,
Panch led 1 time for 41 laps, including the final 41 laps,
It was the 1st win of his career in the NASCAR Convertible Series in his 5th career start,
Bob Flock, who finished 16th, made his NASCAR Convertible Series debut,
Don Oldenberg, who finished 6th, kept his points lead, leading Curtis Turner by 103 points

1.98-Marvin Panch (41 laps led)
2.26-Curtis Turner
3.49-Bob Welborn (9 laps led)
4.90-Gene Blair
5.12-Joe Weatherly (119 laps led)
6.86-Don Oldenberg (27 laps led)
7.186-Darel Dieringer (3 laps led)
8.3-Bill Lutz
9.7A-Larry Odo
10.45-Bill Brown
11.77-Dave Hirschfield
12.53-Bill Cornwall-1 lap
13.10-Don Gray-1 lap
14.20-Curly Martin-1 lap
15.55-Mel Larson-1 lap
16.33-Bob Flock-1 lap
17.4-Art Binkley-2 laps
18.76-Larry Frank-2 laps
19.99-Bob Pronger-2 laps
20.5-Tom Pistone-2 laps
21.7-Jimmy Thompson-5 laps
22.71-Dick Joslin-47 laps (Gearbox)
23.8-Ray Atkinson-181 laps (Camshaft) (1 lap led)

Darel Dieringer-Pole
Ray Atkinson-1
Darel Dieringer-2-4
Bob Welborn-5-11
Don Oldenberg-12-25
Bob Welborn-26
Joe Weatherly-27-128
Bob Welborn-129
Joe Weatherly-130
Don Oldenberg-131-143
Joe Weatherly-144-159
Marvin Panch-160-200

10 Lead Changes among 6 drivers

Caution Flags: 1 for 5 laps
Lap 19 (Car #8 Stalled Turn 2)

Margin of Victory: 2.221 Seconds

Time of Race: 1 Hour, 31 Minutes and 18 Seconds

The field has finished qualifying for the 7th race of the season at the Hickory Speedway.

Jimmy Thompson won the pole with a time of 16.743 seconds, beating Mel Larson by 0.009 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
Jimmy Thompson won his 1st pole of the year,
Thompson won his 1st career pole in the NASCAR Convertible Series in his 7th start,
Don Oldenberg, who will be starting 8th, will be trying to improve on his 103 point lead over Curtis Turner

1.7-Jimmy Thompson
2.55-Mel Larson
3.33-Gwyn Staley
4.7A-Larry Odo
5.3-Bill Lutz
6.503-Frank Mundy
7.49-Bob Welborn
8.86-Don Oldenberg
9.90-Gene Blair
10.12-Joe Weatherly
11.77-Dave Hirschfield
12.26-Curtis Turner
13.98-Marvin Panch
14.186-Darel Dieringer

Race #7

It was a clear day in Hickory, North Carolina as the NASCAR Convertible Series made their 7th stop of the 1956 season at the Hickory Speedway.

Jimmy Thompson led the field to the green and would lead the first 17 laps as for the first time in the history of the NASCAR Convertible Series, drivers raced at the Hickory Speedway. With the smallest field in the history of the Convertible Series, 14 drivers were on hand to give one of the most exciting and set the record for the most lead changes. Bob Welborn would battle all race long with points leader Don Oldenberg, as both drivers would lead a combined total of 129 of the 200 laps but it was Mel Larson who would take the lead late and appeared on his way to victory before the second and final caution would come out.

With a new sense of life, Bob Welborn would drive past lap traffic and Mel Larson and was able to hold off Joe Weatherly for the remaining twenty laps to score his second win of the season.

Other Noticeables:
Bob Welborn scored his 2nd win of the year,
Welborn led 9 times for 79 laps, including the final 22 laps,
It was the 2nd win of his career in the NASCAR Convertible Series and his first since Charlotte; 6 races ago,
Frank Mundy, who finished 5th, made his NASCAR Convertible Series debut,
Don Oldenberg, who finished 6th, kept his points lead, leading Jimmy Thompson by 133 points

1.49-Bob Welborn (79 laps led)
2.12-Joe Weatherly (3 laps led)
3.55-Mel Larson (19 laps led)
4.7-Jimmy Thompson (23 laps led)
5.503-Frank Mundy
6.86-Don Oldenberg (50 laps led)
7.90-Gene Blair (19 laps led)
8.3-Bill Lutz-1 lap
9.7A-Larry Odo-1 lap
10.186-Darel Dieringer-1 lap
11.33-Gwyn Staley-1 lap (7 laps led)
12.98-Marvin Panch-2 laps
13.26-Curtis Turner-2 laps
14.77-Dave Hirschfield-2 laps

Jimmy Thompson-1-17
Bob Welborn-18-28
Jimmy Thompson-29
Bob Welborn-30
Jimmy Thompson-31-32
Gene Blair-33-41
Jimmy Thompson-42
Don Oldenberg-43-46
Bob Welborn-47-50
Don Oldenberg-51-52
Bob Welborn-53-62
Gwyn Staley-63-69
Don Oldenberg-70-72
Gene Blair-73
Jimmy Thompson-74
Gene Blair-75-83
Bob Welborn-84-90
Don Oldenberg-91-98
Bob Welborn-99-102
Joe Weatherly-103-105
Jimmy Thompson-106
Don Oldenberg-107-133
Bob Welborn-134-152
Don Oldenberg-153-154
Bob Welborn-155
Don Oldenberg-156-159
Mel Larson-160-178
Bob Welborn-179-200

27 Lead Changes among 7 drivers

Caution Flags: 2 for 11 laps
Lap 105 (Cars #77, 90 and 33 Accident Turn 1),
Lap 161 (Car #33 Spin Frontstretch)

Margin of Victory: 0.246 Seconds

Time of Race: 1 Hour, 6 Minutes and 48 Seconds

The field has finished qualifying for the 8th race of the season at the Lancaster Speedway.

Gwyn Staley won the pole with a time of 21.922 seconds, beating Jimmy Thompson by 0.109 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
Gwyn Staley won his 1st pole of the year,
Staley won his 1st career pole in the NASCAR Convertible Series in his 3rd start,
Don Oldenberg, who will be starting 9th, will be trying to improve on his 133 point lead over Jimmy Thompson

1.33-Gwyn Staley
2.7-Jimmy Thompson
3.8-Ray Atkinson
4.90-Gene Blair
5.503-Frank Mundy
6.55-Mel Larson
7.3-Norman Schihl
8.98-Marvin Panch
9.86-Don Oldenberg
10.7A-Larry Odo
11.4-Art Binkley
12.26-Curtis Turner
13.186-Darel Dieringer
14.71-Dick Joslin
15.5-Tom Pistone
16.53-Bill Cornwall
17.12-Joe Weatherly
18.77-Dave Hirschfield
19.25-Dink Widenhouse
20.49-Bob Welborn
21.10-Don Gray
22.45-Bill Brown

*Note for this race I used the Savannah Speedway as a replacement since Lancaster Speedway has not been made for NR2003.