NASCAR Convertible Division

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The NASCAR Convertible Division was a NASCAR racing series in which convertible races were held between 1956 and 1959 .

history

In late 1955, NASCAR bought the Society of Auto Sports. The Society of Auto Sports previously carried out races in a racing series with convertibles. This series was administered by NASCAR after NASCAR acquired the Society of Auto Sports. In 1956, NASCAR held the first Convertible Division season. The first race took place on February 25, 1956 on the Daytona Beach Road Course . Curtis Turner won the race. In total, Turner won 22 of the 47 races of the season. The driver's title, however, was won by Bob Welborn , who could only win three races, but finished in the top 10 in almost every race. In 1957 there were only 36 races of the season, but again it was Bob Welborn who won the title because of his continuity. The 1958 season was similar and Bob Welborn was again NASCAR Convertible Division Champion. Since the interest in the series was not very great, only 15 races were driven in the 1959 season. This would be the last season of the series and Joe Lee Johnson won the title.

Between 1960 and 1962 there was one convertible race every year that ran outside of a championship. Since then there have been no more races with convertibles in NASCAR. Most likely it was not only the lack of interest but also the security that was a reason not to hold any further races with convertibles. It is interesting that some drivers used their convertible not only in the Convertible Division, but also in the Grand National, today's Sprint Cup . In the Daytona 500 1959, for example, 20 of the 59 drivers competed in convertibles.

master

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bob Pronger - Biography (English).
  2. ↑ Daytona 500 Anniversary - The 50th Run ( Memento from September 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (Eng.)

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