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Driving around in a convertible on a nice day is a great pastime, but driving a convertible in a race?
Well, in its early years NASCAR had such a collection of cars which toured around the U.S. and into Canada.
Among its ventures into drag racing, Midget racing, and Speedway racing (Indy-looking cars with V8 engines), NASCAR’s Convertible racing was probably the most successful, running from 1956 through 1959 using the full-size cars similar to its top-tier Grand National division but with no roofs. The open-topped cars usually ran as a support race with the GN cars and were popular with the fans watching the drivers yanking on the big steering wheels as they thundered around the paved or dirt ovals.
The series started early in 1956 after NASCAR boss Bill France saw a convertible race in North Carolina the year earlier, developed his own series, and ran a 47-race card — including a race at Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition stadium in July 1956. The touring group was on its northern swing and unloaded their cars in Toronto between events in Michigan and New York.
There were 21 cars entered for the Toronto race, held as part of the CNE’s regular Friday-night show. Indiana’s Don Oldenberg won with his 1955 Buick. Several series regulars were on hand, including Joe Weatherly and Curtis Turner, but most of the field consisted of drivers from New York state. Weatherly took second in his Pete DePaolo-owned Ford, but Turner was a victim of distributor problems and finished down in 18th spot.
Norman Schihl of Toronto was the only Canadian in the July race and a regular competitor in the Convertibles, driving his Ford in 28 races for the season. His success was limited though, as he finished only nine races, his best showing a fourth in North Carolina. He placed 20th in the CNE race.
While most of the cars were Chevrolets, Fords and Dodges from the Big Three, there were some exceptions. Along with the winning Toronto entry of Oldenberg and his Buick, Buffalo’s Ken Warmington drove a 1956 Cadillac, and Cannonball Brown of Georgia drove a 1956 Chrysler. The CNE track was a tight course and to drive a Chrysler or Cadillac around it in competition must have been quite a challenge.
NASCAR’s Convertibles were a hit during their tenure, but the reporter from the Toronto Star was not impressed with the soft-tops.
“The evening’s top race was supposed to be the 150-lap (NASCAR) convertible race,” noted the July 7 report in the Star. “But it almost put the 7,813 paid customers to sleep. The convertibles may look nice, but that’s about all. They make more noise than the battered stock cars and are slower. After watching the regular (stocks) the convertibles looked to be crawling around the track.
“And the convertible drivers were so gentlemanly about the whole thing,” continued the report. “There wasn’t even a fender scratched in the entire 150 laps, which took slightly over an hour to run.”
Perhaps the Star scribe was correct with his assessment. There were only 36 Convertible races in 1957, and only 19 races in 1958. A big factor in the drop was the AMA (Automobile Manufacturers Association) ban on auto racing and the curtailment of factory-backed entries for the ragtops. For 1959 there were only 15 races. From 1959 until 1962 Darlington ran a Convertibles-only race, but that was it.
Ford dominated Convertible racing for its first two years, with 26 wins in 1956 and 25 in 1957. In the final two years Chevrolet took over the checker flag duties, usually with Bob Welborn of North Carolina at the wheel.
Car counts in the final two years were solid with 20 to 25 cars racing on some of the smallest dirt ovals in existence to cruising around the new Daytona Tri-Oval at close to 130 m.p.h. But after 1959, NASCAR dropped the Convertibles, focusing on its GN racing which is today known as the NASCAR Cup.
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