Racing History Minute - October 14, 1956

NASCAR sanctioned two touring series races on October 14, 1956. The races were about 3 hours apart. The GN division raced at the 3/4 mile Charlotte Speedway ( Tim Leeming RHM ), and the Convertible division raced at Orange Speedway in Hillsboro, about 3 hours away.

The race was the 47th and final stand-alone event of the 1956 convertible season. Coming into the event, Curtis Turner had won 21 of the season's 46 races. Yet Bob Welborn had the points lead and was trying to wrap up his first NASCAR championship.

Following the race at Hillsboro, two other convertible races were scheduled. A stand-alone event was apparently booked at North Wilkesboro, and I haven't yet learned why it didn't happen. The ragtop racers then ended their season with a Sweepstakes race at Martinsville on October 28, 1956.

Pops continued his blaze through the season by winning the pole for the Hillsboro race. Joe Weatherly qualified his Pete DePaolo Ford on the front row alongside his teammate Turner. Joe Eubanks, Gwyn Staley and Welborn rounded out the top 5 starters.

Turner did everything he could do to get "max points". He won the pole, led every one of the race's 110 laps, and won the race. Two Joes - Weatherly and Eubanks - finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively. The trio were the only 3 cars to finish on the lead lap.

Finishing dead last was Don Corley who withdrew from the race. It's clear the driver was not Italian as he was off the track before the race even began. If he was Italian, he would have been Don Corley On. See what I did there? Test, test, is this thing on? *cough* OK, I'll umm see myself out...

Despite Turner's win, Welborn did what he had to do as well. He finished fifth in the race, but earned enough points to clinch his first of what became a streak of three convertible division titles.

Fin	Driver	Car
1	Curtis Turner	'56 Ford
2	Joe Weatherly	'56 Ford
3	Joe Eubanks	'56 Ford
4	Gwyn Staley	'56 Chevrolet
5	Bob Welborn	'56 Chevrolet
6	Allen Adkins	'56 Dodge
7	Jimmie Lewallen	'56 Chevrolet
8	Bill Poor	'56 Chevrolet
9	Larry Frank	'56 Chevrolet
10	Mel Larson	'56 Ford
11	Bun Emery	'56 Ford
12	Bill Lutz	'56 Ford
13	Don Oldenberg	'55 Buick
14	Jimmy Massey	'56 Chevrolet
15	Norman Schihl	'56 Ford
16	Whitey Gerken	'56 Dodge
17	Larry Odo	'56 Chevrolet
18	Cannonball Brown	'56 Chrysler
19	Don Corley	'56 Ford

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 10/14/17 08:56:45PM

Make us an offer we can't refuse, Chase. Perhaps Bill was poor because Don was into him. And Larry was probably afraid to be frank around him, fearing the consequences. And if Whitey messed with him, he might find himself in a pickle.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

OH DOH, you didn't. Yes, you did. Comedy like that never gets Old(enberg). I get Lutz of laughs reading yours posts and replies. Gwyn are you going to post another? OK, Cannonball Comin'...

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.

North Wilkesboro's race was scheduled for Sunday, October 21st. As expected, Turner was expected to expand his win tally for the season to 23.

But rain had other plans and resulted in the postponement of the race to a to-be-determined date. The re-scheduling of the race was contingent upon the point standings following the Martinsville Sweepstakes race. It was pretty evident Bob Welborn had enough of a points lead that Turner's finish at Martinsville wouldn't make much of a difference. Sure enough, Welborn won the title outright at Martinsville. As a result, I guess the Wilkesboro race was cancelled altogether.

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 10/14/19 12:37:32PM

Can't eat that Gerken without the Bun or you might arrested for Larson from shooting that Cannonball.

Great post, Chase!