Today’s NASCAR fans might be shocked to learn there was once stock car racing with convertibles. There sure was, and it was very popular in its time. Here’s a fond look back at the NASCAR ragtops.
The golden era of stock car racing with convertibles dates roughly from 1955 to 1962. Things got rolling late in 1955 when NASCAR boss Big Bill France, looking to expand his sanctioning body across the country, took over the SAFE (Society of Auto Sports, Fellowship, and Education) association, which operated and promoted an all-convertible stock car circuit. Repackaged as the NASCAR Convertible Division, the series ran in parallel and in combination with the top-tier Grand National Series (now Cup) from 1956 to 1959.
A big hit with the fans because they could see the exposed drivers at work, especially on the short tracks, the convertibles packed the houses at Soldier Field in Chicago and Bowman Gray Stadium (photo above) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Convertible Division also reflected the production vehicles the fans of the period owned or aspired to, a bit like the NASCAR truck series today. In the years before air conditioning became common, the convertible was a highly popular body style, particularly in the South.
Grand National stars who also raced the ragtops included Lee Petty, Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, Glen Wood, and Joe Weatherly. Some teams ran so-called “zipper top” cars, which could be run either the Grand National or the Convertible Division by removing a bolt-on sheet-metal top. The 1959 Holman Moody Thunderbird racers were designed as zipper tops. In some events, including the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959, the convertibles and Grand National cars ran together, though the topless cars suffered a significant penalty in aerodynamic drag over the coupes and hardtops.
Bob Welborn and his ’57 Chevy convertible
The acknowledged king of the convertibles was Bob Welborn, who won the NASCAR Convertible Division championship three years in a row from 1956 to 1958. Welborn (1928-1997) hailed from Denton, Carolina, and sometimes drove Grand National cars for Julian Petty, the younger brother of NASCAR legend Lee Petty. In 1998, Welborn was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers in history.
Joe Lee Johnson won the final convertible championship in 1959 just as NASCAR pulled the plug on the series. However, some tracks continued to run convertible events, including Darlington Raceway, which hosted the Rebel 300, a points-paying convertible race, through 1962. The final Rebel 300 with ragtops, which could be described as the last big-time convertible race, was won by Nelson Stacy. You can find his Holman Moody-prepped ’62 Ford and lots more fascinating convertible race cars in the gallery below.
One of my all time favorite MCG posts. Still looking for an original convertible race car…
I’ve always wondered about how convertibles got into racing, a foolhardy venture, by today’s standards. While a tad before my time, back then, the drivers were our heroes and probably wanted to be seen, unlike today’s “generic” driver, that prefer’s to remain anonymous, until exiting the car ( I know, in the name of safety) As speeds increased, ( Richard Petty averaged 124 mph in the 1960 Daytona, but probably, much less on sand or dirt, but still pretty fast for the day ) and the subsequent crashes, convertibles were no longer feasible. I am intrigued about the “zipper tops”. Never heard of that. It appears, a hardtop was cut off another car and fastened to the convertible body. Try that today. Great post. Thanks, MCG
First problem is there are no “stock” cars today. The generic bodies are not brand specific except for the graphics. It is really spec racing with a couple of engine choices.
Really nice to see all of the period pix, as we never saw it at the time & it went away later. Nice article!
Does anyone have a Video of the 1957 NASCAR Daytona Beach Convertible Race? joe
Hi Joseph, if you can get past the baby pictures, here’s some footage of convertibles racing at Daytona, at about 10:40. apparently, in 1957.