A history of the NASCAR Convertible Series

The NASCAR Convertible Series ran from 1956–1959 at tracks across the Southeast, leaving with it a lasting legacy in the sport's history. With the Mazda MX-5 Cup series announcing a race at Martinsville Speedway later this year, read on to see some of the Convertible Series' history.

Bob Welborn poses with his 1956 Chevrolet NASCAR Convertible Series race car that he drove to the first Series championship during the year. Welborn would go on to win the 1957 and 1958 NASCAR Convertible titles.

The top three qualifiers for the NASCAR Convertible Series race at Darlington Raceway in May 1959 stand next to their cars. Curtis Turner put a Ford Thunderbird (No. 41) on the pole position, with Bob Burdick, in a similar T-Bird (No. 73), in the middle of row one, and Buck Baker on the outside in his Chevrolet (No. 87). Only Burdick was still around at the end of the race, finishing fourth behind winner Fireball Roberts.

Joe Lee Johnson won his only two NASCAR Convertible Series races on back-to-back weeks in 1959, taking the event at Champion Speedway in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and winning the following week at the Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Johnson would win the 1959 championship, and then later go on to win the first World 600 at Charlotte in 1960.

A young Richard Petty made his first-ever NASCAR start driving in the Convertible Series in 1958 at Columbia, South Carolina. However, his first-ever Cup Series start came a week later at Toronto, Canada. He gained his first-ever win at Charlotte Fairgrounds in 1960.

Ned Jarrett ran six of the eight NASCAR Convertible Series races he entered in his own 1957 Chevrolet during the 1959 season.

Shorty Rollins (No. 99) leads Marvin Panch (No. 98) and Richard Petty (No. 43) during the NASCAR Convertible Series race at Daytona International Speedway in 1959. The trio would finish 1-2-3 in the race that was also a qualifying event for the first Daytona 500.

Winning chief mechanic Ray Fox, winning car owner Herb Thomas, their driver Marvin Panch and NASCAR Commissioner Cannon Ball Baker celebrate in 1957 following the NASCAR Convertible Series race at Memphis-Arkansas Speedway. This was also the only track in the state ever to host NASCAR's top division.

Lee Petty in an Oldsmobile (No. 42) leads Bob Welborn's Chevrolet (No. 49) and Larry Frank's No. 56 Chevrolet during a NASCAR Convertible Series race at the iconic Bowman-Gray Stadium. Welborn won over Petty.

Curtis Turner (No. 26) and Glen Wood (No. 21) lead the field at the start of a NASCAR Convertible Series race at Bowman-Gray Stadium in 1957. Turner won 37 of the 76 races he entered in the Convertibles.

Yes, these cars can also race on the beach. Here's Lewis "Possum" Jones (No. 48) battling with Lee Petty during the NASCAR Convertible Series race on the Daytona Beach-Road Course in 1957. Jones finished sixth in the event, while Petty dropped out and took a 19th-place finish.

Some things never change. Even in 1956, drivers would talk through wrecks. Here, Larry Frank discusses the situation with another driver after a huge, 14-car crash late in the NASCAR Convertible Series race at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway. Curtis Turner was the only driver still able to run after the incident, so he was declared the winner after 181 of the 200 scheduled laps were completed.

Curtis Turner kicks up some sand on his way to winning the NASCAR Convertible Series race at the Daytona Beach-Road Course in 1956.