- Bob Welborn
Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Robert Joe Welborn
Birthdate = birth date|1928|5|5
Died = death date and age|1997|8|10|1928|5|5
Birthplace = flagicon|USADenton, North Carolina
Best_Cup_Pos = 4th - 1955 (Grand National)
Cup_Wins = 9
Cup_Top_Tens = 102
Cup_Poles = 7
First_Cup_Race = 1952Martinsville Speedway race
First_Cup_Win = 1957Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
Last_Cup_Win = 1959Western North Carolina 500 (Weaverville)
Last_Cup_Race = 1964Pennsylvania 200 (Lincoln Speedway )
Awards = named on ofNASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998inducted in the
National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame in 19821956, 1957, 1958
NASCAR Convertible Division champion
Years_In_Cup = 13
Total_Cup_Races = 183Robert "Bob" Joe Welborn (
May 5 ,1928 -August 10 ,1997 ) ofDenton, North Carolina is a formerNASCAR Grand National (nowSprint Cup ) driver. He was named toNASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers list in 1998. He won the final threeNASCAR Convertible Division championships in 1956, 1957, and 1958.NASCAR career
Welborn drove in 11 Grand National events in 1953 for Julian Petty and J.O. Goode’s. He had 2 Top-5 finishes and 6 Top-10 finishes.
He drove in 9 events in 1954 for owners Julian Petty, Bob Griffin, and George Hutchens. Welborn had 1 Top-5 and 3 Top-10 finishes.
Welborn drove in 32 of 45 events in Julian Petty and his own cars. He won the pole at
Greenville-Pickens Speedway . Welborn finished fourth in the 1955 points.Welborn raced in 6 events in 1956. He also won the
NASCAR Convertible Division championship.Welborn won his first race at Martinsville in 1957, but didn't cross the finish line. Lewis "Possum" Jones relieved Welborn half way through the race, but NASCAR always credits the driver who started the car. He had 1 win and 3 Top-10 finished in 5 events. Welborn also won the NASCAR Convertible series championship.
Welborn had four straight wins (and five total), 1 pole, 10 Top-5, and 15 Top-10 finishes in 1958. He raced in 18 of 51 events, all for
Petty Enterprises . He only finished 149th in series points that year because he only participated in 18 of 51 races. He won his third straight NASCAR Convertible championship.Welborn won the
pole position for the1959 Daytona 500 by winning his qualifying race. He had 5 poles and 3 wins during the season.Welborn amassed 9 total wins in the 1950s and early 1960s driving his own car and one owned by
Julian Petty . He made his last NASCAR start in 1964 while driving forHolman-Moody .Career awards
*Welborn was named one of
NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
*He inducted in theNational Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame in 1982.References
* [http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Articles/05/090705Madding.asp Biography at SpeedwayMedia.com]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=welbobo01 Driving statistics at racing-reference.info]
* [http://www.nascar.com/2002/kyn/history/drivers/02/02/bwelborn/ Biography at nascar.com]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=welbobo01 Owner's statistics at racing-reference.info]
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