Daytona Beach and Road Course
The Beach | |
---|---|
Location | Daytona Beach, Ponce Inlet, Daytona Beach Shores, Florida |
Owner | Public |
Operator | Closed |
Opened | 1902 |
Closed | February 23, 1958 |
Major events | No major events |
Road course | |
Length | 3.1 to 4.2 miles (5.0 to 6.7 km) |
The Daytona Beach and Road Course was a motorsport race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set.
Beach and road course
Track layout
The course started on the pavement of highway
Early events
March 29, 1927 Major Henry Segrave and his Sunbeam 1000 hp Mystery set a world land speed record on the Daytona Beach and Road Course, at 203.79 mph (327.97 km/h), peaking at a top speed of 211 mph (340 km/h).[3]
Daytona Beach officials asked local racer Sig Haugdahl to organize and promote an automobile race along the 3.2 mi (5.1 km) course in 1936. Haugdahl is credited for designing the track. The city posted a $5,000 purse.[4] The ticket-takers arrived at the event on March 8[5] to find thousands of fans already at the track. The sandy turns became virtually impassable, which caused numerous scoring disputes and technical protests. The event was stopped after 75 of 78 laps. Milt Marion was declared the winner by the AAA (the sanctioning body). Second-place finisher Ben Shaw and third-place finisher Tommy Elmore protested the results, but their appeals were overturned. France finished fifth in the event. The city lost a reported $22,000 ($483050 in 2016 dollars),[4] and has not promoted an event since.
Haugdahl talked with France, and they talked the Daytona Beach
France took over the job of running the course in 1938. Two events were held that year. Danny Murphy beat France in the July event, which made $200. France beat Lloyd Moody and Pig Ridings to win the Labor Day weekend event, this time making $20,000.
Three races were held in 1939, and in three races in 1940, France finished fourth in March, first in July, and sixth in September.
Lloyd Seay finished fourth in the July 27, 1941, event after rolling twice. He returned on August 24 that year to win the event. He was killed by a family member in a dispute over the family moonshine business.
Roy Hall won on the course several times.
France was busy planning the 1942 event, until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor; he spent World War II working at the Daytona Boat Works. Most racing stopped until after the war. Car racing returned to the track in 1946.
NASCAR formation
France knew that promoters needed to organize their efforts. Drivers were frequently victimized by unscrupulous promoters who would leave events with all the money before drivers were paid. On December 14, 1947, France began talks at the Ebony Bar at the Streamline Hotel at
NASCAR held a modified division race at the track on February 15, 1948. Red Byron beat Marshall Teague. NASCAR had several divisions in its early years.
NASCAR race results
1949
The first NASCAR
1950
The Strictly Stock series was renamed the Grand National Series. The race was moved to February, which becomes a tradition still held to this day with the modern Daytona 500. Harold Kite won the race in a 1949 Lincoln. He took the lead on lap 25 when Red Byron pitted with gearshift problems. Kite led the rest of the way. Byron surged from seventh to finish second. A second race was added to the weekend, the 100-mile (160 km) Modified Stock race, the day before. Gober Sosebee won.
1951
Marshall Teague glided his 1951 Fabulous Hudson Hornet into victory lane for his first career victory. He beat Tim Flock by 1 minute and 14 seconds. Gober Sosebee won the Modified Stock race for the second year in a row.
1952
Teague made it two in a row in his 1952 Hudson. He gained the lead on lap two. The race was shortened by two laps because of an incoming tide. Teague won by 1 minute and 21 seconds over Herb Thomas. A day earlier, Tim Flock was flagged the winner at the Modified/Sportsman race, but was disqualified for having wooden rollbars and 2nd place runner up [4] Jack Smith (American racing driver, born 1924) was declared the winner of the Modified/Sportsman race.
1953
Polesitter Bob Pronger and second-place starter
In the 100-mile (160 km) Modified/Sportsman race that year, 136 cars started, making it the largest field ever in any NASCAR-sanctioned event. Cotton Owens was the victor.
1954
The "Speedweeks" weekend was expanded to three events, the 100-mile (160 km) Sportsmen race, the 125-mile (201 km) Modified race, and the 160-mile (260 km) main event. Dick Joslin and Cotton Owens won the preliminaries, respectively. Tim Flock finished the main event first, but was disqualified on a minor technicality. Second-place finisher Lee Petty edged out Buck Baker, and Petty was declared the winner of the main event. Flock became the first driver to have radio contact with his crew.
1955
The 1955 race was won by
Preliminary races were won by Speedy Thompson (100-mile Sportsmen) and Banjo Matthews (125-mile Modified).
1956
Tim Flock won his second consecutive Daytona race from the pole in his 1956 Chrysler C-300. The car was owned by legendary NASCAR car owner Carl Kiekhaefer. He led every lap except for the four after his first pit stop. Charlie Scott became the first African-American to compete in a NASCAR Grand National race, driving another Kiekhaefer-entered Chrysler.
1957
The three-race weekend was revised with new preliminary formats. The first race was a 125-mile (201 km) Modifield/Sportsmen race, and the second was a 160-mile (260 km) Late Model Convertible event. Tim Flock and Curtis Turner were the victors.
In the main event, Cotton Owens moved from his third-place starting position to lead the first lap. Paul Goldsmith took the lead briefly after 40 mi (64 km) (of 160 mi (260 km)). Goldsmith took the lead back from Owens after Owens pitted after 94 mi (151 km). Goldsmith's quick pit stop gave him a lead that he maintained until he went out with a blown piston with 36 mi (58 km) left in the race. Owens led the rest of the way for his first career win. The win was the first NASCAR win for Pontiac, and the first Grand National race speed average over 100 mph (101.541 mph).
1958
Paul Goldsmith started from the pole to win the final event at the course. He drove a Pontiac prepared by Ray Fox. Curtis Turner finished second, Jack Smith was third, and Joe Weatherly was fourth. Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Fireball Roberts, and Cotton Owens finished in the top 10.
On Friday, Banjo Matthews won the Sportsmen/Modified race, while on Saturday, Curtis Turner won the 160-mile (260 km) Convertible race.
End of course
By 1953, it became increasingly complicated to run the race on the beach course due to the rapid urban growth of the Daytona Beach area.[6] Hotels were being constructed all along the beachfront. France Sr. knew that a permanent racetrack was needed to hold the large crowds that were gathering for races. He looked for alternatives and negotiated with the city of Daytona Beach to purchase a site near the Daytona airport.[7] He arranged financing and in 1957, construction began on the Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) tri-oval circuit with steep bankings that permitted higher speeds.[6][7]
The Daytona Beach course hosted its last event in 1958 and, in 1959 the first
References
- Orlando Sentinel; microfilm (1949–1958)
- ^ content
- ^ Volusia County history Archived 2011-01-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Major Segrave sets 203.79-mile record; English Racer in Mystery "S" Car Beats Former World Mark by Thirty Miles. Highest speed 211 miles. Big Red Racer Roars by Timing Stana in a Flash, Traveling a Mile in 17 Seconds. Major Segrave sets 203.79-mile record". The New York Times. March 30, 1927. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide 1998-99, Bill Fleischman and Al Pearce, 1999.
- ^ "Sir Malcolm Campbell and William H. G. France". The Legacy of Speed. Volusia County Historic Preservation Board and the Volusia County Government. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
- ^ a b "ISC Archives and Research Center takes a look at DAYTONA 200 history". daytonainternationalspeedway.com. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ a b "Bill France Sr. at the AMA Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
External links
- History of the Daytona Beach shore
- Bill France, Jr.'s account of races at the track archived link
- NASCAR track stats
- Daytona Beach and Road Course race results at Racing-Reference
- Account of the 1957 Daytona race from winner cottonowens.com
- Lee Bible’s tragic death Archived 2006-05-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Speed TV article on Daytona’s history
- Profile of Ormond Beach’s racing history