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Daytona Beach Road Course

Daytona Beach Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of NASCAR. It originally became famous as the location where fifteen world land speed records were set.

World speed records

Daytona Beach's wide beach and smoothly packed sands at low tide were opened to drivers for many years. The beach was used for the high-speed testing and racing of motorcycles and the newfangled “horseless carriages”. This made the beach a mecca for racing enthusiasts. Fans enjoyed watching the events while standing on grass-covered sand dunes a short distance on-shore.

John D. Rockefeller wintered in Ormond Beach, Florida. Other rich playboys came to Ormond Beach to hobnob with the elite, hang out at the beaches, and to show off their sporty cars.

The first timed run on the beach was a solo run by Ransom E. Olds. In 1903, rich automobile pioneers Olds (Oldsmobile and REO Motor Car Company founder) and Alexander Winton (Winton Motor Carriage Company) staged an unofficial event at nearby Ormond Beach; Winton beat Olds by only 0.2 seconds. The first organized event was sanctioned and timed by the American Automobile Association in 1903. The weeklong "Winter Carnival" event was organized by the Ormond Hotel. The top speed was 68.198 miles per hour (mph).

The beach portion of the course became famous as the premier location to attempt to set the land speed record. The sanctioning body built a clubhouse in 1905 which was just over the line in Daytona Beach, so newspapers credited Daytona Beach as hosting the races. At least thirteen organized events were held between 1905 and 1935, and Daytona Beach quickly became synonymous with speed.

Fifteen land speed records were set at the site between January 24, 1905 and March 7, 1935. Drivers to set records at Daytona include Arthur MacDonald, Ralph DePalma, Henry Segrave, Ray Keech, and Sir Malcolm Campbell who set the last record of . In 1935, drivers began using the more consistent surface of the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The -wide beach at Daytona was too narrow to accommodate the higher speeds.

Deaths

Frank Lockhart won the 1926 Indianapolis 500 in his first race on a paved track. Lockhart regularly set records at every track he went to, so he decided to attempt a new land speed record. He set a new record of with one of his 91 cubic inch engines at Muroc Dry Lakes. He decided to install both of his 91 cubic inch engines to make an attempt for the 122 to 183 cubic inch record. On April 25 1928, he easily broke the existing record by running . On his return run he blew a tire on a sharp object and his Stutz-sponsored "Black Hawk Special" flew in the air, killing Lockhart.

On March 11 1929, Henry Segrave set the world speed record at , beating Ray Keech's record set in 1928 in the White Triplex. The Triplex, its owner J. M. White, and Keech were on hand. White approached Keech to make an attempt to get the record back, but Keech declined. White found Daytonan Lee Bible to attempt to break the new record in the Triplex. Bible took practice runs and then a run for the record. Something went wrong in his second attempt, and the Triplex swerved. The machine rolled, throwing Bible to his death. The Triplex then flew into cameraman Charles Traub, who died instantly too.

Beach & road course

Track layout

The course started at the north turn on the pavement of highway A1A (at 4511 South Atlantic Avenue). A restaurant named "Racing's North Turn" now stands at that location. It went south two miles (3 km) on A1A (parallel to the ocean) to the end of the road, where the drivers accessed the beach at the Beach Street approach (the south turn), went two miles (3 km) north on the sandy beach surface, and turned away from the beach at the north turn. The lap length in early events was , and it was lengthened to in the late 1940s. In the video game Nascar Thunder 2004 by EA Sports, the course is shortened to about half its distance, but still shows how the course basic setup was like.

Early events

Washington D.C. resident William France Sr. was familiar with the history of Daytona. He moved to Daytona in 1935 to escape the Great Depression. He set up a car repair shop in Daytona.

Daytona Beach officials asked local racer Sig Haugdahl to organize and promote an automobile race along the course in 1936. Haugdahl is credited for designing the track. The city posted a $5,000 purse. The ticket-takers arrived at the event 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 appeal was overturned. France finished fifth in the event. The city lost a reported $22,000, and has not promoted an event since.

Haugdahl talked with France, and they talked the Daytona Beach Elks Club to host another event in 1937. The event was more successful, but still lost money. Haugdahl didn't promote any more events.

France took over the job of running the course in 1938. There were two events 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.

There were three races in 1939 and 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.

France was busy planning the 1942 event, until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. France 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 Daytona Beach, Florida that ended with the formation of NASCAR on February 21 1948. The Daytona Beach Road Course hosted the premiere event of the fledgling series until Darlington Speedway was completed in 1950.

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 Strictly Stock (now Sprint Cup) race was held in 1949 at the Charlotte Speedway. The second race on the series schedule was held at Daytona Beach in July. 28 cars raced, including Curtis Turner, Buck Baker, Bob Flock, Fonty Flock, Marshall Teague, Herb Thomas, and second place finisher Tim Flock. Red Byron won for his fourth win at the track in the decade. Byron went on to win the series’ first championship in his 1949 Oldsmobile.

1950

The Strictly Stock series was renamed the Grand National Series. The race is 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 gear shift problems. Kite led the rest of the way. Byron surged from seventh to finish second. A second race is added to the weekend, the Modified Stock race, the day before. Gober Sosebee wins.

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 wins the Modified Stock race for the second year in a row.

1952

Marshall Teague made it two in a row in his 1952 Hudson. Teague 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 wins the Modified/Sportmen race.

1953

Polesitter Bob Pronger and second place starter Fonty Flock had a bet as to who would lead the first lap. They both raced wildly into the north corner. Pronger went too fast into corner, and wrecked his car. Flock had over a one minute lead in the race, but ran out of gas taking the white flag at the start of the final lap. Flock’s teammate pushed his car into the pits. Bill Blair passed to win the race in a 1953 Oldsmobile. Flock finished second by 26 seconds.

136 cars started the Modified/Sportsman race that year, making it the largest field ever in any NASCAR sanctioned event. Cotton Owens is the victor.

1954

The "Speedweeks" weekend is expanded to three events, the Sportsmen race, the Modified race, and the main event. Dick Joslin and Cotten Owens win 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 contest. Flock became the first driver to have radio contact with his crew.

1955

The 1955 race was won by Fireball Roberts. He was later disqualified, so the official win went to Tim Flock. Roberts was disqualified after NASCAR’s tech director found pushrods that were too long.Fireball Roberts got the name Fireball because of his softball pitching speed.

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. 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 Carl Kiekhaefer entered Chrysler.

1957

The three-race weekend is revised with new preliminary formats. The first race is a Modifield/Sportsmen race, and the second is a Late Model Convertible event. Tim Flock and Curtis Turner are 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 miles (of 160 miles). Goldsmith took the lead back from Owens after Owens pitted after . Goldsmith’s quick pit stop gave him a lead that he maintained until he went out with a blown piston with 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 which was prepared by Smokey Yunick. Curtis Turner finished second, Jack Smith third, Joe Weatherly fourth. Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Fireball Roberts, and Cotton Owens finished in the top ten.

On Friday, Banjo Matthews won the Sportsmen/Modified race, while on Saturday, Curtis Turner won the Convertible race.

End of course

By 1953, France knew it was time for a permanent track to hold the large crowds that were gathering for races. Hotels were popping up all along the beachfront. On April 4 1953, France proposed a new superspeedway called Daytona International Speedway. France began building a new superspeedway in 1956 to host the new premiere event of the series – the Daytona 500. In 1958, the Daytona Beach road course hosted its last event. The first Daytona 500 was held in 1959.