The Daytona 500: The Thrill and Thunder of the Great American Race
Tragedy in Daytona The deaths of 27 year old Frank Croker and his mechanic Alexander Raoul overshadowed the Winter Speed Carnival of 1905 Croker a car owner but not a professional driver swerved into the surf when a motorcycle suddenly veered into his path The accident showed the danger of letting amateur drivers take part in the races Since then most car owners have hired professional drivers to race their cars The lure of being the fastest racer in the land attracted many drivers Soon racers from all over the world flocked to Daytona Beach to shatter speed records From 1903 to 1910 the races on the beach were called the Winter Speed Carnival By 1910 there was an official Speedweek in February at Daytona The beaches of Ormond and Daytona became known as the birthplace of speed The British Are Coming Daytona wasn't just about racing It was also about setting records In 1927 British racer Henry Segrave came to Daytona Beach to make his mark in the record books Known as the Mad Major he drove the Golden Arrow a 1 000 horsepower vehicle propelled by two V 12 airplane engines Segrave's speed of 203 miles per hour made him the first driver to exceed the 200 miles per hour mark Henry Segrave sits in his specially designed race car the Arrow Golden
Airflow features on the Bluebird racing on the sand were not found in automobiles until decades later The high stabilization fin was later copied in speedboats Modern 707 jets have air flaps similar to the ones used on the Bluebird A year later rival and fellow Brit Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the speed record in a car he called the Bluebird Over the years the two drivers went back and forth swapping records To be official the speed records had to be run in two stages The stages were run in opposite directions one mile up and one mile back The speed of the two runs was then averaged to cally the official speed record This ensured that wind was not a factor On March 5 1935 Campbell arrived from Britain He brought a team of mechanics and his latest version of the Bluebird The 28 foot teal colored car weighed just less than five tons It was fitted with air flaps and fins It was powered by a 1 343 cubic inch 22 liter Rolls Royce aircraft engine that produced 2 500 horsepower Two days later Campbell and the Bluebird reached a speed of 330 miles per hour The tires blistered sending Campbell into a slide After regaining control of his vehicle he crossed the finish line with an average speed of 276 82 miles per hour The Birthplace of Speed 9
Clearly high speeds and the beach's sandy surface were a dangerous combination Campbell's attempt was the last such recorded speed run at Daytona Thunder on the Beach The city of Daytona was determined to keep race fans coming back each year The city connected the beach course to the narrow two lane blacktop of Highway A1A creating a 3 2 mile oval racetrack Cars could race side by side on this beast of a track half sand half asphalt The first National Championship Beach and Road Race was held on March 6 1936 The racers faced unique challenges in the 250 mile race Changing from sand to asphalt and back again caused cars to spin and fishtail lose grip with the rear tires Windshields were coated with wet sand Highway A1A barely wide enough for two cars made passing an adventure Then the tide came in and the race was stopped The auto race had been a disaster Daytona turned to motorcycles which were better suited for the sandy course About 20 000 fans turned out for the first motorcycle race Big Bill's Vision Automobile racing at Daytona might have ended if it hadn't been for the fifth place finisher of the National Championship Beach and Road Race Big Bill France France convinced a local club to support another auto race in 1937 Auto racing at an improved beach course resumed until 1941 It stopped during World War II 1941 1945 then resumed in 1947 Drivers came for the Grand National races which were held on a newly lengthened 4 1 mile course Big Bill France moved to Daytona Beach Florida from Washington D C in 1935 As a teenager Bill used to skip school to race at a track in Maryland 10 THE DAYTONA 500
Cars kick up clouds of sand as they round a turn on Daytona Beach in 1940 Atlantic Ocean waves pound the coast while race spectators look on Big Bill had a vision He wanted to start an organization to govern stock car racing It would provide a clear set of rules a solid schedule of events and a national championship based on points earned at each race The cars were to be strictly stock affordable and free of dents They were called stock meaning standard or typical Stock cars were not specially built just for racing Racers could drive their family car right from the road onto the track Fans could root for the makes and models of cars they themselves drove Monday Payday Car manufacturers saw the value in having their cars win races Because most races took place on Sundays they had a saying What wins on Sunday sells on Monday The Birthplace of Speed 11
