Daytona Beach and Road Course

The Daytona Beach and Road Course is a race track that was instrumental in the formation of NASCAR. The track initially became known as the location where fifteen world land speed records were recorded.

The circuit was oval shaped, started on the paved in a straight line and then went back through the beach sand, initially it was 5.1 km (3.2 mi) long, during the 1940 extended to 6.8 km (4.2 mi).

Speed records
The wide beach of Daytona Beach with its soft sand and low low tide has been open to motorists and racing drivers for years. It was used to test high speed and racing motorcycles and the newfangled "horseless carriages". The beach has therefore developed into a Mecca for motorsport enthusiasts. The fans watched the events up close from the grass-covered dunes.

The first timed run on the beach was a solo run by Ransom Eli Olds. In 1902, the wealthy automobile pioneer Olds, founder of Oldsmobile and the Reo Motor Car Company and Alexander Winton of the Winton Motor Carriage Company held an unofficial race on the adjacent Ormond Beach. Winton defeated Olds by a margin of 0.2 seconds. The first organized race was held and timed by the American Automobile Association in 1903. This "Winter Carnival" was organized by the Ormond Hotel. The top speed was 68.198 mph.

The beach part of the racetrack also became known as the first port of call for setting speed records. The corresponding association built a clubhouse a few meters behind the border with Daytona Beach in 1905 so that the newspapers published Daytona Beach as the location of the racing events. At least 13 organized races took place between 1905 and 1935, so Daytona Beach quickly became synonymous with speed.

Fifteen world speed records were set between January 24, 1905 and March 7, 1935. The drivers who set new records here included Arthur MacDonald, Ralph DePalma, Henry Segrave, Ray Keech and Malcolm Campbell, who set the last record at 276.82 mph. In 1906 Fred Marriott set a new speed record with his steam-powered Stanley Steamer with 205.5 km / h. At the same time, he was the first person to reach speeds of over 200 km / h in a car. While trying to beat his own record in 1907, he suffered a serious accident in which his Stanley "Rocket" steamer broke in two. His record from 1906 for steam-powered automobiles was broken only 103 years later.

From 1935 onwards, drivers used the more consistent surface of the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Daytona's 500-foot (150 m) wide beach became too narrow for even higher speeds.

Fatalities
Frank Lockhart won the Indianapolis 500 in his first race on a paved circuit in 1926. Lockhart regularly set records on the routes he raced on. So he decided to set a new world speed record. He set a new record of 174 mph with a 1.49 liter (91 in³) engine on the Muroc Dry Lakes. He then decided to use both 1.49 liter engines to set a new record in the 2-3 liter class. On February 19, 1928 he drove faster than 200 mph for the first time, but the clutch failed during the record attempt. On April 25, 1928, he broke the existing record without any problems and reached 198.29 & nbsp ; mph. On the way back, a tire burst when he drove over a sharp object and his Stutz - sponsored "Black Hawk Special" overturned, killing Lockhart.

On March 11, 1929, Henry Segrave set a new world speed record of 231.44 mph and broke the previous record of Ray Keech, which he set in 1928 in the Triplex. J.M. White, the owner of the Triplex, and Keech were both present. White tried to convince Keech to try to get the record back, but Keech refused. White then found Lee Bible from Daytona, who agreed to try a new record attempt in the triplex. Bible did a couple of training runs and then started trying. On his second try, a problem arose where the 1500 hp triplex broke out. He fell over and killed Bible. Then the triplex also flew into cameraman Charles Traub, who was dead on the spot.

NASCAR Foundation
In 1935 Bill France Sr. moved from Washington, DC to Daytona Beach and for several years organized races on the spot, on February 21, 1948 at Hotel Steamline NASCAR was founded there. The circuit hosted races until 1958 when it was replaced by Daytona International Speedway.

Roll of honor
 All winners were  🇺🇸 USA  American