Daytona 500 Stories
By J Louis Frey
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About this ebook
Daytona 500 Stories tells the story of every Daytona 500 race. Beginning with the first race in 1959 to the present, you'll learn the facts about each event. William "Big Bill" France had a vision for a large track nestled along the famous sands of Daytona Beach, Florida. The high banked 2 1/2 mile speedway, shaped like the letter "D" was called a tri oval.
Do you know who finished in first and second, then 2 years later crashed out of the track?
Who was declared the first winner of the first race?
Which driver dominated the 500, leading 3/4 of the race, but didn't win?
Who was the first driver to win the Daytona 500 in February and the Firecracker race in July in the same year?
What driver dominated the 500, then had his car banned the next year?
Which lady racer was the first female to compete in the Daytonal 500?
Which US President was the first to visit a race at Daytona?
Who was the driver who pulled another driver from his burning car, then won the 500?
Who are the 3 sets of father/son Daytona 500 winners?
Which family, grandfather, father, and son have competed at DIS?
Who was the first driver to crash into Lake Lloyd?
When did the qualifying races go from 100 miles, to 125 miles, to 150 miles?
February Speed Week starts on Sunday with time trials, and Thursday qualifying races for the Cup cars. Friday is when the Trucks compete, and Saturday is for the Sportsman race which is now called the Nationwide Series. Sunday is the Great American Race, the Daytona 500.
The first Saturday in July is the Firecracker 400.
If you want to race, Daytona is the place!
J Louis Frey
J Louis Frey has been an auto racing fan for over 40 years and continues to attend races. He is a racing writer and publisher. He collects racing books, magazines, and programs. Frey is married and has two children. He loves all types of racing cars!
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Daytona 500 Stories - J Louis Frey
Daytona 500 Stories
J Louis Frey
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2012 by J Louis Frey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Author, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedication:
To those who play on the Beach in the winter sunshine.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - The Start
Chapter 2 - The Early 1960s
Chapter 3 - The Late 1960s
Chapter 4 - The Early 1970s
Chapter 5 - The Late 1970s
Chapter 6 - The Early 1980s
Chapter 7 - The Late 1980s
Chapter 8 - The Early 1990s
Chapter 9 - The Late 1990s
Chapter 10 - The Early 2000s
Chapter 11 - The Late 2000s
Chapter 12 - Daytona Trivia
Chapter 13 - First Blood
Chapter 14 - The Earnhardt Report
Chapter 15 - The Greatest Line Up in Daytona 500 History
Chapter 16 - The Petty Family at the Daytona 500
Chapter 17 - Close But No Trophy
Chapter 18 - NASCAR Numbers
Chapter 1: The Start
Since the early part of the century, people came to the birthplace of speed
to test their vehicles on the hard sand. William Henry Getty France came to Daytona Beach, Florida in 1934. France, a mechanic by trade, helped to lay out and build a race course that was part public road and part beach. The first race was held on March 8, 1936 and was won by Milt Marion in a Ford. France, known as Big Bill
, drove in the race finishing fifth also in a Ford. The city of Daytona Beach sponsored the first race on a 3.2 mile course.
By 1938 France was promoting the races and making a small profit with his business partner Charlie Reese. Also in that year, France worked on the pit crew of a car in the Indianapolis 500.
After World War II, France again began promoting stock car races and by 1947 held a meeting in a Daytona Beach hotel, the Streamline. From that meeting came the formation of NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The organization’s first race was 150 miles held on February 15, 1948 on a new road-beach course south of Daytona Beach. Red Byron beat Marshall Teague for the victory on that Sunday.
Ever the dreamer, Big
Bill France had another idea for auto racing in the mid 1950’s. He wanted to build a large racing track near Daytona Beach. Architect Charles Moneypenny was hired to design the track on 480 acres west of the city. France would operate equipment himself when ground was broken for the speedway on November 25, 1957. The turns were banked at 31 degrees to allow high speeds to be maintained for the cars. The speedway would be 2.5 miles of asphalt, 40 feet wide, in a D
shape, bigger than Darlington which was 1.3 miles in length. The backstretch had a length of 3000 feet and banked 2 degrees. The soil that was scooped from the infield to make the high banks later filled in with water; this is now known as Lake Lloyd. In addition to the 29 acre lake, a 3.5 mile road course was added in 1962. Working on the banked turns, it was necessary to tether the paving machines by cables. When France ran into some money problems, Pepsi Cola gave him the cash to finish the track. He was loyal to the soft drink company for the rest of his life. This relationship, between Pepsi and Daytona International Speedway, continues to today.
When drivers exited the tunnel into the infield they were in awe of the size of the speedway and the height of the turns.
On Monday February 9, there was a 7 lap Match Race on the track. At the very first race,
top three cars: driven by Joe Weatherly, Jack Smith, and Bob Welborn, were 1959 Chevrolets. The fourth place car was a Ford Thunderbird, driven by Tom Pistone.
Before the first Daytona 500, former driver and NASCAR official Marshall Teague wanted to break the closed course speed record. Teague was once known as The King of the Beach
because of his success at Daytona Beach. On Wednesday February 11, 1959 he was killed at Daytona International Speedway when the axle broke and his Sumar Streamliner Special flipped. Teague was thrown from the car and died instantly, just 2 weeks before his 38th birthday.
The inaugural Daytona 500 had 2 qualifying races held on February 20, and no test sessions. One of the races was a hard top race won by Bob Welborn, and the other was a convertible race won by Shorty Rollins. The fastest qualifier was Cotton Owens at 143.198 mph in a Pontiac, but Welborn started from the pole because of his race win. A 200 mile Sportsman car race was held the day before the 500; it was won by Banjo Matthews. A consolation race was also held the day before the big race. It was only 10 laps long and was won by Jack Smith, who would start in 41st place the next day.
The 500 was held on Sunday February 22, 1959, with 42,000 spectators. The admission price was $8 for the grandstand and $4 for the infield. The first Pace Car for the race was a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible. Many drivers were concerned about the speeds at the track, but one driver had another problem. Tom Pistone couldn’t swim and he was afraid of crashing into Lake Lloyd. So Pistone carried a life jacket and oxygen tank in his car during the race; he finished eighth! Bob Welborn led the very first lap of the first 500. The race had no caution flags and it finished with an average speed of 135.5 mph. The car make entries included Oldsmobile, Ford, Chevrolet, Edsel, Pontiac, DeSoto, Mercury, Dodge, and Studebaker.
France himself was stationed at the finish line under the flagstand to view the line if needed. On the last lap Johnny Beauchamp, in a 59 Ford Thunderbird, was racing against Lee Petty driving a 59 Oldsmobile Super 88. They crossed the finish line side-by-side, along with Joe Weatherly, who was 1 lap behind. In a close finish Beauchamp was declared the winner and was given the trophy. However, three days later the decision was overturned by France after reviewing photographs. Lee Petty, the 1958 points champion, became the winner of the first Daytona 500 and was given the Harley Earl Trophy and $19,000!
Other notable finishers included Charley Griffith in third, Cotton Owens in fourth and Joe Weatherly in fifth. Former points champ Tim Flock-9th also won on the beach course, Curtis Turner finished in 13th place, Junior Johnson earned 14th, Marvin Panch finished 17th, Elmo Langley-25th, Rex White-26th, Glen Wood was 34th, Tiny Lund-40th, Bob Welborn was 41st, Buck Baker finished in 42nd, Fireball Roberts was 45th place, Richard Petty’s Olds convertible lasted only 8 laps before his engine expired, finishing in 57th position, and Ken Marriott was the first driver out of the race finishing in 59th. On July 4, 1959 the track held its first Firecracker 250 mile race won by Fireball Roberts.
Between the Daytona 500 and the Firecracker, a speed boat (hydroplane) race was held on Lake Lloyd. The lake was 700 feet wide, 1000 yards long and 10 feet deep. During the June 14 race, there was a 3 boat accident. This accident resulted in the death of the race leader, Dr. Byrne Taylor. Dr. Taylor’s son was also competing, but not in that race. One of the other two drivers was injured in the crash.
In 1960 the drivers returned to the track, but this time there were no convertibles. The convertible drivers complained about being buffeted about in the open cockpits of their cars. Again there were two qualifying races which counted as official race wins by NASCAR. The winners were Fireball Roberts in a 1960 Pontiac, and Jack Smith also in a ‘60 Pontiac. Interestingly, Herman Beam became the first driver to be black flagged at Daytona during one of the qualifying races. He forgot to put on his helmet, and it took NASCAR officials 8 laps to notice it! Also, Tommy Irwin landed in Lake Lloyd in a crash in the first Qualifier. Cotton Owens earned the pole position in a Pontiac by going 149.892 mph. Curtis Turner won the 10 lap Consolation race. The 500 miler was won by Robert Junior
Johnson in a 1959 Chevrolet, prepared by Ray Fox, leading the most laps and beating Bobby Johns. Johns spun late in the race while leading, and then lost his rear window which slowed his car down. Richard Petty finished third ahead of his father, Lee, in fourth; both Plymouth Fury’s were painted in Petty Blue
. Ned Jarrett finished in the sixth spot, Curtis Turner-7th for Holman-Moody, Fred Lorenzen-8th, the 1960 points champ Rex White-9th, Buck Baker-18th, Banjo Matthews-19th, Rookie of the Year David Pearson-28th, Cotton Owens-40th, Joe Weatherly-41st, Marvin Panch-46th, Tiny Lund-51st driving for future NASCAR official Bill Gazaway, Elmo Langley-52nd, Parnelli Jones-54th, Red Farmer-56th, and Fireball led the first 19 laps finished in 57th place in a field of 68 cars. Dick Freeman is the first driver to crash out of the 500 after 5 laps, finishing last. Johnson, a late entry for the race, led 67 laps and Richard Petty led 29 laps at his first Daytona 500.