Daytona Beach: 100 Years of Racing (Images of America)

Daytona lays claim to being The World's Most Famous Beach, and with good reason. Experience the birthplace and home of NASCAR in 100 years of racing on the sands.

NASCAR, one of America's favorite pastimes, got its start on Daytona Beach--""The World's Famous Beach."" For decades people have flocked to Daytona's 23 miles of white sand not only for relaxation and spring breaks, but also for the racing action once offered on its hard-packed sand shore. Dozens of records were set on the beach during low tide before promoter Bill France Sr. organized the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing at the Streamline Hotel in 1947. From those humble beginnings years ago, France turned his vision of what NASCAR could become into the brand of racing known today. Daytona Beach: 100 Years of Racing follows NASCAR's evolution from grassroots racing to its rise as one of the most talked about spectator sports in the world. The more than 200 images in this photo history illustrate why this sport--once known only to those south of the Mason-Dixon Line--is now aninternational phenomenon. Travel the course of racing's famous and lesser-known heroes like Sir Malcolm Campbell, Lawson Diggett, Clessie L. Cummins, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Experience the pile-ups, victories, and defeats, and understand why NASCAR history is incomplete without Daytona Beach.

Author Harold D. Cardwell Sr. put together this fitting tribute to speed in time to commemorate the first 100 years of racing. An avid NASCAR fan, Cardwell serves on the boards of the Halifax Historical Society and the Florida Historical Society and co-authored Images of America: Port Orange.