The Daytona 500: The Thrill and Thunder of the Great American Race

The Daytona 500: The Thrill and Thunder of the Great American Race — page 5
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