Before the giant oval track was built at Daytona, they raced on the beach in a variety of events. Here’s some great footage of the NASCAR Daytona speed trials for 1957, featuring the measured mile.
Most racing fans are familiar with the fabulous old beach/road course races at Daytona, held before the big speedway was built in 1959. However, the spectacular road races were just part of the festivities of Daytona’s Speed Week in those years. There were also straight-line acceleration and speed contests on the hard-packed sand, including the event featured in this video, the measured mile. The Motor City’s automakers were major players in these horsepower contests, racing for top-speed bragging rights in their magazine ads for the year.
In this clip you’ll see prepared cars from the stables of Bill Stroppe (Mercury), Ray Nichels (Pontiac) and Smokey Yunick (Chevrolet), among others. Watch for Paul Goldsmith wheeling Yunick’s bright red ’57 Chevy 210 hardtop, as opposed to the black-and-gold entries usually fielded by the Best Damn Garage in Town. Overall speed honors at 141.2 mph went to the ’57 Pontiac driven by young John Zink, who was then better known as the winning car owner in both the 1956 and 1957 Indianapolis 500. There’s a lot to see in this little four-minute reel. Video follows.
1957 is the beginning of Pontiac dominance. Winning Daytona in 57 and 58. Pontiac’s were the fastest cars on the pole of nearly every race and the car to beat until the January 1963’s GM ban on racing. As one Pontiac executive once said referring to the corporation ” If they would only let us alone”
The John Zink Pontiac has been restored and exibited at Pontiac meets.