NASCAR Track News

Two of Dover International Speedway’s most recognizable attractions have a new sponsor, track officials announced today.

Top new country music artists Temecula Road will virtually perform the National Anthem prior to the UNOH 188 At The DAYTONA Road Course on Saturday, Aug. 15. The group will share their trademark harmonies for the National Anthem prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the “World Center of Racing”.

From the time Daytona International Speedway opened for the DAYTONA 500 in 1959, the trioval/road course had been utilized primarily for sports cars for the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA and motorcycles for the DAYTONA 200, with the exception of a two-race stint (1960-61) when Compact Cars tackled the storied layout. That changed from 1968-72.

When the old Daytona beach-road course held its last race in 1958 and the NASCAR Cup Series (then Grand National Series) moved to the new high banks for Daytona International Speedway, it didn’t mean the end of road course racing in the Daytona Beach area.

The winner of this Sunday’s (Aug. 16) historic first NASCAR Cup Series race on the world famous trioval/road course at Daytona International Speedway - the Go Bowling 235 At The DAYTONA Road Course - will win a special, one-of-a-kind trophy, produced by The Corning Museum of Glass.

The saying “save the best for last” has never been more true than the 1958 - and final - NASCAR Cup Series race on the storied Daytona beach-road course that used the sands of the beach and the asphalt of A1A to help build the foundation of a sport like no other, NASCAR.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has created the ultimate virtual destination for race fans to stay connected to the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge leading up to NBC’s live Race Day coverage Sunday, Aug. 23 beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

Daytona International Speedway announced today two entitlement partners – both with a century of success - for this weekend’s (Aug. 14-16) historic DAYTONA Road Course races for NASCAR’s top three national series, along with the ARCA Menards Racing Series. It will mark the first time the four series will tackle Daytona International Speedway’s iconic trioval/infield road course.

From 1936 through the middle of 1949, smaller, older modified stock cars had competed on the sands of Daytona Beach, but it was in 1949 that Bill France’s dream of having a series, featuring new, full-size sedans that could be purchased off a showroom floor, became a reality.

As NASCAR’s three national series get ready to make their historic first attempts at the DAYTONA Road Course inside the Daytona International Speedway on Aug. 14-16, let’s take a look back at how road course racing began in Daytona Beach, “The Birthplace of Speed.”