Beach Racing Era Ends

By 1957, the end of beach racing was in sight. Daytona Beach was expanding ever southward, and the beach conditions were unpredictable. Although the crowds were growing, many of them could watch the race without paying an admission to the viewing grandstands. In 1958 the State Legislature established the Daytona Beach Racing and Recreational Facilities District with the idea to construct a superspeedway. Headed by J. Saxton Lloyd, the district obtained land in the Municipal Airport tract on a 99-year lease and began to recruit someone to build a speedway on the site. An economic slowdown in the mid-1950's brought no takers for their offer, and when the cutoff date of November 8, 1957, was left unanswered, they agreed to lease the property to a new corporation headed by William H.G. France.