Bill France Founding Father of Nascar and the Daytona International Speedway.

Bill France first arrived in Daytona in 1934 where he had decided a racing mechanics life would be more lucrative in the south. He loaded up a trailer of his family's belongings along with his wife Anne and young sons Bill Jr. and Jim, and set out for miami.
On the Journey to miami they stopped in Ormond Beach area where they finally settled in Daytona. It was here, that Bill got a job as a mechanic.
In 1936, Bill France was eager to be involved in the organization of the stock car event. Here he even helped Haugdahl lay this course as you see below.

Daytona Beach race course
The track was 3.2 miles in length and later lengthened to 4.1 miles. For a better and closer look at the track click here.

Haugdahl created a stock car course by measuring a mile in the sand, using a mile of highway (A1A that runs parallel to the coast). He joined the two with a pair of short chutes cut through the sand dunes, the race would be a 250 miler with a purse of $5,000 dollars.

Bill France had took what he learned on the beach and began to build upon it. He became one of the races promoters, and the event had great finacial success until W.W.II had suspended the competition.

By the mid forties, the war was over and Bill began organizing a small series of races in the south. Over the years he had come to know several promoters, drivers, mechanics and sports writers. On December 14, 1947 in a smoked filled room at the Streamline Motel in Daytona beach.

This is where Nascar (National Association for Stock car Auto Racing) was officially born.
The name was credited to the late Red Vogt, an experienced mechanic.