Daytona, 50 Years of Excellence

from Motorwerks Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2

by MotorWerks Media

BMWs at the Beach

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When you look at the image below your thoughts may return to some of those epic battles between the Porsche 917 and the Ford GT40. But this was not a race of bygone years, this was Daytona 2012 and prior to the 50th running of the famous

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event fans and racers alike were treated to the sight of twenty-nine of the forty-five former winners (Some cars had won the race multiple times and there was no race in 1974 due to the energy crisis) circulate wheel to wheel once again. The search for the forty plus cars started some fourteen months before the actual 50th

anniversary. Tim Pendergast of Jacksonville, FL was the guy tasked by the Speedway to track down as many of these historic automobiles and persuade the owners to allow them to be showcased at the Speedway over the anniversary weekend. In addition all the winning drivers were invited to attend in an effort to make the celebration complete.

The Speedway was not the scene of the opening celebrations but the Daytona Beach Ocean Center on the evening of January 26. It was only fitting the city of Daytona was involved as it has embraced the Speedway and the prime events like the Rolex 24 Hours. The historic cars were on display, food was served and speeches were made. The following morning (Friday the 27th) the cars were driven on the streets of Daytona

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