Fast times in Florida: my dizzying 170 mph run in a Chevrolet NASCAR - and the joys of much slower golf buggy driving on 'perfect' Daytona Beach
Tom Chesshyre visited the northeast coast of Florida, the birthplace of classic car racing. He remembers “speeding at 170 mph in the passenger seat of a NASCAR Chevrolet.” READ MORE: The perfect introduction to the world of Wainwright's Lake District
As drivers accelerate at the start of the Daytona 500 classic auto race on the northeastern coast of Florida, On Sunday, they can expect to reach speeds of around 180 mph.
That's nothing, however, compared to what Sir Malcolm Campbell did it on March 7, 1935, when he set the then world land speed record of 276.82 mph while racing across the hard sands of Daytona Beach in his sleek Blue Bird racing car.
It was considered one of the key moments of the British driver's career, a dazzling burst next to the crashing waves that formed the foundation stones of the "speedway ".
Son and others The exploits of the pioneering speedsters would soon lead to the first stock car races at what was known as Daytona Beach Road Course (along the beach and coastal road) before the Daytona International Speedway, opened in 1959.
As drivers accelerate at the start of the Daytona 500 classic auto race on the northeastern coast of Florida, On Sunday, they can expect to reach speeds of around 180 mph.
That's nothing, however, compared to what Sir Malcolm Campbell did it on March 7, 1935, when he set the then world land speed record of 276.82 mph while racing across the hard sands of Daytona Beach in his sleek Blue Bird racing car.
It was considered one of the key moments of the British driver's career, a dazzling burst next to the crashing waves that formed the foundation stones of the "speedway ".
Son and others The exploits of the pioneering speedsters would soon lead to the first stock car races at what was known as Daytona Beach Road Course (along the beach and coastal road) before the Daytona International Speedway, opened in 1959.
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