| Daytona International Speedway | |
 | |
| Race information | |
|---|---|
| Most wins (drivers) | Jim Rathmann (1) |
| Most wins (constructors) | Watson (1) |
| Circuit length | 4.023 km (2.5 miles) |
| Race length | 160.934 km (100.000 miles) |
| Laps | 40 |
| Last race (1959) | |
| Pole position | |
| |
| Podium | |
| |
| Fastest lap | |
The Daytona 100 was a USAC Championship Car race held at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida on Saturday April 4, 1959. It was the first and only Indy car race held on the high banks of Daytona, and saw incredible speeds turned in by the front-engined "roadsters." The race was part of a triple-header weekend featuring races for the USAC Championship Cars, Formula Libre, and a USAC-FIA sports car endurance race.
Both the Champ Car and Formula Libre races were won by Jim Rathmann. However, the weekend was marred by the tragic death of George Amick, who was killed in a crash on the final lap of the Champ Car race. Amick's death came less than two months after Marshall Teague was also killed testing a highly modified Indy roadster at the track. Despite a predicted crowd of over 30,000 spectators for the weekend,[1] turnout was disappointing. With estimates as low as 7,000 to 10,000 in attendance for Saturday,[2] the event was also seen as unsuccessful and a money-loser.[3] In the wake of the tragic circumstances, the blindingly fast speeds were deemed too dangerous for the track, and the Indy cars would never again race on the Daytona International Speedway oval.[2] The sports cars, however, would return and the Daytona Continental later became an annual event, now known as the 24 Hours of Daytona.
The Daytona 100 was the first race of the 1959 USAC Championship Trail, and the first Championship race held in the state of Florida since a board track race at Fulford–Miami Speedway in 1926. There would not be another Indy car race held in Florida until the Miami Grand Prix in 1985.
In 2006 and again in 2007, the IndyCar Series held a compatibility test on the Daytona International Speedway motorcycle road course (which skips the west banking), the first time Indy type cars had driven on the track in over 45 years. The test was to evaluate the facility as a possible warm-weather testing venue (and perhaps a future racing venue). However, a race was never scheduled, and the series never returned.
- ^ "Predicts A Crowd Of 30,000 For Weekend Races". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. April 2, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2016 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ a b Gates, Bob. "Indy Cars Made One Tragic Attempt At Daytona Oval". Racing History. National Speed Sport News. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ Cadou Jr., Jep (April 5, 1959). "Jep Cadou Jr Calls 'Em". The Indianapolis Star. p. 26. Retrieved July 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
