Televised Speed and Southern Spectacle: Official Program for the Second Annual Daytona International Speedway Races, Culminating in Junior Johnson’s 1960 NASCAR International Sweepstakes Victory

Daytona Beach NASCAR

Ephemera

Daytona International Speedway Corp. Second Annual Daytona International Speedway Stock Car Races Program. Daytona Beach, Florida, January 31 & February 12–14, 1960. 11 x 8.5 inches. NASCAR-sanctioned promotional program with seating diagrams and ticket order form. Original large-format promotional program issued for the Second Annual Daytona International Speedway stock car races, advertising four days of competition culminating in the 500-mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes Late Model Stock Car Race on February 14. The broadside-style layout prominently declares Daytona the “Worlds Finest and Fastest Race Track,” underscoring the aspirational tone of early superspeedway marketing in the postwar South. The schedule outlines a carefully staged escalation of events: on Sunday, January 31, “3 International Compact Car Races, 2 late model qualifying races to determine pole position for Feb. 14 race,” nationally televised by CBS from 3:00 to 4:30 P.M. (Live), reflecting the expanding role of television in transforming NASCAR from regional spectacle into national broadcast sport. Friday, February 12 featured a “100-Mile Grand National Circuit Race” and “100-Mile National Convertible Race,” followed by a “250-Mile Modified-Sportsman Race” on Saturday, February 13, and culminating Sunday, February 14 with the “500-Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes Late Model Stock Car Race,” won by Junior Johnson—one of the era’s defining drivers and a central figure in NASCAR’s mythology of Southern speed culture.

The program functions both as promotional ephemera and as infrastructural documentation of Daytona’s emergence as the flagship venue of American stock car racing. Detailed seating diagrams for the Campbell, Oldfield, DePalma, Segrave, and Keech grandstands accompany a “Diagram of Speedway,” visually reinforcing the architectural scale of the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Ticket prices ranged from $3 general admission to $20 box chair seats, illustrating both the democratized appeal and stratified seating economy of major motorsport events in 1960. The printed order form directs remittance to “Daytona International Speedway Corp., Drawer ‘S’ Main P.O., Daytona Beach, Fla.,” providing insight into the corporate organization behind the event and the increasing bureaucratic sophistication of NASCAR promotion. As an artifact, the program captures a pivotal moment when Daytona—engineered under Bill France Sr.’s leadership—solidified its role as the symbolic and commercial center of American stock car racing. Light horizontal fold with minor scattered spotting consistent with age; clean text and strong legibility throughout. Overall condition: Very Good.

Item #17341

Price: $225.00