SPEED ON THE SAND PART 2

IN PART 1 YESTERDAY, DRIVERS WENT AS FAST AS THEY COULD on the sands of 1954 Daytona Beach. Today in Part 2 we return with R&T to this venue a year later and then do a jump to late 2023 and a beach in Normandy, France; the latter, thanks to the reporting skills of Classic & Sports Car.

Our Crowd, Speed Week 1955. R&T, June, 1955, reported, “The sports car fraternity ‘took over’ the annual NASCAR Speed Week in Daytona Beach, Fla., this year, and many records were smashed to bits.” 

This and other images from R&T, June 1955.

Those of a certain age (like me!) will recall familiar sports car drivers of the era, including Luigi Chinetti, Phil Hill, Jim Kimberly, Boris Said, Bill Spear, Briggs Cunningham, Phil Walters, and Bill Frick. (Extra points before reading on for assigning an appropriate car to each driver. Also, one of them has a James Bond association.)

Highest Speed: The Indy Ferrari. Indeed, here are two of the answers: “The highest speed during the NASCAR festivities was turned in by Bob Said of Greenwich, Conn., driving Luigi Chinetti’s Indianapolis Grand Prix 4.5 Ferrari. Said rocketed to an average of 170.538 mph, hitting a high one-way run of 174.334 mph.”

Jim Kimberly (left) watches Boris (aka Bob) Said about to start his record-breaking run. 

Other possible answers to the car association quiz: R&T noted, “The fastest sports car on the famed hard-packed sand was a D Jaguar, owned by Briggs Cunningham and driven to a new record by Phil Walters, general manager of the B.S. Cunningham Co. in nearby West Palm Beach. Walters hurtled the Jag over the measured mile course for a new two-way mark of 164.136 miles per hour, winning the Champion Spark Plug trophy and the Paul Whiteman Perpetual Trophy.”

The R&T caption reads “2 Cunninghams with Trials Director McCahill.” 

T-Bird Soars. “Much interest was shown,” R&T recounted, “in the speed runs for the American Production Sports Cars, with the Ford Thunderbird running away with all honors. J. Ferguson, driving Tom McCahill’s ‘Bird,’ turned in an average of 124.633 mph, beating the stock Austin-Healeys and all but one of the Jaguars.”

Jazz King Whiteman. R&T noted, “Paul Whiteman, the Jazz King, again served as the sport car activities director, assisting Uncle Tom McCahill who was Speed Trials Director for the second year. The genial Pops Whiteman, who is a Vice President of the American Broadcasting Co., conducted a 15 minute coast-to-coast ABC network radio show every night during Speed Week, featuring interviews with the speed stars, and much controversy with McCahill over the relative merits of Jags and Birds.” 

I’ll bet a good time was had by all.

Normandy Beach Races, 2023. As recounted in the Classic & Sports Car website, January 14, 2024, “Blimey, what an event! If you are an automotive purist or a cotton-bud-toting concours contender, the Normandy Beach Race won’t be for you. But if you don’t fall into either of these eminently estimable categories, this hot-rod-led affair offers a weekend shot of uncomplicated pleasures, whatever your interests.”

C&SC observes, “Light-touch organisation, a cheerful, not-too-serious atmosphere, practical demonstrations, talks on the Saturday and a wide selection of eateries all made the long queues to gain entry worth the wait.” Located at the Riva-Bella Resort on the Normandy coast just north of Caen, events ranged from displays of car and motorcycles to sand racing of hot-rods and a selection of pre-war machinery. 

Some of them decidedly pre-war: This chain-drive 1907 Dexter is powered by a 6.4-liter four-cylinder (with, I suspect, pistons the size of coffee cans). 

C&SC notes that eighty cars were “selected for two-vehicle jousts on the sand…. The eighth-mile strip was no Daytona Beach, and the soft sands made departure something of a churn, with the rapidly rutted surface then slowing progress to the finish.”

Above, Singer and Model A Ford Specials prepare for the start. Below, Ford roadsters have a close finish. 

Indeed, traction wasn’t a problem for one of the cars, the Aérofilaton: “ ‘I’m Ouistreham’s Marcel Leyat,’ said owner Richard Rodier, claiming his 250-cc-powered Thunderbolt drop-tank could hit 40 mph—maybe even 60 mph.”

“With talk of it becoming an event held every other year,” C&SC notes, “the next Normandy Beach Race might not be until 2025. Given that tickets sold out well in advance of 2023’s bash, the best advice is to book early—few late-season gatherings can be as much fun.” 

Indeed, like Daytona Speed Week in the Fifties, a good time appears likely even without Paul Whiteman and Tom McCahill quibbling about Jags and T-birds. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024