RACING HISTORY MINUTE - ON THE BEACH 1941
Stock Car Racing History
It has be awhile since my last post about racing on the beach, but I am here today to pick up where we last left our sand-slinging band of auto maniacs. There would be four stock car races held on the course at Daytona Beach in 1941. While the world was at war in Europe with the Nazis and the Japanese were blazing an empire in the Far East, things in Daytona were more concerned about fast cars.
To use the statement direct from Greg Fielden's book "High Speed at Low Tide", "The Georgia Gang was back". This reference is made to the fact that Roy Hall had gained his release from the Georgia State Prison for the crime of, what else, running "shine" through the Georgia hills. Hall would once more take over the wheel of the 1939 Ford he had made a consistent winner in 1959 and Bill France drove to victories in 1940. The car had been sold, however, so a gentleman named Raymond Parks, also a Georgia resident. When Andy Beardon, the team owner, sold the car to Raymond, the sale included even this guy named Red Vogt. Enough said!! The combination of these three individuals was enough to make history in the early days of stock car racing. Who among us has not heard of Roy Hall, Raymond Parks, or Red Vogt? Really.
There was yet another Georgia man, in fact a cousin of Roy's, name Lloyd Seay. Although Seay had run only one race on the Beach, he had a reputation for racing that precede his entry for the beach race. He and Roy both were shine-runners and both were tough competitors with similar driving styles. No wonder Raymond Parks added a second car to the team and put Roy and Lloyd together in the Red Vogt tuned Fords. This left Bill France to race a Graham, which was a huge car, but still owned by Parks.
It was not lost to the racing fraternity that Nazi German was bombing Britain almost every night. The U.S.A. was responding with several groups established to assist Britain and other countries resisted Nazi Germany, one such group being "Bundles for Britain". The Datyona Beach Exchange Club designated the "Bundles" campaign as it's choice for relief. Remember racer Smokey Purser from earlier History Minutes? He was one of the first to step up and say that he would donate half of what he won to the fund. Bill France and Charles Reese, the co-promoters of the raceannounced they would donate 25&% of the net proceeds to the cause. Using that reasoning, France followed that announcement that the only "comps" (free passes) would be those issued to the working press.
The first race of 1941 was set for March 2, 1941. Publicity quickly went out to say that half of the field entered were "Champions", citing Roy Hall;'s title as the 1939 World Stock Car Champion, Lloyd Seay as the 1938 World Champ, Harley Taylor as the dirt track title champ, Red Singleton as the 1939 national champion, and Jap Brogdon, Fonty Flock, Tommy Elmore and Bill France as title holders of one description or another. Seems there were plenty of titles to go around then.
That first race in 1941 saw Bill France on the pole in that huge Graham, with Red Sluder, Stewart Joyce and Joe Littlejohn sharing the four-abreast front row. The crowd of 10,000 folks, paying a dollar each for admission, watched Roy Hall broadslide past Big Bill to take the lead as the cars entered the South turn (coming off the paved highway onto the sand).
Hall was setting a record speed with every lap until lap 14 when Joe Littlejohn's car skidded high and over the "lip" in the North turn injuring several spectators. It was the first time in beach racing history that a full course caution flag was flying as injured spectators were assisted. Two spectators were taken to the hospital in the only ambulance available and the other injured parties were transported by police cars. Fortunately, all spectators fully recovered although Barney Smith, a Daytona carpenter, lost several teeth and had a severe cut across his face. Joe Littlejohn had jumped from his wrecked racer and assisted the officials with the injured. When he had finished doing what he could, he went to work on his car, and on lap 40 he returned to the competition. His return was short lived, however, as he crashed again within just moments of returning to the track. His day was done.
As if the injuries in the first incident were not enough, Jap Brogdon and Massey Atkins hooked up just laps after the 14 lap catastrophe, and Massey's car flipped over the turn and into the wooden stands. Everyone in the stands escaped injury, even the lady who fainted as the car careened into the stands. Massey was able to return to the race but just minutes later his "open top" car flipped on the highway part of the course and because he had no seat belt, he was thrown into the sand, flat on his back. He got up, brushed off the sand and walked back to the pits.
As the race continued, our boy, Lloyd was picking off cars one by one as he would pass in the turns with his Ford up on two wheels, almost to the tipping point, On the 39th laps, however, Seay flipped his Ford in the North turn. No mention is made of whether or not the flip was the result of his two-wheel antics. He got back into the race and began another advance to the front and was making progress to that end. Again, laps later, another flip and another return to the track for Lloyd. He was quite the competitor.
At the end of the 160 mile event, it was Roy Hall out front by almost a half lap which would equate to almost 2 miles. The official run down for this event lists only the top 12 finishers of the field of 43. Those finishers are:
1. Roy Hall, Ford
2. Smokey Purser, Ford
3. Tommy Elmore, Ford
4. Stewart Joyce, Mercury
5. Clint McMillan, Ford
6. Joe Barker, Ford
7. Lloyd Seay, Ford
8. Danny Murphy, Ford
9. Alvin Hawkins, Ford
10. Chick Beverlin, Ford
11. Buck Mathis, Ford
12. Hick Jenkins, Mercury.
Others competitors you may recognize include Joe Littlejohn, BillFrance, BillSnowden, and Harold Brasington.
Almost immediately after this race, Bill France, Charley Reese and Smokey Purser went to work on the North Turn area, moving the stands back from the track and erecting a catch fence, back then called a "crash fence". After that work, France and Reese checked the tidal charts and determined that another race could be scheduled for March 30th. Obviously the 10,000 spectators for the March 2nd race encouraged those two promoters to cash in on the trend while it was hot. The race was to be called The Frank Lockhart Memorial 160 miler. Frank Lockhart had won the Indy 500 in 1926 but was killed in 1928 while attempting to set a land speed record on the sands of Daytona.
Two weeks before the race, an entry was received from Joe Engel. Joe Engel had never driven a race car but was well known as a flamboyant promoter of the minor league baseball team known as Chattanooga Lookouts. His reputation for "off the wall" promotions at the ball park. The report is that his entry was the result of a dare issued by a Chattanooga sportswriter to Engel.
True to his promotional image, Engel let hit be known that his entry was a "mystery car" explaining that although strictly stock as required by the rules, he had incorporated a "few innovations" he didn't want his competitors to steal from him. This guy even arranged to have France grant him a private trial session on the beach, claiming he needed to know the course. News came out of that private trial that Engel had turned a speed of 92.06. Although that private session was not "official qualifying", Bill France made the statement that Engel "can have the pole for all I care" emphasizing that no one would be crazy enough to try to equal that speed. Even before NASCAR was established, Big Bill was honing the promotional characteristics that would fuel the growth of early NASCAR.
Engel's venture into racing with his "mystery car" was effectively ended on Thursday, March 27th, when he miscalculated his entry into the North turn. The Mystery Car flew off the track into a clump of palmetto bushes. When the car stopped, the radiator was busted, but more importantly, the major damage was done to the undercarriage of the vehicle which rendered in unrepairable, at least by race day.
Race day came and so did 12,000 spectators to watch Big Bill lead the start from the pole with Lloyd Seay, Bill Snowden and Jap Brogdon also on the four-abreast front row. The racing was wild, to say the least, with several incidents . The details of this race, as described in Greg Fielden's book, make for great reading and present great visual pictures of what it was like that day, as well as including several memorable photographs. To go into all the detail present would require much more time than I can dedicate to the project today. Perhaps it would behoove us to revive the Galfield Press and have them come out with additional copies of this book. It is a most excellent read.
Ford this March 30th race, we have the top 13 finishers listed, as follows:
1. Smokey Purser, Ford
2. Roy Hall, Ford
3. Joe Littlejohn, Ford
4. Skim Hersey, Ford
5. Roby Robertson, Graham
6. Buck Mathis, Ford
7. Marvel Gallentine, Ford
8. Pepper Cunningham, Ford
9. Larry Hart, Ford
10. Leonard Hicks, Ford
11. Johnny Hicks, Ford
12. Hugh Dixon, Ford
13. Tommy Elmore, Ford.
Other contestants of interest: Crazy Cy Clark, Jap Brogdon, Bill France, Lloyd Seay, Alvin Hawkins, BIll Snowden, Cannonball Baker, and Fonty Flock.
July 27th also presented a date when the tides would be right to accommodate racing on the beach and Big Bill jumped on that after his two hugely successful events in March. Even so, on the driving end, Big Bill had experienced awful results in the two events. His ever optimistic self, however, decided to seek the assistance of a crewman from the winning team at Indy in May. Bill got Rudy Adams to come to Daytona to enhance Bill's chances in the race. With the Indy influence, Big Bill decided to limit the field to the 33 fastest qualifiers as did Indy. There were 50 cars on the entry list but that only fueled the promotion passion of Bill France as he began to promote the race as the "fastest to ever run on the beach". First problem was rain on qualifying day but the skies cleared in time for Lou Hawkins to win the pole. Hawkins would give up the wheel to Fonty Flock for the race, however.
On the green flag, it was Fonty Flock taking the lead, albeit a small lead, as the cars roared onto the blacktop highway. As Flock hit the South turn, Roy Hall hooked the Flock machine and the car climbed the embankment and flipped end over end, side over side, through a stand of palmetto bushes, severely injuring Flock. Upon arrival at the hospital, the attending physician reported that Fonty had suffered broken pelvis, crushed chest, back injuries and severe shock.
Even in 1941, and the beginning of the France special rulings, Smokey Purser was allowed to start in 33rd position although he had failed to qualify. France justified this rule-bending by claiming "Promoter's Option" as he knew Purser was far too popular to miss the race. As if this entry was not enough, Smokey Purser moved from 33rd to 3rd in three laps. His charge was amazing and is still considered the most amazing charge ever mounted on the beach course. But, alas, a broken piston took Purser out of the race on the fourth lap.
The top 13 finishers for the race were:
1. Bernard Long, Mercury
2. Bill Snowden, Ford
3. Joe Littlejohn, Ford
4. Lloyd Seay, Ford
5. Lloyd Moody, Ford
6. Hugh Lanford, Ford
7. Jimmy Poppell, Ford
8. Roy Hall, Ford
9. Bob Flock, Ford
10. Crazy Cy Clark, Mercury
11. Marvin Gallentine, Mercury
12. Jake Howard, Ford
13. Roger Smith, no car make provided
Other competitors of note were Fonty Flock, Smokey Purser, Bill France, Alvin Hawkins, and Cannonball Baker.
On a roll with promotion now, although not on the race track behind the wheel, Big Bill almost immediately scheduled another event, a 160 mile contest, for August 24, 1941. This was the first time four races would be staged within a year, actually within six months. This time, however, a little caveat was added in that the rules would NOT limit horsepower allowed. About the only rule was that the car had to be AMERICAN made and sell for under $3,000.00 at the dealership. This was an effort by Bill France to entice new spectators with the promise of even more speed than ever seen in a beach stock car race.
Rain ruined qualifying so there was no new speed record set for qualifying. Drivers drew for starting positions. Lloyd Moody drew to pole while many of the "hot shoes" of the era were placed deep in the field. Lloyd Seay drew 15th place. I mention Lloyd here so I can relate the interesting story set out in Fielden's book. Here goes:
Lloyd was well know in racing circles but he was also known for running shine through the twisting north Georgia mountains. Quoting Greg's book now, "On one occasion, Seay was speeding through downtown Atlanta with nary a drop (moonshire) on board, heading north to pick up a load. He was running behind schedule and was hurrying through the big city. A Georgia patrolman pulled Lloyd over for surpassing the posted speed limit two-fold. The officer informed Seay that the fine for speeding was $10.00. Seay handed the office two $10.00 dollar bills. 'Son this $10.00 is too much. The fine is one $10.00 bill,' the office said according to legend. 'Well' Seay replied 'there's $10.00 for now and another $10.00 in advance when I come back through here tonight. I'll pay ahead of time for my return trip. Maybe you could let me go through, huh?'.
When it got to be race time, two false starts caused the green flag to be delayed far past the scheduled 2:30 starting time. When the green flag finally officially greeted the breeze from the ocean, Lloyd Seay put on a show to rival anything previously seen by the fans at the beach. He moved from his 15th place starting position to the lead by the end of the first lap. As Lloyd was showing his style, Big Bill was moving his Graham towards the front when he clipped the north turn fence on the eighth lap causing him to lose more than 2 minutes while he and spectators got his huge car out of the sand.
Roy Hall continued to exhibit his two-wheel talent in the turns as he tried to move to the front. Roy had moved in to third by lap 39 when his Ford fell victim to a broken frame. Roy retired to the sideline to watch his cousin put on a driving clinic as Lloyd led every lap to win the event by three and a half miles over second place finisher, Joe Littlejohn.
Top ten finishers, as listed:
1. Lloyd Seay, Ford
2. Joe Littlejohn, Ford
3. Harley Taylor, Ford
4. Bill Snowden, Ford
5. Elbert Atkins, Ford
6. Alvin Hawkins, Ford
7. Bill France, Graham
8, Skimp Hersey, Ford
9. Massey Atkins, Ford
10. Crazy Cy Clark, Mercury.
The 21 year old Seay would run an event at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, on Labor Day, 1941, very soon after his victory at Daytona. In the interim, he had raced in High Point, North Carolina, and won that race. Lloyd would win at Lakewood, giving him three victories within fifteen days,. His star was rising and his future in racing appeared unlimited.
Within hours of the Lakewood victory, Lloyd Seay was shot dead by his cousin Woodrow Anderson. There has been discussion as to whether the argument between the cousins was over Lloyd having charged a sugar purchase to Woodrow's account at the local store, or whether or not the two could agree on the amount of sugar used to sweeten the "shine". There is a lengthy narrative taken from statements on file which I will not quote here,. Lloyd Seay's tombstone in the Dawsonville, Georgia Cemetery includes Lloyd's likeness inside the race car. That tombstore was paid for by Raymond Parks in honor of the wild kid who had taken Raymond Parks' race cars to fame. The actual photo of Lloyd is encased in a crystal cube.
So ends the History Minute as to the 1941 season "on the beach". On a personal note, I can only imagine the color, sound, and fury of the events described in Greg Fielden's excellent book. There are members on this site who were in attendance at some of these races and I hope they will contribute their personal memories to this very edited narrative. This represents a big part of the history of the sport of stock car racing, although not yet known as NASCAR. There were many short tracks in operation around the Southeast and other part of the country during this period, but it is/was Daytona Beach, which is indelibly engraved in the monuments of history of the sport. It is the sand and the black top, the north turn, and the south turn, the palmetto bushes, and all the seagulls frightened into flight by the roar of the engines that remain a part of the memories of those in attendance,.
Greg Fielden's books are all about the history of the sport of stock car racing and, therefore, there is little to no mention of world events going on at the time these 1941 races were taking place. Although the Nazi were destroying most of Europe at the time, the U.S. was still an idle bystander to the war going on "over there". Although our president, FDR, was supportive of Britain in its efforts to resist Adolf Hitler, it would take a surprise attack by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941, before our country would become involved in the world conflict which would forever change the way the world saw other countries. There was no racing on the beach during the war years. Many of the men who would become the future of the sport were involved in fighting in Europe and the Pacific, only to return after the war tempered by the adversity they experienced in war that enabled them to do things with race cars seemingly impossible in the early years. I am very glad that I had the opportunity to meet every one of those guys at some point in my time around racing and, to the man, it is true that the real heroes are never the ones to accept that title. To themselves, the are the men who did what had to be done, and it was their duty to do so. Just as in racing, they did what they had to do to build the sport into the greatness it came to enjoy during the period from the 50s to the 90s. I, for one, appreciate all that dedication to the sport.
HONOR THE PAST, EMBRACE THE PRESENT, AND DREAM FOR THE FUTURE
A very special "thank you" to member Bill McPeek, who loaned me his copy of Greg Fielden's book "High Speed at Low Tide". I am using this book to provide these History Minutes from the beach racing error. Thank you, Bill, for your friendship and for your dedication to the preservation of the true history of this sport.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
