Birthplace Of Speed — 100 Years of Racing In Ormond Beach

Racing at Ormond Beach, Florida dates to 1903 and yesterday the Seventh Annual Birthplace of Speed Celebrationwas held including a beach parade and antique vehicle display.  This year’s event was in the honor of the 1909 Buick Race Team headed by Bob Burman.

Mr. Rockeffer' stand-in gives young lady a trademark dime

Here is link to this years registration form.  To keep you out of suspense here is some text from the page that is upbeat, educational, tragic, and commemorative:

One hundred years ago, the American automobile dream established itself a home on the hard packed sand of Ormond Beach, Florida, just north of Daytona Beach. As early automotive pioneers tested and contested their machines, a tradition born of America’s love for the sport and passion for ingenuity was established. Beach Racing quickly became a source of fascination developing loyal participants and spectators.

1914 Buick-Marr Cycle Car

 The Birthplace of Speed Centennial Celebration, March 25, 2009 will celebrate the 1909 Buick “Bug” 60 Special & Bob Burman. “ Wild” Bob Burman racing a stripped down Buick took on an early biplane at Daytona in 1909. The Buick reportedly won handily.

Fender Canvas

Built by the Buick racing team, the 60 Special, or Bug, featured a radical-for-the-time nose cone. The true purpose of the nose cone was more to grab attention than for aerodynamics. Buick built two Bugs; one for Louis Chevrolet and one varying degrees of success both cars were raced fairly frequently by Buick.

Fender Skirts and Lake Pipes

This car, was even raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few years before the Indy 500 debuted. Equipped with 4-cylinder, 622 cubic inch engines, the Bugs proved formidable on straight tracks reaching speeds of 110 mph. The cars had one serious flaw, however, which curtailed their overall successes.

1973 Cadillac "LifeLiner"

The Bugs were too narrow to handle the corners and tended to flip over.

This required the driver to slow down on the corners. The Buick factory team won more than 500 trophies during the 1908—1912 period, competing in virtually every form of racing. Burman died in 1916 on an oval track in Corona, Calif., after his open-cockpit Peugeot skidded off the track and flipped over at more than 100 mph. He died alongside his mechanic, who rode with him, and at least three spectators.

3 Wheel Morgan

All sorts of vintage cars were present.  From the earliest of racers with fenders of canvas, as shown; to the 20’s and Ford their simplicity including a 1925 Speedster with a 3 cylinder engine; to the 30’s and an immaculate Buick with the most subtle 2-tone paint, to the 40’s pre-and-post war, and to the 50’s with fender skirts and lake pipes.  Outside of the show area was a spectacular 1965 Corvair Corsa 140 HP Convertible; a beautiful 78 Pontiac LeMans; and then there was the new Porsche with the LED running lights and super brakes.  The parking lot had some very special cars too.

Porsche in the parking lot

This is wonderful assemblage of racers and classic vehicles gathered to celebrate and respect the heritage of speed.

Classic 70' In The Parking Lot