Travel he has done it. Nestman now holds the 1904 five-mile average speed record of 60.4 mph (97.2 km/h). A crowning achievement for the second year of motor racing at Ormond Beach. Interest in achieving speed on the hardpacked sands started several years earlier, with boastful challenges from several bored young men wintering in the south. InMarch 1903, Alexander Winton (Winton Motor Carriage Company) and RansomE. Olds (of OldsmobileandREO fame) challenged each other to see who could attain the highest speed on a one-mile stretch of sand between Granada Boulevard and River Beach Drive. Olds entered “Pirate,” his long, lean black machine with the driving seat interestingly dangling behind the rear wheels. Winton’s newly designed unit was fire-engine red, with an unusual radiator grill hanging down in the front. A third contender did not qualify. It was Otto Nestman who later took the 1904 record; this first year, his “Spider” was deemed unsafe because the solid rubber tires had a tendency to separate from the rims. The result of the first race? On March 26, 1903, Winton’s “Bullet” was declared the winner for reaching the astounding speed of 68.2 mph (109.8 km/h)! These early events were the birth of today’s North American motor racing scene. Reports of the excitement spread rapidly and soon the Ormond and Daytona beaches became famous for the annual winter racing season supported by a growing fan base. Dave Hunter is the awardwinning author of “Along I-75” and “Along Florida’s Expressways,” the quintessential guides for those driving to and in Florida. With his researcher wife Kathy, he enjoys travelling with history, gathering unusual and mysterious local stories. The Hunters winter in Lakeland, Florida. Stanley Steamer * Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird * CSANews | WINTER 2019 | 29
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