Daytona Beach Official were determined to bring speed related sports to Daytona Beach,
Bill France Sr. got his starting in race promotions. Sig Haugdahl, local resident and Dirt Track
champion, was asked to organize and promote an automobile race along a 3.2 mile track that
included Highway A1A southbound from Daytona Beach and the same beach that held land
speed record runs in previous years. The 250 mile, 78 Lap race, only allowed 1935 and 1936
street legal family sedans to race. City officials posted a $5,000.00 purse, the winner receiving
$1,700. The first race had it's problems, including people arriving before ticket-takers allowing
them to get ther spots on the beach, the turns were impossible, leaving cars stalled out and stuck
creating scoring and technical disputes. The race was called at lap 75 declaring Milt Marion the winner.
France finished 5th in the first and last race promoted by the city of Daytona Beach.

Haugdahl and France became good friends, determined to bring automobile racing to Daytona,
they talked a Daytona Beach Elks Club into promoting another race over Labor Day weekend.
The purse being only $100.00, although track conditions, management and promotions were
better the Elks Club still lost money, and lost interest in motor sport promotions. Haugdahl had also
lost interest, leaving France all to himself. Although France could see a future in the sport, he was
a struggling filling- station operator and could not fund the promotions, advertisement, and purse
of a race alone.

France Finally convinced a local restaurateur, Charlie Reese, to post a $1,000.00 purse and let
France Recruit drivers and spread the word. Danny Murphy beat France in the 150 mile race
that raised enough money to convince the co- promoter to do another race. Labor day weekend
of 1938 they managed another successful race. France Beat out Lloyd Moody and Pig Ridings
in that race and then he organized three more races later that year in March, July, and September
of 1939. They held three more races in March, July 4th, and September of 1940, France finishing
fourth in March, first on July 4th, and fifth in September. Before the war in 1941 France was able
to promote two races in March, one each in July and August. The war put a stop to stock car racing,
France went to work for the Daytona Boat works while his wife ran the family filling- station.

After the war was over France left the boat works, and started to get obsessed with the idea of
a single governed sanctioning body was necessary if stock car racing was going to be successful.
France wanted to bring uniformity to race procedures, and technical rules, an organization that would
sanction and promote races. American Automobile Association (AAA), was more concerned with
open- wheel, open cockpit, champ car racing, which eventually became known as USAC/ cart league
(Indy car racing). Other groups consisted of United Stock Car Racing Association, National Auto Racing
league, and American Stock Car Racing Association. The National Stock Car Racing Association,
was based in Georgia was only interested within- in the state and didn't want to crown a national
champion. The Daytona Beach Racing Association wanted to promote only within the city made no
claim to a national champion either. France retired from racing so that he could concentrate all his
attention to organizing an association that would adhere to rules mentioned above.

December 12, 1947 was the first meeting of the National Association for Stock Car
Automobile Racing (NASCAR) at the Streamline Inn Motel in Daytona Beach Florida. The
organization named Bill France Sr. it's first president.