1951 Round of Daytona Beach

1951 Round of Daytona Beach

Race 10 of 22 in the 1951 National Stock Car Series season
← Previous race		Next race →
National Stock Car Series Race
Date	4 July 1951
Location	Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Venue	Daytona Beach Street Course
Course	Street course consisting of public roads and beach
Circuit Length	4.100 mi
Distance	46 Laps, 188.6 mi
Weather	Hot and sunny, with temperatures approaching 90°F with wind speed at 16 mph
Average Speed	78.59 mph
Pole Position
Driver	Guy Pierce	Bernard Payne
Most Laps Lead
Driver	Guy Pierce	Bernard Payne
Laps	29
Podium
First	Emmett Newton	Lucky Hornick
Second	Guy Pierce	Bernard Payne
Third	Luther Young	Roy Shelton

The tenth race of the 1951 National Stock Car Series was held on July 4, 1951 on the streets and sands of Daytona Beach, Florida. The race comprised 46 laps around the 4.100-mile layout. Many of the championship contenders had trouble during the race; Cameron Yost and Howard Joyce struggled to get their cars to grip on the sand, Peter Stafford wrecked his car from the lead during his heat race, and Scott Duran and Armond Cabot both experienced major engine issues.

In 1970, following the series' established race naming guidelines, this race was retroactively named the 1951 Round of Daytona Beach.

Qualifying

Qualifying for the race was scheduled for one day, Tuesday, July 3rd. Sixty-five drivers attempted to make the field, which was capped at 42 cars.

• 9:00 AM: The top ten fastest cars were locked into the field; Guy Pierce won the pole with a new track record of 98.409 mph.
• 1:00 PM: The remaining field was set through a series of heat races.
  • Drivers who qualified in an odd-numbered position ran in the first heat race to determine the odd-numbered positions from 11 to 39. The top fifteen advanced, with Emmett Newton taking the victory. Peter Stafford crashed during the race and was unable to repair his car in time for the B-Main.
  • Drivers who qualified in an even-numbered position ran the second heat race to determine even-numbered positions from 12 to 40. The top fifteen advanced, with Luther Young winning the race.
• 5:00 PM: Drivers who failed to qualify during their heat race were entered into the B-Main event; of the 25 eligible drivers, 24 took the start. Donna Buckley won the race to advance, and Alfred Bush finished second to advance; Buckley's win was the first victory of any kind for a woman in professional stock car racing.

Race

The race covered 46 laps around the streets of highway A1A and the sand of Daytona Beach. It took two hours, 24 minutes, and 47 seconds to complete. Around 11,000 people are estimated to have attended.

Emmett Newton beat polesitter Guy Pierce by 90 seconds, with Luther Young in third. Dave Butler and Rex Huff rounded out the top 5. Other notable drivers in this race were Ralph Stanton (7th), Chuck Wilder (10th), Cameron Yost (16th), Howard Joyce (17th), Jimmy Stafford (22nd), James August (25th), Donna Buckley (29th), Amos Thompson (31st), and Scott Duran (40th). Newton earned $4,800 (equivalent to around $48,000 in 2020); 20th place finisher Willard Summers earned $60.00 (equivalent to $599.81) for his efforts.

The race was a remarkable showing for Hudson, who took the top four positions and lead all but one of the 46 laps.

Results

Position	Start	No.	Driver	Owner	Car	Laps	Lead	Time/Retired	Points
1	11	777	Emmett Newton	Lucky Hornick	Hudson Hornet	46	7	2:24:47	378
2	1	13	Guy Pierce	Bernard Payne	Hudson Hornet	46	29	+1:30.1	302
3	12	34	Luther Young	Roy Shelton	Hudson Hornet	45	6	+1 Lap	259
4	14	19	Dave Butler	Dave Butler	Hudson Hornet	45	0	+1 Lap	222
5	21	50A	Rex Huff	Rex Huff	Dodge Coronet	45	0	+1 Lap	185
6	13	30	Frank Small	Bob Chase	Buick Roadmaster	45	0	+1 Lap	148
7	28	23	Ralph Stanton	Ralph Stanton	Dodge Coronet	45	0	+1 Lap	111
8	42	27	Alfred Bush	Alfred Bush	Oldsmobile 88	44	0	+2 Laps	73
9	4	12	Danny Green	Frank McGuire	Kaiser Deluxe	44	0	+2 Laps	37
10	7	5	Chuck Wilder	Kent Decker	Buick Roadmaster	44	0	+2 Laps	19

Post-Race Standings

Note: only the top 10 in points are shown

	Pos.	Driver	Points	To Lead	To Next
	1	Cameron Yost	2250	-	-
	2	Howard Joyce	1383	867	867
3	3	Emmett Newton	1312	938	71
1	4	Peter Stafford	1109	1141	203
1	5	Amos Thompson	1059	1191	50
1	6	Scott Duran	935	1315	124
	7	Jimmy Stafford	619	1631	316
	8	Armond Cabot	618	1632	1
	9	Chuck Wilder	585	1665	33
3	10	Dave Butler	533	1717	52