Let’s Go Racing

FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2021-34 DAILY FEATURE

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (February 22, 2021) – In Issue 2021-334 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps, we celebrate stock car racing.

NASCAR

NASCAR’s most prestigious race arguably is the Daytona 500. 

The first Daytona 500 stock car race was won by Lee Petty in 1959 on this day.

Now, it is time for a “All in the Family” moment.  No, not the CBS sitcom TV show that aired from 1971 to 1979.  We are talking about the Petty family – father and son.  While Lee won only once, his son, Richard, has won this race more times than anyone else.  Seven times between 1964 and 1981.

NASCAR traces its founding to 1936 when drivers met at Daytona, Florida to race on the sandy beach.   Car racing is of course older; however, racing “regular” cars in America is said to have its roots in Prohibition era when moonshiners were aiming to outrun the Revenuers.   

Here is a pre-automobile era map of showing the area from the Mississippi delta to the Bahamas, including Florida, by Jefferys from 1775.  This map is part of a series of a monumental sixteen section map set.  Florida’s interior wasn’t yet fully explored by Europeans, as evidenced by the mountain running down the spine of the future state in this map.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.