The 1959 USAC/FIA Championship Car race at Daytona International Speedway was held on February 22, 1959, over 100 miles (40 laps) on the new 2.5-mile, high-banked tri-oval. Sanctioned jointly by USAC and the FIA, the race was not part of the USAC National Championship and was intended as an experimental event to showcase Indianapolis-style cars on a true superspeedway. Jim Rathmann won the race in a Watson-Offenhauser, followed by Rodger Ward and Jimmy Bryan, with lap speeds approaching levels never before sustained by championship cars outside Indianapolis.
The event was marred by two fatal accidents, which ultimately ended USAC’s involvement at Daytona. On February 11, 1959, Marshall Teague was killed during tire testing when his championship car lost control at extremely high speed and crashed violently. Tragedy struck again during the race itself when George Amick suffered a fatal crash after losing control of his car on the banking; his machine overturned and he sustained fatal injuries. Amick’s death occurred in front of the race field and underscored the extreme danger posed by the combination of steep banking, sustained wide-open throttle, tire limitations, and minimal driver protection typical of the era’s cars.
In the aftermath, USAC officials concluded that contemporary championship cars were not suitable for Daytona-style superspeedway racing, and the sanctioning body never returned to the track with Indy-type machinery. The deaths of Teague and Amick, combined with other severe accidents and alarming mechanical failures during the event, made Daytona a clear safety boundary for USAC. As a result, the 1959 Daytona championship car race remains a one-time experiment, remembered as a sobering lesson that directly influenced USAC’s cautious approach to superspeedways beyond Indianapolis.
