The 1936 Daytona Beach stock car race was held on March 8, 1936, on the Daytona Beach–Road Course in Florida. The race was scheduled for 78 laps (250 miles) on a 3.2‑mile layout that used both hard‑packed sand and paved public roads. About 27 cars started, but the sandy turns became nearly impassable as the race wore on, and only about ten cars finished. The event was called after 75 laps when the incoming tide washed onto the beach, making parts of the course unsafe to race.
Milt Marion won the race in a Ford V‑8 and earned $1,700, the top prize from a $5,000 purse posted by Daytona Beach officials. Ben Shaw finished second, Tommy Elmore third, and Sam Purvis fourth. Bill France Sr. finished fifth, an important early result in the career of the man who would later found NASCAR. Shaw and Elmore both protested the official results, but their appeals were rejected.
The race drew an estimated 5,200 spectators, but it was not profitable for Daytona Beach. Many fans were already along the course before admission gates opened, so ticket revenue fell short. Sand ruts and stalled cars created scoring confusion, and the city lost about $22,000 on the event, discouraging further promotion that year.
Despite the financial loss and difficult conditions, the 1936 Daytona Beach race is historically significant. It marked one of the first organized stock car events on the famous beach course and highlighted the potential for stock car racing in Florida. The experience helped spark continued interest in beach racing and planted seeds for the future formation of NASCAR in 1947.
