On July 27, 1941, promoters Bill France Sr. and Charles Reese staged one of the most exciting early stock car races on the famed Daytona Beach-Road Course, a roughly 3.2-mile layout combining a section of A1A highway with the hard-packed sands of the Atlantic beach. This 160-mile National Championship Beach Road event drew a strong field of moonshine runners, dirt-track aces, and colorful competitors from Georgia and beyond, including future NASCAR legends like the Flock brothers, Lloyd Seay, Smokey Purser, Joe Littlejohn, Roy Hall, and even Bill France himself.
The race carried a charitable angle, with proceeds supporting “Bundles for Britain” amid World War II tensions in Europe. Qualifying was competitive, and the green flag saw aggressive action right away. Fonty Flock took an early lead but suffered a spectacular flip after contact with Roy Hall, ending his day with serious injuries. Smokey Purser, starting near the back via a promoter’s option, charged dramatically to third place in just a few laps before a broken piston sidelined him.
Lloyd Seay thrilled the crowd by flipping twice yet continuing, while others battled crashes and mechanical woes on the challenging sand turns. In the end, Georgia’s Bernard Long drove his 1940 Mercury to victory, finishing ahead of Bill Snowden (Ford) in second and Joe Littlejohn (Ford) in third. Lloyd Seay recovered to finish fourth despite his flips. The top 13 finishers also included Lloyd Moody, Hugh Lanford, Jimmy Poppell, Roy Hall, Bob Flock, and others, showcasing the raw, high-risk style of pre-NASCAR beach racing that helped lay the groundwork for the sport’s future. This event was part of a busy 1941 season on the beach, highlighting the daring pioneers who raced before formal NASCAR organization.
