Auto Club Speedway - Auto Club Speedway

The nation was going through a tremendous period of change in 1947. Just a couple of years out of a war, everything was getting back to normal. In fact, things were going well. The economy was on the upswing. The country was in a positive mood and the heroes had shifted from the battlefield to the ball field and the movie screen. And, of course, to the race track.

Stock car racing was experiencing the greatest popularity it had ever witnessed. Tracks all over the country were drawing more drivers and racing in front of bigger crowds.

But cohesiveness was lacking. From track to track, rules varied. Some tracks were just makeshift facilities, built to produce one big show at a county fair or something similar to capitalize on the crowds flocking to the events. Other tracks were more suited to handle the cars, but not the crowds. Some could manage both, but did little to adhere to rules set by neighboring tracks.

In December of 1947, Bill France Sr., of Daytona Beach, Fla., organized a meeting at the Streamline Hotel in town to discuss the matters facing stock car racing.