Daytona-Ormond Plans - 1909

These articles summarize the planning efforts for the 1909 Daytona-Ormond speed tournatment - all were published in the Indianapolis Star.
 
A  brief article (attachment Daytona121308) published in the December 13, 1908 Indianapolis Star concerned 1909 plans for the Daytona-Ormond speed tournament that had been held during winter months in the Florida community since 1904. The two communities, Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach had been rivals for the focus of the event. Ormond had actually been the epicenter in the beginning but as this article attests Daytona was gaining influence.
 
Attachment Daytona021408 provides more detail to the events planned and the drivers and other people involved. The event dates were announced as March 23rd through 26th. Among the events planned was a 200-mile Florida stock car race involving five classes with many of the same kinds of cars that competed in the previous autumn's Long Island Motor Parkway Sweepstakes. The cars were classified by list price in the same manner as those from the Glidden Tour. A second 200-mile race for the same type of cars was planned as well, but this time the classifications were determined by engine displacement. Cash prizes of $250 were announced for both the overall and class winners. The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers (ALAM) prepared a table to illustrate the engine displacement classifications.
 
Additional events included an "international free-for-all" contest involving heat races of one, five and ten miles. Another race for any car that had ever competed in the Vanderbilt Cup was announced. This race distance was set at 50 miles. Handicap races and one mile best of three heat races for stock cars gave local drivers a chance to be a part of the competition. The Sir Thomas Dewar $2,000 Trophy was the big award for what was essentially a good, old-fashioned one mile beach drag race. That and setting land speed records were really the core symbols of the Daytona-Ormond beach races. Another feature event was the $2,000 Minneapolis Trophy - a much longer contest at 100 miles. A gold speed crown was up for grabs if the winner of a 2-miles a minute race provided the winner actually topped the 120 MPH barrier. The organizers were trying to arrange a special match race for $1,000 in gold. The drivers they were recruiting were true stars of the day: George Robertson, Ralph DePalma, Lewis Strang and Herb Lytle. Other events the organizers were trying to develop involved motorcycles, airplanes and dirigibles.
 
The article in attachment Daytona022109, published February 21, also discusses planning for the Daytona races and asserts that the Sir Thoma Dewar contest was to be the highlight of the week. Details are provided for an announced 14 planned races. This article is a good reference in that it lists the events mentioned above with the associated trophies, awards and cash prizes. In attachment Daytona02209i a small article reports that Herb Lytle had reached an agreement with New York-based Daytona promoter M.J. "Senator" Morgan to compete in a match race with DePalma and Strang. Lytle was reportedly recovering from a bout of Typhoid Fever but feeling better.
 
With the Daytona-Ormond speed tournament just around the corner the Indianapolis Star reported on March 14, 1909 (attachment OrmondDaytona031409) that the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Automobile Club of America (ACA) had seemingly renewed their rivalry as the two organizations debated under whose jurisdiction the big, famous beach contests should fall. The home club was the Florida East Coast Automobile Association (FECAA). There was no resolution by the time of publication of this article.