Sunday 5th February 1950
Harold Kite drove a 1949 Lincoln to victory in the 200-mile NASCAR Grand National race on the Daytona beach and road course. Kite, a former tank driver in the Army, took the lead when defending GN champ “Red” Byron pitted on lap 25 to repair gear shift problems. Kite was unchallenged for the remaining 23 laps, taking the checkered flag 53 seconds ahead of Byron’s Olds 88. Byron had fallen to 7th after the pit stop and charged back to take 2nd from Lloyd Moore on the final lap. East Point, Georgia’s Kite averaged 89.894 mph on the 4.1 mile beach & road course. Joe Littlejohn’s Olds 88 won the pole at a speed of 98.84 mph.