NASCAR legend Marshall Teague died at age 37 attempting to raise the closed-course speed record at the newly opened Daytona International Speedway


Wednesday 11th February 1959

NASCAR legend Marshall Teague died at age 37 attempting to raise the closed-course speed record at the newly opened Daytona International Speedway. The “King of the Beach” was conducting test sessions in preparation for the April debut of the United States Auto Club championship with Indy-style roadsters. He was piloting a “Sumar Special” streamliner, a Kurtis-Kraft chassis with a Meyer-Drake Offenhauser 270 engine, streamlined fenders, and a canopy enclosing the driver, thus being classified as Formula Libre. On February 9, 1959, Teague set an unofficial closed course speed record of 171.821 mph (276.5 km/h). Teague was attempting to go even faster on this day, eleven days before the first Daytona 500. “Teague pushed the speed envelope in the high-powered Sumar Special streamliner – to an estimated 140 mph (230 km/h). His car spun and flipped through the third turn and Teague was thrown, seat and all, from his car. He died nearly instantly.


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