Information & history on rear of plaque:
Built in 1950, Darlington Raceway was the first superspeedway, and is one of the oldest tracks used by NASCAR. The track "Too Tough to Tame" has changed little since it opened; the 1998 move of the startline into the original backstretch to accomodate grandstand renovations was the first change made to track design. Darlington Raceway is widely recognized to be one of the biggest challenges that a NASCAR Winston cup hopeful will face. The unusual egg shape of the track, which is caused by turns 2 and 4 having decreasing radiuses and compounded by their 23+ degree banking, causes a large number of cars to scrape the walls protecting those turns. This is so common an occurance that the strip of metal that's been ground bare of paint on such cars has been dubbed the "Darlington Stripe" - just a little love-mark left to remind the drivers of their race on the "Lady in Black". Despite the tough curves, drivers regularly reach speeds over 170 mph on the 1.36 mile track.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
By 1957, the fabled end of "beach racing" was in clear sight as the cars were getting faster and the natural beach track more unpredictable.   Charles Moneypenny,  a former City of Daytona Beach engineer,  was selected to build a modern enclosed speedway which sponsors hoped would become the world's fastest.   During the summer of 1958,  after literally thousands of hours of technical research,  construction of the Daytona International Speedway® was begun on a tract of land five miles west of town.   The massive track complex was completed in just 10 months at an approximate cost of $3 million.   There was space to park 35,000 cars,  and there were five grandstands nested behind 3,000 feet of heavy,  3-1/2 foot concrete walls for spectator protection.   The track was configured in a "trioval" shape so that every spectator in a grandstand seat would be able to view a straightaway as well as a turn.   The speedway is best known for the Daytona 500 which is comprised of 200 laps around the 2.5 mile track.   This race is limited to American-made cars,  and is believed by many to be auto racing's best test of man and machine.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
The heritage of Daytona racing began on the beach at Ormond in 1902 when Ransom E.  Olds ran at 50 MPH in his "Pirate."   Daytona Beach is in fact a geographic region that extends from Ormond 23 miles to Ponce de Leon Inlet.   At low tide the beach was approximately 500 feet wide and was a naturally hard packed driveable roadway,  ideal for racing.
From 1904 to 1935 there were 19 yearly speed tournaments along the shores of Daytona Beach.   This was the beginning of the closed course racing circuits which ushered in American stock car racing.   It was here that the terms "Flying" and Measured" mile were coined.   By 1957 the end of Beach racing was in sight as the cars were getting faster and the beach more unpredictable.