Click Below For Each Period

NEW! INCREDIBLE PHOTO GALLERY

The Early Years 1948  - 1955

12/26/05: New Page: Daytona 1955 - Check it Out!

The Middle Years  1955 -1959

The Superspeedway Later Years 1960 - 1964

NEW! Rare Photos

From 1952 Darlington Program

Fireball walked away after demolishing a wood fence during the early
50's in a modified race at Seminole Speedway near Orlando, Florida

Another wreck -- another picture. Close-up of car above.

Same picture - but autographed!

The famous Fish Carb M-1 Ford coupe;
Always willing to pose for pictures, especially for kids

Daytona garage picture, early 60's and a very lucky young man.
This is how this website author met Fireball

The #11 coupe flying thru the dirt corners with
Fireball's sideways style. Notice the fence line -- trees!

 Glenn & Friend - The early dirt days. Can anyone identify the man to the right?
And the answer is . . . (by many emails, including Marty Little) . . .
Buddy Shuman - Behind Buddy's arm is Shuman & Thompson on car

Record setting Fish Carb M-3 modified
Early days of racing on Daytona Beach. Modified class staging.

Fireball Roberts #M-3 and Banjo Matthews #49jr. pair up in the North Turn in the 1955 Modified-Sportsman race. Roberts was driving a '37 Chevrolet packed with a souped up 1954 Cadillac engine. Team owner Bob Fish affectionately called it a "Chevrolac". Matthews was in a '40 Ford owned by Melvin Joseph and wrenched by Joe Wolfe. Roberts led from the outset until his engine blew. Matthews picked up the pace and drove to victory.
Thanks to Greg Fielden

The famed Fish Carburetor #M-1driven by Fireball Roberts.  The Fish Carburetor cars were always among the ones to beat in any Daytona Mod-Spts race back then and they had a five car team in 1955. Actually this # M-1 car, a 1940 Ford, ran both races in 1955, with Roberts driving it to 3rd in the Sportsman race and Speedy Thompson finishing 6th in the Mod-Spts go on Saturday. In that race Roberts drove the #M-3 car, a 37 Chevy but dropped out for 44th place. Thompson won the Friday race with the M-5 car and Milt Hartlauf (M-2) and Herb Thomas (M-4) recorded top five finishes on Saturday, the M-3 car the only one not to make a top five finish in one of the two races.    (The photo of the M-1 was taken at the Fish Carburetor plant parking lot. The plant was on the west side of the Halifax River just off one of the main bridges between the beach and mainland. Smokey Yunick's "Best Damn Garage in Town" was just up the road)  Courtesy RacewayMagazine.com

Picture Courtesy of Orlando Boni www.Boni.com/fish
Gonna sneak into the Beach Races? Hmmm, watch
out for Big Bill's "Beware of Rattlesnakes!" signs
(there are no rattlesnakes on the beach!). Cars are
about 5 wide driving on the beach to the race.

Picture Courtesy of Orlando Boni www.Boni.com/fish
Staging on the Beach