The Daytona Beach 1957 video -
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...27286635576028 is a tribute to John Zink’s Daytona record holder.
Here is a picture of the actual car that set a new speed record in January 1957 at the Daytona Beach Speedway in Florida. It ran the flying mile one way at 141.2 MPH, the fastest speed ever recorded to that date in its class. The White-and-Red finish, complete with correct graphics, was reapplied during a complete frame-off restoration. A piece of Daytona’s rich history, this car is also a genuine tribute to the craftsmen of '57 Heaven.
On the day of the record setting run, it was driven by 28 year old owner John Zink, from Tulsa Okla, who also owned the cars that won the Indy 500 in 1955 (driver Bob Sweikert) and 1956 (driver Pat Flaherty). John Zink had been bring cars to Indy since 1950 when he was 21 years old. For the 1957 Daytona Speed Weeks, John Zink brought 2 Pontiacs – one a production legal chassis for the beach speed trials and the other a stock car for the Grand National 160 mile road (and beach) course. There were 2 different engines for the speed trials car, one was 400-hp fuel-injected intended to run on alcohol in the experimental class, but when John arrived at Daytona he was surprised to discover alcohol was not permitted, so they attempted a practice run on gasoline and managed 160 mph but burned a piston, so they switched to the stock engine for the record setting run.
On February 27, 1957, the #85 stock car owned by John Zink and driven by Darel Dieringer had qualified to start in 6th position for the 39 lap race, but at the end of the beach section Darel hit a car that spun in front of him and his race was over.
Highlights:
- John Zink’s Daytona record holder, 141.2 MPH flying mile
- White and Red with Black interior
- Frame-off restoration
- 347/317 HP NASCAR engine
- 3x2 carburetion
- 3-speed transmission
When the assets of the ’57 Heaven Museum in Branson Mo were auctioned off in October 2009, this car was the 8th most expensive sale at $192,500
