Daytona 500 'trophy car' in town for race week; Harley Earl's GM Firebird 1 on display
We’ve all become familiar with the most famous hardware in stock-car racing: The Harley J. Earl Trophy, which goes to the winner of the Daytona 500.
Strangely, perhaps, the car atop the trophy isn’t “stock” in any way, but a futuristic vehicle known as the GM Firebird 1. It was one of many works (including the Corvette) produced by trophy namesake Harley Earl, the long-ago General Motors designer and close associate of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.
Well, it’s not just the trophy in town this week ahead of the Daytona 500, but the actual Firebird 1, one of several prototypes designed by Earl's GM team in the early 1950s.
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Through Thursday, the car will be on display in the museum that houses the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, inside the Speedway’s Ticket & Tours building, just outside Turn 4 of the track.
Visitors who take daily Speedway tours can visit the museum as part of the tour. You can also visit the museum without taking the tour. Admission in $13, but discounted to $8 for Daytona 500 ticket holders. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., every day.
Friday, the car will be moved to the Chevrolet display building, alongside Victory Lane inside the Speedway.
GM and Earl designed a series of Firebird prototypes in the 1950s, not as potential passenger cars, but basically to show off their engineering know-how and usher in a new era of vehicle technology. The first, the Firebird 1, for all intents and purposes was a fighter jet on wheels.
The fiberglass body was powered by a 370 horsepower gas turbine engine.
According to Speedway lore, Earl presented France a small replica of the Firebird 1 in the mid-1950s, and by decade’s end, Big Bill had it copied and mounted atop the perpetual Daytona 500 trophy. Smaller, replica trophies became standard issue to Daytona 500 winners beginning in 1998.
Though just a replica, the trophy still weighs 54 pounds.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500 trophy car in town; Harley Earl's creation has a history
