06/02/2026
🏁 In February 1960, our very own Flagler-Bunnell Airport (today’s Flagler Executive Airport) hosted one of Florida’s earliest NHRA national-level drag racing events, known as the “Winter Nationals.”
The event was a rare collaboration between NHRA founder Wally Parks and NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. during a period when organized drag racing was still developing on a national scale. Held during Speed Weeks in Daytona, the event brought racers from multiple states to a temporary drag strip constructed directly on the airport runway.
The setup included early timing equipment and lighting systems supported in part by surplus World War II searchlights, reflecting the resourceful nature of early drag racing events before permanent facilities were common.
Drivers such as Don Garlits competed during this early era, when drag racing was rapidly evolving from informal competition into a sanctioned national sport.
While later events like the Gatornationals in Gainesville and the NHRA Winternationals in California would become more widely known, the 1960 Flagler-Bunnell “Winter Nationals” remains an important early example of national-level drag racing activity in Florida.
A unique piece of motorsports history, right here in Flagler County.
-SS
