--- title: Daytona 200: Rare Photos From a Classic American Motorcycle Race, 1948 description: LIFE.com remembers a long, loud weekend in 1948 that thrilled motorcycle racing fans and slightly scandalized LIFE magazine's editors. canonical: https://time.com/3878717/daytona-200-rare-photos-classic-american-motorcycle-race/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-01-21T17:46:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:47.529Z og:title: Daytona 200: Rare Photos From a Classic American Motorcycle Race, 1948 og:description: LIFE.com remembers a long, loud weekend in 1948 that thrilled motorcycle racing fans and slightly scandalized LIFE magazine's editors. og:url: https://time.com/3878717/daytona-200-rare-photos-classic-american-motorcycle-race/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82c0070a36f9c910/6988465c3c16390240456d14/0005281931.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Daytona 200 1948 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Daytona 200: Rare Photos From a Classic American Motorcycle Race, 1948 twitter:description: LIFE.com remembers a long, loud weekend in 1948 that thrilled motorcycle racing fans and slightly scandalized LIFE magazine's editors. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82c0070a36f9c910/6988465c3c16390240456d14/0005281931.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LIFE at Daytona: Motorcycle Madness on the Florida Sands > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=593c59c3-d1b9-4c84-b7aa-90eb8e5b37b0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jan 21, 2014 5:46 PM UTC  Norman Teleford (No. 161) streamlines himself during a motorcycle race at Daytona Beach, March 1948. Norman Teleford (No. 161) streamlines himself during a motorcycle race at Daytona Beach, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jan 21, 2014 5:46 PM UTC For years, from its inception in 1937 until the early ’60s, the prestigious Daytona 200 motorcycle race wasn’t merely run at Daytona Beach. Along with other high-speed, high-risk clashes, the 200 was run _on_ Daytona Beach. In 1948, LIFE magazine covered the races, both amateur and pro, at Daytona (the Road Course opened in 1936) and reported, in its April 19 issue, that “for four days last month the resort city of Daytona Beach could hardly have been noisier—or in more danger—if it had been under bombardment.” Here, seven decades later, LIFE.com opens a window on that long, loud weekend—a weekend that thrilled racing fans; slightly scandalized one very popular weekly magazine’s editors; and, as if proof was needed that the young sport was still in the hands of rebels and scofflaws, saw two people killed and 30 more injured in the midst of all the high-octane fun. The 1948 event, which attracted “375 helmeted daredevils and plenty of non-racing hell-raisers,” was marred not only by deaths and injuries but, as LIFE duly noted, by classic knuckleheadism. “Because the antics of an unruly minority reflect on the dignity of motorcycling,” the magazine observed, “the American Motorcycle Association may hire special police at future races. One duty will be to restrain sophomoric cyclists who amused themselves this year by tossing firecrackers into the crowd.” Ultimately, as LIFE tersely reported, “155 motorcycles started, only 45 finished. Winning rider, Floyd Emde, averaged 84 mph, got $2,000.” What LIFE failed to mention is that Emde (who was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998) won by the sliver-thin margin of 12 seconds; 1948 was the first time a rider led the race from flag to flag; and it was the _last_ time an Indian Motorcycle won the 200.  Not published in LIFE. Riders ready to race, Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Norman Teleford (No. 161) streamlines himself during a motorcycle race at Daytona Beach, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Spectators line the beach during the 1948 Daytona races. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Two members of the South Florida Vagabonds motorcycle club drive on the beach during Daytona 200 weekend, Florida, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Daytona Beach, 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Low on their bikes, two racers speed neck and neck across the sand during the Daytona 200, Daytona Beach, Florida, in March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. A racer and his bike violently part company in March 1948\. Quite often nothing but a narrow strip of sand separated riders from spectators when the Daytona races were in full swing. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. A woman helps adjust a neckerchief over the mouth and nose of a participant in the Daytona 200, Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. A young boy adjusts his helmet while seated astride a miniature Indian motorbike, Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Racers line up prior to the 1948 Daytona 200\. Until 1961 the race was run on a 4.1-mile track on both pavement and beach; it's still considered one of the world's toughest and most prestigious bike races. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Fans watch the races at Daytona in 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Daytona Beach, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Leg outstretched for balance, a rider steers his motorcycle across the sand during the Daytona 200, Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images ![Caption from LIFE. "A rider does unrehearsed acrobatics when his motorcycle upsets during the \[weekend's\] 100-mile race for amateurs. He recovered his equilibrium and his motorcycle to ride again." ](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d03d05e14af007e/69884659cd1bba26886fa4a0/00528191.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp) Caption from LIFE. "A rider does unrehearsed acrobatics when his motorcycle upsets during the \[weekend's\] 100-mile race for amateurs. He recovered his equilibrium and his motorcycle to ride again." Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. The checkered flag waves as Floyd Emde wins the 1948 Daytona 200. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Floyd Emde rests on his Indian motorcycle after winning the 1948 running of the Daytona 200. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. On matching full-size and miniature Indian motorcycles, a man and a boy ride along the beach, Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. 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