The Streamline Hotel: Birthplace of NASCAR is heading to auction

Famed Daytona Beach, Florida hotel heading to the auction block

The Streamline Hotel sits in Daytona Beach, Florida. The hotel rests just a few miles from the Daytona International Speedway and NASCAR headquarters.

That’s no coincidence as a bar inside the Streamline Hotel was once the birthplace of American stock car racing.

On December 14, 1947, Ebony Club’s rooftop hotel bar formed the foundation for what became NASCAR. Bill France Sr, racing drivers, officials and race track promoters gathered to talk about the problems in the sport at the time.

Drivers wanted to be paid. In those days, it wasn’t uncommon for a track promoter to stiff the drivers after the conclusion of an event.

The drivers also wanted consistent rules. That would allow them to race at multiple tracks with the same race car. The new sanction would provide security in both of those departments.

On February 21, 1948, following the meeting at the hotel, NSCRA was formed and made official. The sport was later renamed NASCAR as NSCRA was a sanctioning body that already existed prior.

The first NASCAR office building was located three blocks from the Streamline Hotel. Those were housed in the Selden Bank Building.

The photo below is from the NASCAR media archive. It features a photo of the rooftop bar before the recent renovations.

The bar in the Streamline hotel where NASCAR was formed
The bar in the Streamline hotel where NASCAR was formed

Streamline Hotel heading to auction

The hotel is located at 140 S Atlantic AVE, Daytona Beach, FL 32118. $2.3 million is set to be the opening bid, according the Daytona News Journal.

Eddie Hennessy is the current owner of the Florida hotel building. He expects the closing price to be somewhere closer to $7 million.

Hennessy stated that he invested $6 million into the building. Recently, Travel Channel’s “Hotel Impossible” featured the Streamline Hotel makeover.

It was re-opened in 2017. The modern renovation has transformed the property and brought modern contemporary upgrades to the once outdated hotel.

The new logo for the hotel features a retro race car. The Sky Lounge Bar features the $250 France Package with 1 full-size bottle of liquor, 5 50mL bottles of Liquor, 4 juices, 2 sodas and 5 snacks.

Now, the current owner of the Streamline Hotel has decided that hotel operations aren’t his cup of tea.

“Honestly, in a nutshell, I’m a land developer, more of historical clean-up guy,” said Hennessy, stated to the Daytona News Journal.

“What I am concentrating on now is to move on to other properties and continue on working with other developments.”

The Streamline Hotel will be offered by Ten-X Commercial. It will be placed for an online bid between April 1-3.

The Streamline Hotel - NASCAR
The Streamline Hotel – NASCAR
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Streamline Hotel | NASCAR | Ten-X Commercial

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