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Volusia County leaders give a green light to parade that honors history of racing, beach driving

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After almost two hours of passionate discussion, Volusia County is moving forward with a parade on the beach honoring the history of racing and beach driving.

The North Turn Racing Legends parade has been going on for eight years, but county officials worried it could put the county's ability to have cars on the beach elsewhere in jeopardy.

They are going to reach out to the federal government to see if it will grant an amendment to a permit that allows cars on the beach so this parade can continue for years to come.

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The Volusia County Council gave the parade a green light to continue next year.

The council decided to move forward with the parade as is for next year, but it will also seek a special amendment to its beach-driving permit to prevent any mix-ups in the future.

That prospect of the parade jeopardizing the county's ability to keep beach driving had some on the council worried.

"Maybe before today, we could have pleaded ignorance. We didn't know," said Councilmen Fred Lowry. "But after the discussion today, we will be doing this intentionally wrong, which I think would be looked at in a different way."

The parade follows the old north turn route on the beach that drivers took in the 40s and 50s, which helped launch NASCAR.

Because this route took drivers on the nondriving part of the beach, it needed county approval.

The county attorney wrote a letter about his concerns that the parade could hurt the county's chances to renew that permit.

The county also spends about $9,000 each year to bus people for the parade that will continue through next year, but after that, the organizers may need to seek private sponsorships.

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