DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Daytona Beach became the unofficial "birthplace of speed” in 1903 when two men argued over who had the fastest horseless carriage and decided things in a race on the white, hardpacked sand along the Atlantic Ocean. Since then, the community of 72,000-plus in the heart of Florida's Fun Coast region has become a motorsports mecca, with a long, storied history it shares with nearby Ormond Beach that is filled with thrills, glory and tragedy. STOCK CARS ARRIVE The speed competitions along the beach by 1958 had graduated to stock cars, which used a 3.2-mile course that combined both the beach and the city of Daytona.