A close look at The 1948 Cup

To begin NASCAR's 75th anniversary season, the driver who wins the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 at Florida's New Smyrna Speedway, the 2023 season-opener for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, will be awarded a special trophy.

Appropriately named, "The 1948 Cup" was inspired by the trophy Red Byron received when he won NASCAR's first points-paying race, a Modified division event held on the beach course in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Feb. 15, 1948.

That day in Daytona Beach, Byron defeated Marshall Teague and his car owner Raymond Parks, who finished third with relief from Bob Flock. The trophy Byron received was known as "Bundles for Britain." Driving a 1939 Ford Coupe owned by Parks and prepared by legendary mechanic Red Vogt, Byron went on to win the NASCAR Modified Division championship in 1948, becoming NASCAR's first champion. Byron also won the first Strictly Stock Division (now premier series) title a year later.

"The 1948 Cup" resembles "Bundles for Britain" in many ways, including the general shape, the trim design, the base and the text inscribed on the hardware.

The New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 at Florida's New Smyrna Speedway marks the 2023 season-opener for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, which began in 1985 as an extension of NASCAR's oldest division.

Inscribed on the back of "The 1948 Cup" is the following text: On February 15th, 1948, Red Byron won NASCAR's first points-paying race, a Modified Division event held on the beach course in Daytona Beach, Florida. This trophy, inspired by the award Byron earned that day, was made to commemorate the rich history of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, tracing its roots back to the sanctioning body's first race.

Below are more images of "The 1948 Cup."