Without Benny Corbin, dirt track racing in the South would not be the same.
When March 21 arrives, Volusia Speedway Park will honor the life of its founding father with the revitalization of the Benny Corbin Memorial in opening the 58th year of the track’s local championship racing.
Among the local attendees will be family, friends, and former racers who have known the Corbin family since they moved to the “Sunshine State” in 1964. While some recall stories of the man who led the track through its infantile years, others recognize his impact on and off the track and live by his example of supporting the local community and the drivers who compete weekly.
Born on Oct. 6, 1933, Corbin spent his early life in Kentucky before serving in the Korean War. After returning to the United States from his wartime service, Corbin spent time racing in Indiana aboard USAC Midgets and Sprint Cars until he traveled to Florida to find a new line of work.
“My dad was racing in USAC, my mom was a secretary at GE, and she was supporting the family at home,” Benny’s son, Kent Corbin, explained. “Dad was spending all his money racing, and she was about over it. He took a hiatus from racing in Indiana and came to Florida looking for a job. He got a mechanic job at Chevrolet in Daytona, came back, got us, and moved the family down.”
Corbin’s first project began shortly after he and the family moved to Ormond Beach. After connecting with leaders from NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway, Corbin and two investors leased 50 acres from Clyde Hart to design his first half-mile facility, New Smyrna Speedway, in 1966.
“He made a deal with Clyde Hart on 50 acres of land at New Smyrna and leased it for 50 years with two other partners, Dan Epps and Jim Sapp,” Kent said. “They cleared the land, and they built New Smyrna Speedway. It was a dirt track the first year, but there was so much dust because of the banking that they couldn’t keep enough water in it. So, they decided that they had to lay asphalt down. Then, the guys wanted my dad to buy them out since it was a big expense. I don’t know how he did it, but he did it.”
After New Smyrna was paved, Corbin worked with NASCAR founding member Ed Otto to create the World Series of Asphalt Auto Racing in 1968 before departing track management. Shortly after Corbin took up promoter duties at Ocala Speedway after leaving New Smyrna, he learned of a group of drivers who raced vintage cars in Barberville. After visiting the local club, Corbin knew where he was going to build another dirt track.
“(Ocala) was so far from our house in Ormond Beach,” Corbin said. “He met this old fellow named (Ralph) Pops Flippo, who owned B&B Fisheries in Daytona. He owned a piece of property on Highway 40, and there was a club that would bring jalopies and hot rods out there and race around this sandpit on Sundays. A guy named Pete Parrish managed the whole deal.
“Dad, Pops, and Pete became friends, and Dad thought that was a cool location and wanted to get involved in that. So, while he was operating Ocala, he made a deal with Pops to turn it into a real racetrack from that piece of land, which was about 37 acres. The height of the upper pits of Turns 1-2 was all one level at the time. The hole that the track sits in wasn’t there, so they were moving earth until there was no more room to move it. They just kept spreading it out, and spreading it out.”
Corbin opened the track as Barberville Speedway in 1968 for weekly racers. Gaining early headwind through the end of the decade, he created the Winter Nationals of Stock Car Racing in 1970 – now known as Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.
He expanded the roster of cars that visited the track by introducing the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman (now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), Super DIRTcar Series, UMP Modifieds, and Non-Wing Sprint Cars from the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the All Star Circuit of Champions.
“Once Dad built Volusia, he got rid of Ocala and owned Volusia for 13 years,” Kent said. “Speedweeks grew from a three-day show to a five-day event by the time he sold the track to Dickie Murphy. Dickie really turned Speedweeks into the deal that it is now as a two-week event.
“My dad brought the Modifieds from the northeast down here. He brought Midgets down here, and AMA bikes from the NASCAR folks. Bob (Memmer), the original old man from UMP, brought those Modifieds down here. Dad really brought every type of race car that there was to Volusia.”
Volusia and New Smyrna were not the only tracks Corbin built; he was also asked to help construct other southern speedways, including Golden Isles Speedway and All-Tech Raceway.
“My dad did the legwork on every bit of Speedweeks,” Kent remarked. “He built Columbia County, which is now All-Tech. He built Brunswick, which is now Golden Isles. People called him and asked him to come to Tennessee to build these dirt tracks for them.
“I can’t build him up enough on the knowledge he had as far as grader work, the way he could lay a racetrack out, and how to work the dirt. Boy only had a fourth-grade education; he was a sharecropper’s son from Kentucky, but he was a hard-working dude.”
When Dick Murphy purchased the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” in 1982, Corbin wanted to stay involved throughout its races, and Murphy concurred. In return, Corbin was allowed to build a shop in the infield to serve as the track’s exclusive parts supplier, and Murphy kept DIRTcar Nationals as an annual Speedweeks tradition. Overall, this agreement marked the creation of Benny’s Racing Equipment.
“He told Dickie that he still wanted to be part of the track,” Kent said. “He was gonna stay there and maintain the track and the surface for Dickie. Dickie had no idea what to do with grading a racetrack, how to take care of it, or anything, and he wanted Dad to do that part of it.
“So, Dad said, ‘Well, I’ll stay and take care of the track for you if I can have a place down here to sell parts, tires, and fuel. But, I have to know that I have the spot, nobody else can come in and sell but me, and I want a building in the center of the infield to do it.’ Dickie said, ‘Well, if that’s what it’s going to take to keep you here, that’s what we’ll do.’ That was part of their agreement when selling the track.”
After the sale, Corbin remained active in the community through Benny’s Racing Equipment and fielding cars for local drivers until his passing in 2011. Two years later, the first Benny Corbin Memorial was held at North Florida Speedway before moving to Volusia for the 2014 season.
“Right after Dad passed away, Jason Brown (of North Florida) called me out of the blue and asked me if I cared if he tried to put a race together for my dad,” Corbin said. “I said, ‘Well, Jason, if you want to do it, go ahead, see what you can do.’
“He kept bugging me with things I gotta do, and it helped me out a lot because I was really down in the dumps about losing Dad. It helped to have my friend pestering me about getting involved, so I helped get sponsorship and make quite a big race out of it.”
Benny’s Racing Equipment continued to operate after Corbin’s passing, with Kent managing the parts business until medical issues in 2023 forced him to hand the keys over to local car owner Todd Morgan.
Morgan, a third-generation driver who has called Volusia his home track since 1982, owns Morgan Speed Solutions, which specializes in fabrication, parts supply, maintenance, and local driver development.
“About (2018), when I was able to start Morgan Speed Solutions, I built some cars while doing repairs and a lot of the setup work,” Morgan said. “That was about four or five years of meeting people and selling parts here and there.
“A little over two years ago, I had mentioned to Kent that if he ever wanted to sell out, I would be interested, and we could figure something out. Around that time, he was going to have surgery, and Speedweeks was in question. We got with him and put a deal together, and now I’m about 26 months into Benny’s.”
After the purchase, Morgan merged the two businesses to become Benny’s Racing Equipment powered by Morgan Speed Solutions, with the parts trailer being towed across the “Sunshine State” throughout the year. While the Deland, FL resident had few interactions with Benny Corbin, his impressions taught Morgan how to treat competitors properly at the track.
“Our relationship wasn’t strong, but I’ve known all about their family,” Morgan said. “When it was time to buy the business, there was a decision to be made whether to transition it to Morgan Speed Solutions or keep it as Benny’s. It wasn’t even a question; we wanted to honor the Corbin family and keep that name alive. Plus, Kent wanted me to keep it as Benny’s, so we’re going to keep that name forever.
“I remember a time when my dad had to buy a tire and a wheel from Benny, it got cut, and my dad was frustrated. But, Benny took really good care of him and fixed the problem. It taught me that you got to take care of the racers first, which I believe has been Benny and Kent’s philosophy their whole time. Get them fixed, back on the track, take care of them, and they’ll always keep coming back to the track and trailer.”
As the tribute event opens the points chase for the “Fab 5” divisions of Volusia Speedway Park, the broader racing community will get a chance to learn about the man who developed the “Sunshine State” short track scene in its formative years.
“Without Daytona, racing probably wouldn’t have worked,” Corbin said. “But, without my dad, there would be no short track racing in the state of Florida. That’s just plain and simple. The pride that I have inside of me is all I need, knowing what my dad did. I don’t need stories, I don’t need a memorial race, I don’t need anything else. I know what happened, and that’s good enough for me.”
The 58th season of championship racing at Volusia Speedway Park will commence with the Benny Corbin Memorial on Saturday, March 21. On Friday, teams will get a chance to test and tune their machines from 6-9 p.m. before the season opener.
How can you watch every lap of racing at Volusia Speedway Park? Live on DIRTVision.