The Daytona 500

In 1959, the first Daytona 500 was started. The race is 500 miles (804.7 km), which is 200 laps. The Daytona 500 is considered by many as the most prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar. Daytona 500 is the Super bowl of race car driving. The race, which is named after the Daytona International Speedway, has been going strong and growing in numbers. In 2006, the Daytona 500 was the most highly watched televised sport with over 20 million viewers.

In 1965, the first rain-shortened event occurred when the race was stopped at lap 133. In 1966, the race was shortened due to rain in lap 198. In the 1970s, the Daytona 500 not only had the largest crowd of 103,800 people in attendance, it was also the decade that A.J Foyt averaged 161.550 miles per hour, which was the fastest speed on record for many years. In 1974, due to the energy crisis, The Daytona 500 was decreased to 450 laps along with all the other races. That same year, Richard Petty won the Daytona in consecutive years, thus making him the first to do so. In 1979, the Daytona was the first 500 mile race to be aired on television. Starting the ‘80s out with style, Buddy Baker won the Daytona, making history by winning with an average speed of 177.602 mph.

In the ‘90s, Jeff Gordon became the youngest driver to win the Daytona 500, and in 1998, Dale Earnhardt finally won his first Daytona after 20 years of trying. In 2001, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt died in the final lap of the Daytona 500 during a crash at the final turn.