First Daytona 500 Still Among Greatest

The 50th annual Daytona 500 will take the green flag Sunday afternoon at Daytona Int’l Speedway, which opened with the Feb. 22, 1959 running of the inaugural Daytona 500.
Promoted as the “Most Anticipated Race in History,” the 50th annual 500-mile test will draw close to 200,000 to the 2.5-mile superspeedway built by Bill France, Sr. at a cost of more than $2 million.
There have been so many historic happenings during the Daytona 500 it has become known as The Great American Race. It all started with the 1959 race, which many would argue remains the greatest of all Daytona 500s.

Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp were the only contenders for the victory as the 1959 race neared its conclusion.
As Petty and Beauchamp exchanged the lead in the final laps of the race, Joe Weatherly, whose car was two laps down, caught the leaders’ draft.
On the final lap, when the leaders and Weatherly exited turn four to take the checkered flag, they were three wide with Weatherly on the high side, Petty in the middle and Beauchamp at the bottom.
Both Petty and Beauchamp drove to victory lane and Beauchamp was declared the unofficial winner.
The headline in the Feb. 25, 1959 issue of National Speed Sport News declared: “Beauchamp Announced Victor, But Petty Still Has A Chance.”
While Beauchamp celebrated after the race, Petty was declared the winner 61 hours later after officials reviewed the still photos and newsreel footage.
“That was the greatest thing that happened to the race track because if Lee Petty had won the race, it would’ve been reported on Monday. Tuesday, you would’ve not heard nothing about it,” said Petty’s son Richard, who went on to win the Daytona 500 seven times. “The way it was, it was in the news Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It put Daytona on the map.”
Petty earned $18,600 from a $70,000 purse for that first Daytona race.
All of the 6,000 hotel rooms in the Daytona Beach area were filled and a crowd of 41,921 paid their way in. An infield ticket was priced at $4.
There were no yellow flags in the event and Bill France, Sr. was said to have grossed $500,000 on the event with the money promptly paid to creditors he built up during the construction of the facility.
The 50th Daytona 500 will carry a purse of more than $18.6 million, with the winning driver and team expected to pick up at least $1,445,250. Kevin Harvick earned $1,510,469 million for Richard Childress Racing when he won the 49th Daytona 500 last year.

FIVE TO REMEMBER

1969

Lee Roy Yarbrough’s name is one often forgotten among Daytona 500 winners, but his victory in the 1969 Great American Race is certainly one of the most memorable for those who were there to see it.
Driving a Ford, Yarbrough took the lead from Donnie Allison on lap 161. Charlie Glotzbach was close behind and took the lead from Yarbrough on lap 178, with only that pair on the lead lap.
When Yarbrough pitted on lap 181, his team opted for a softer tire and he quickly began to catch Glotzbach, who had led by more than six seconds after pitting on lap 186.
Yarbrough closed by more than a half second per lap. With the white flag in the air, Yarbrough had reached Glotzbach’s bumper and the pair raced side by side into the third turn.
Winning the drag race to the checkered flag, Yarbrough claimed the biggest victory of his career.

WRECKFEST: Richard Petty (43) and David Pearson touched and crashed on the final lap of the 1976 Daytona 500. (RacingOne Multimedia Photo)

1976

In a classic David Pearson (21) versus Richard Petty (43) duel, the 1976 Daytona 500 produced one of the most incredible finishes in NASCAR history.
Exiting turn four on the final lap, Petty ducked low and passed Pearson but his car drifted up the track and the two cars touched and crashed. When both cars came to rest in the tri-oval grass, they still had not crossed the finish line.
Petty’s radiator was pushed back into the fan on the front of the engine and the car wouldn’t restart. But Pearson dumped the clutch and kept the car in neutral, keeping it from stalling.
Pearson straightened out his damaged machine and slowly crossed the start/finish line to capture the only Daytona 500 victory of his career. The finish was the slowest under green flag conditions in Daytona 500 history.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Davey Allison (left) congratulates his father, Bobby, on winning the 1988 Daytona 500 and gets doused with beer in the process. (RacingOne MultiMedia Photo)

1988

Fifty-year-old Bobby Allison received the thrill of a lifetime in winning his third Daytona 500.
Driving a Buick entered by the Stavola Brothers, Allison came into the final laps battling his son, Davey (above left), for the victory in the Great American Race. The Allisons passed Darrell Waltrip, who dominated the race, on lap 184. The elder Allison led the remaining distance while his son never mounted a serious challenge. They are the only father and son to finish first and second in Daytona 500 history.
Allison remains the oldest winner in Daytona 500 history.

FINALLY: After 20 years of trying, Dale Earnhardt captured the 1998 Daytona 500. (RacingOne Multimedia Photo)

1998

After 20 years of trying, Dale Earnhardt finally captured his elusive Daytona 500 victory.
To kick off NASCAR’s 50th anniversary celebration, Earnhardt ended one of sports’ greatest jinxes leading 107 laps, including the final 61, winning the 1998 Daytona 500 under caution.
Crew members lined pit road to congratulate him on his victory, a gathering that has never been done before or since in NASCAR races.
Following the procession, Earnhardt treated fans to doughnuts in the grassy tri-oval creating a No. 3 in the grass.
As Earnhardt was performing his post-race media interviews, fans were grabbing pieces of grass and posing for pictures.

CLOSE CALL: Kevin Harvick (29) beats Mark Martin to the line .020 second to claim the 2007 Daytona 500. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

2007

Kevin Harvick, who started seventh on the final green-white-checkered restart, nipped Mark Martin at the start/finish line to capture the 49th annual Daytona 500. The margin of victory — .020 second — was the closest Daytona 500 finish since the advent of computer scoring in 1993.
While Harvick beat Martin to the checkered flag, a multi-car accident broke out with Clint Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevrolet flipping upside down and catching fire as he crossed the start/finish line.