February 22, 1959 – The first Daytona 500 is held and Lee Petty defeats Johnny Beauchamp.
Most Victories: (7) Richard Petty (1964, 66, 71, 73, 74, 79, 81)
Most Consecutive Victories: (2) Richard Petty (1973-74); Cale Yarborough (1983-84); Sterling Marlin (1994-95); Denny Hamlin (2019-20)
Most Times Completing All 500 Miles: (16) Bill Elliott
Most Miles Completed: (14,892.5 miles; 5,957 laps) Terry Labonte
Driver Leading the Fewest Laps and Winning: (1) Kurt Busch (2017)
Youngest Winner: 20 years, 0 months, 1 day, Trevor Bayne (2011)
Oldest Winner: 50 years, 2 months, 11 days, Bobby Allison (1988)
Here is the Dale Earnhardt Memorial at Daytona International Speedway.
I tried to go by and photograph it every time I was there.
Dale died in a crash at the 2001 Daytona 500.
Big Bill France, the father of NASCAR, and his wife, Anne.
Here are 3 photos from 2 different years.
I witnessed a truck with a trailer get stuck in this tunnel.
Millions of fans wish they had access to the Infield through this tunnel.
The inside.
You always see the Blimp for a Daytona 500.
Cool Pace Car.
The cars on Pit Road.
Pre-Race festivities are always eye catching.
Ben Affleck started the race one year.
Right after 9/11, the security was beefed up.
Observers and snipers were on the buildings.
Pit Road gets extremely crowded.
Sometimes, it’s hard to move.
Imagine trying to work in this environment.
Before the race, drivers have time to chat.
Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip.
Daytona International Speedway is 2.5 miles long.
A 500 mile race is 200 laps.
Daytona always has a crash called ‘The Big One’.
I met Jennifer on Pit Road, during the race.
Had to get a pic with her. She was a nice gal.
Victory Lane
Darrell Waltrip had good luck with the number 17 during his victory. He won on Feb. 17 in his No. 17 car during his 17th career attempt.
Spider Michaels, Bill Goldberg & Jeff Gordon. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.
That completes this NASCAR 101 Course. Give yourself 3 Credits towards Graduation. Congratulations on your Quest for a Degree from The Universite de Arachnida.
To see other course requirements for your degree, see next link.
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Any questions and/or comments may be directed to the following:
Dr. Spider Michaels, Phd.
Spider@SpiderMichaels.com