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We’re going to examine the best moments in Daytona 500 history. The Daytona 500 is one of the most prestigious races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The race known as the Great American Race kicks off the NASCAR season and is often compared to the “Super Bowl” in the world of motorsports. The Daytona 500 was first run in 1959 and won by Lee Petty in spectacular fashion. The tradition of excitement has carried on.
Let’s jump into the best moments in Daytona 500 history.
Examining the Best Moments in Daytona 500 History
There’s a long list of the best moments in Daytona 500 history, as well as many exciting tales connected to all aspects of the race as well as the week leading into the event, which is known as Speed Week. Here are several of the best moments in Daytona 500 history starting with the first Great American race ever held in 1959.
1959 – Lee Petty Wins First Daytona 500 with Photo Finish
We’ll start our list of the best moments in Daytona 500 history by going back to 1959. The first Daytona 500 was run in 1959 following several years of Daytona races being run on the street and beach course. The newly built Daytona International Speedway hosted the first Daytona 500 and it ended with a somewhat strange finish. Some claim the odd finish was part of an advertising/PR scheme to build a national fan base. The race ended with three cars coming to the line.
NASCAR owner, and famed promoter, Bill France and the flagman sent Johnny Beauchamp to the victory lane. However, legend has it that both France and the flagman knew that Lee Petty, father of Richard Petty, had won the race. A photo-finish picture of Petty winning the race was circulated among the National media before Petty was declared the winner a few days later. It’s one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history and strangest.
1967 – Mario Andretti Moves from Open Wheel to Stock for the Win
The year was 1967 and one of the most famed names in open-wheel racing rocked the NASCAR world. Mario Andretti entered the ninth running of the Daytona 500 under the umbrella of the Holman-Moody racing team as an additional team driver behind Fred Lorenzen. At the time, not too many people considered him a threat to win or even run well. To many, it seemed to be more of a publicity stunt for Ford and the team to add such a well-known open-wheel driver.
Andretti, a native of Italy, took to the challenge and drove like he was a seasoned stock car wheelman, jumping to the front and leading 112 of the 200 laps run. He was able to effectively block several drivers during the race and “used every inch of the track” on the way to the win. When asked, he replied, “That’s why they paved it, right?” This one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history and helped grow the popularity of the sport.
2013 – Danica Wins The Daytona 500 Pole as a Rookie
Two women are featured on our list of the best moments in Daytona 500 history. Danica Patrick entered the Daytona 500 Race Week for the first time in 2010 as a driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s ARCA race team. She ran an impressive race as she started outside the top ten, but finished in the 6th spot. Skip forward a few seasons to 2012 as Patrick was running the Xfinity Series full-time and she grabbed the pole for the Daytona Xfinity race.
Then, in 2013 she was set to make her first start as a full-time Cup Series driver starting with the season-opening Daytona 500. Once again, she impressed by becoming the first woman to win the pole during her rookie year as a Cup Series driver. Patrick went on to lead five laps and finished 8th. This is one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history.
1977 – Janet Guthrie Drives in the Daytona 500 with Great Results
Janet Guthrie was not the first woman to race in NASCAR, that honor goes to Sara Christian who raced in the Series in 1949, which is also one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history. Guthrie was the first female driver in the modern era who raced a regular schedule and she was the first female driver to race on a Superspeedway.
She entered the 1977 Daytona 500 and made instant history. Some may have thought a female driver had no business on the track, but she backed things up with her performance. Guthrie piloted her No. 68 Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish narrowly missing a top-ten run. A few years later in the 1980 Daytona 500, she improved by finishing 11th. A top 10 finish would have been great, but this remains one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history.
1976 – David Person’s Crash, Spin, and Win
Nothing beats an exciting race. That’s how the 1976 Daytona 500 ended as two of the top names in the sport battled on the final laps. As David Pearson and Richard Petty raced for the win coming out of turn four the two banged against each other just entering the tri-oval front stretch heading towards the checkered flag. That caused the two leaders to tag the wall and continue to crash. Petty slid down the track and hit the grass with a bunch of damage and his engine shut off.
The way this race finishes is one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history.
Pearson also slid down the track, but managed to have his car slide across some pavement as well as grass and his car never stopped running. Pearson quickly shuffled his gears until one grabbed and he started inching towards the finish line while only being able to travel at around an estimated 50 mph. Pearson grabbed the win, while Petty finished in the second spot.
1963 – Tiny Lund from Hero, Fill-in Driver, and Winner
In 1963 DeWayne Louis Lund, whose, nickname was “Tiny” even though he was 6’5″ tall, headed to Daytona hoping to find a seat in the 500. Lund was a journeyman driver and hoped his name, record and talent would help him land with a team. About a week before the race, Lund was watching a sports car race at the venue when his friend Marvin Panch wrecked. Lund ran to the burning vehicle and pulled Panch to safety. That left Wood Brothers without a driver as Panch would be recovering in the hospital.
Panch suggested to the team that Lund take his place. Lund then finished sixth in the 2nd race of the Duals, which put him 12th on the starting grid. Lund ended up winning the race for his first NASCAR Series win by beating Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett to the line, which is one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history. The team planned to save as much fuel as possible during the race, hopefully eliminating a pit stop. The plan worked and Lorenzen and Jarrett ran short on gas. So did Lund, but he had enough speed to coast across the line for the win. Also, Lund was awarded the Carnegie Hero’s Medal for his heroic actions.
Some of the best moments in Daytona 500 history have a happy ending.
1960 – Junior Johnson Introduces Drafting to Racing
Junior Johnson is known for being an innovator when it comes to NASCAR racing. His ability to work through problems and figure things out helped him win the 1960 Daytona 500 by introducing “drafting” to the world of NASCAR racing. Johnson realized that his Chevrolet was not as fast as the Pontiacs and Fords. Johnson and a few other drivers had been playing with the idea of tucking in behind a faster car using that car’s airflow to help pull along the slower car. The drafting maneuver involved backing up a bit, then speeding up for momentum which propelled the car forward.
According to Richard Petty, a handful of drivers had experienced the feel of the draft and were trying to better understand it. “Junior was the first one to make it show up with results,” said Petty. “Three or four of us had known what it did, but we didn’t know why it worked. Junior wasn’t the first to use it, but he was the one who got the most publicity out of it.” Towards the end of the race, Johnson made full use of drafting, darted to the front, and kept ahead of the other cars by 23 seconds for the win at the 1960 Daytona 500. This remains one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history.
1998 – Dale Earnhardt Wins the Daytona 500
Dale Earnhardt seemed to own Superspeedways, including Daytona International. Heading into the 1998 Daytona 500 his resume included winning 11 qualifying races, seven Xfinity Series races, six Budweiser Shootouts and winning two summer NASCAR Cup Series races at the track. He also had won four IROC Series races at the track, but he could never win the Daytona 500. What made things worse was he had a habit of coming in second at the Great American race. He also had several top-five and top-ten finishes.
Then in 1998, he raced like he was on a mission. Earnhardt qualified 4th, but jumped to the front leading over half of the 200 laps. That number included staying out front for the final 71 laps while he headed to the checkered flag. At the last moment coming out of turn four, he used Rick Mast’s lapped car to help fend off both Bobby Labonte and Jeremy Mayfield. It was a popular win as crews lined the pits to give Earnhardt a high-five as he drove to victory lane.
Earnhardt earning the win was one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history.
1979 – The Big Fight
If there was one moment that put NASCAR on the national sports map it could have been the Big Fight, which made our list of the best moments in Daytona 500 history. Yes, NASCAR was popular in 1979, but many viewed it as a regional sport and not known for having large national TV viewership. That all seemed to change in 1979 when the broadcast was carried live across the country from start to finish for the first time. Also, much of the USA was stuck indoors due to snow storms and sitting in front of the TV. While the race may have been slightly boring it was still live and the finish electrified sports fans across the country.
On the last lap, Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough banged against each other heading into turn three where they eventually wrecked before either could grab the win. Moments later, Richard Petty drove by and won the race followed by Darrell Waltrip and A.J. Foyt. Then, cameras zoomed in on the aforementioned Allison and Yarborough in the grass, out of their cars, in a fistfight that included a swinging helmet. Then Bobby Allison jumped in before the fight was broken up. America had been introduced to NASCAR and the Daytona 500. This is one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history because it showed how emotions can run high in the big race.
1981 – The King Wins his Seventh Daytona 500
Richard Petty is known as the King for a reason. He has featured multiple times on our list of the best moments in Daytona 500 history. When it comes to racing the Daytona 500, he truly was the king. Petty won his first Daytona 500 in 1964 only a few years after his father, Lee Petty, had won the first Daytona 500 in 1959. Petty followed up that Daytona 500 win by doing it again in 1966. There was a five-year pause between wins at The Great American Race before Petty won it again in 1971 and 1974.
His sixth Daytona 500 title came in 1979 when many considered it unthinkable that he could win it again. Then, he won yet another Daytona 500 in 1981 setting the record of most wins of the Great American Race. The trivia stat to remember is that Petty won the Daytona 500 in several makes –Plymouth, Dodge, and Oldsmobile. This is one of the best moments in Daytona 500 history and Petty still has the most Daytona 500 wins.
2001 – NASCAR Loses a Legend
In 1998 Dale Earnhardt Sr. finally won the Daytona 500 after 20 years of being a NASCAR Cup Series driver. At the end of the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt was involved in a last-lap wreck that propelled Earnhardt’s car into the wall. Later in the day, it was confirmed that he had died as a result of his injuries. The race was won by Michael Waltrip who beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the finish. Both drivers were teammates for Dale Earnhardt Enterprises. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would go on to win the Daytona 500 himself in 2004 and again in 2014.
While Earnhardt’s death cannot be considered one of the Best moments in Daytona 500 history, it can be said that one of the results of the moment was a hyper increase in activity around the safety of the NASCAR car design, including head and neck safety (HANS device), improved seat belt technology, and better crush areas to absorb impact to name a few. The newly developed Steel and Foam Energy Reducing wall known as the SAFER barrier was put into use at the Indianapolis 500 the year after Earnhardt’s death.
That wraps up our list of the best moments in Daytona 500 history.
