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Interesting Facts about the Daytona 500, "The Great American Race"

If you are even a casual racing fan, then you know the Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl, the World Series and the US Open of NASCAR racing. Next to the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 is the biggest car race in the country every year. Here at Star Body Works - Grants Pass, OR of Grants Pass, OR, we love racing and often watch the Daytona 500 for its majesty, excitement and drama.

Here are a few memorable moments from this iconic race:

The very first Daytona 500 was held 57 years ago. The finish was so tight that it took NASCAR a full 72 hours to figure out who won! Drivers Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp were going back and forth as they fought for the lead coming off the final turn when they approached another car that was one lap behind. The three cars came across the finish line literally at the same time, with Beauchamp originally being declared winner. However, everything changed three days later when photos showed that Petty crossed the finish line ahead of Beauchamp and he was named the official winner.

Jeff Gordon celebrated the first of three career Daytona 500 victories in 1997 when he won the race at just 26 years old, which was a record for the youngest winner at the time. Trevor Bayne later broke Gordon’s record in 2011 when he won the race at just 20 years of age. The 1997 race is also well-known for a wreck that saw Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s car flip upside-down, but Earnhardt– seeing the wheels were still attached to the car–asked that it be taken off the tow truck and he finished the race five laps down.

While the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. is tied for the all-time NASCAR lead with seven career championships, it took him 20 years before he won his first and only Daytona 500 in 1998. It was a very popular victory, as Earnhardt was greeted by and shook the hand of seemingly every member of NASCAR before he celebrated the win in victory lane. 

If the 1998 race was the most popular Daytona 500 in history, then the 2001 event was the least-liked due to the crash that took the life of Dale Earnhardt Sr. The legendary driver’s death led to major safety changes in NASCAR such as the adoption of Safer barriers, the HANS Device, and the creation of the Car of Tomorrow. The Chevy racecar owned by Earnhardt Sr. and driven by Michael Waltrip actually won the 2001 race.

Danica Patrick became the first female NASCAR driver to win the pole position for the Daytona 500 in 2013. In addition, Patrick’s eighth-place finish was the best by a female driver in the race's history. Jimmie Johnson ultimately won that year’s race to pick up his second career Daytona 500 victory.

So, the next time you watch the Daytona 500, reflect back on its illustrious history and you'll likely realize why they call it "The Great American Race"—200 excruciating laps covering 500 miles every year in front of 100,000 people!

Sources: Drive, Wikipedia and Speed