| | | | | | | | | | Daytona International Speedway | The Great American Race |
| | Daytona Beach, FL Often called the “World Center of Racing,” the Daytona International Speedway is the home of the Daytona 500, which kicks off the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series every year. In addition to hosting the Daytona 500, “The Great American Race,” the 480-acre complex hosts nine major weekends of racing activity, everything from the World Karting Association to, of course, NASCAR.
Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, and when the drivers arrived for the first Daytona 500, they got an eyeful. They were used to half-mile dirt tracks and Darlington’s 1.366-mile track – at 2.5 miles Daytona International Speedway was nearly double that distance.
The precursor to today’s Daytona 500 began in 1936 on a course that went down a mile and a half of highway, the came back up the beach the same distance.
Mechanic and racer William H.G. France took over the job of running the beach races, and in 1947, presided over a meeting at Daytona’s Streamline Hotel – and NASCAR was born.
Ten years later, “Big Bill” France began working on the complex that would become Daytona International Speedway, insisting on 31-degree banking in the corners – as steep as he could make the turns without tipping over the machines that were laying the asphalt.
At the first Daytona 500, Bob Welborn ran 140.121 mph to win the pole, and Lee Petty won in a photo finish over Johhny Beauchamp.
Daytona International Speedway has seen many milestones in almost 50 years of racing. It’s where Junior Johnson discovered that tucking his car right behind another one enabled him to go faster than he could by himself – drafting then became part of the racing.
In 1983, Cale Yarborough’s car took off and flew, rolling upside down and crashing after he topped 200 mph on his first qualifying lap and went even faster on a second lap.
And Bill Elliott set the Daytona track record in 1987, running 210.364 mph before restricor plates were introduced.
Daytona has seen some great moments – like the 1976 Daytona 500 when Richard Petty and David Pearson wrecked coming to the finish line, with Pearson puttering across the stripe.
It has also seen some sad moments. In 2001 seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt died in a Turn 4 crash, a moment that dramatically changed the sport.
DAYTONA USA opened in 1996, transforming the Daytona International Speedway into a tourist destination. “The Official Attraction of NASCAR,” DAYTONA USA is a multi-million dollar facility that features a Pepsi IMAX Theater among other attractions.
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