


However, the race was considered official after halfway (100 laps/250 miles) had been completed from 1959 to 2016. By 1961, it began to be referred to as the Daytona 500, by which it is still commonly known.ĭaytona International Speedway is 2.5 miles (4 km) long and a 500-mile race requires 200 laps to complete. It was the second 500-mile NASCAR race, following the annual Southern 500, and has been held every year since. A 500-mile (805 km) stock car race was held at Daytona International Speedway in 1959. Earlier events featured 200-mile (320 km) races with stock cars. This long square was partially on the sand and also on the highway near the beach. The race is the direct successor of shorter races held on the Daytona Beach Road Course. 7.16 Youngest and oldest winners of the Daytona 500Īerial view of Daytona International Speedway.
#WHO WON DAYTONA 500 LAST YEAR DRIVERS#
7.15 Drivers whose first NASCAR Cup Series win was the Daytona 500.7.14 Won the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in same year.

#WHO WON DAYTONA 500 LAST YEAR TV#
The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing however, in 2021 the Indianapolis 500 surpassed the Daytona 500 in TV ratings and viewership. It is also the series' first race of the year this phenomenon is unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other NASCAR Cup Series race. The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, it has been the season-opening race of the Cup series. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual spring showdown Dixie Vodka 400 being held at Homestead south of Miami.

The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805 km) NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Inaugural 500 Mile International Sweepstakes (1959) For the song by Ghostface Killah, see Daytona 500 (song). For the motorcycle race, see Daytona 200. This article is about the stock car race.
