The 1959 First Annual 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators. It was the first race held at the 2.5-mile  Daytona International Speedway.

There were no caution periods in the race; making it one of the few "perfect games" in NASCAR history, though it would occur in three of the first four Daytona 500s, as the Daytona 500 also went caution-free in both 1961 and 1962

The&nbsp;1959 First Annual 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators.&nbsp;It was the first race held at the 2.5-mile&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daytona International Speedway.</a>
There were no caution periods in the race; making it one of the few "perfect games" in NASCAR history, though it would occur in three of the first four Daytona 500s, as the Daytona 500 also went caution-free in both 1961 and 1962

Relive the magic moments of the Great American Race - The Daytona 500.  These 2 minute episodes recap the each race and the winner of the Daytona 500 from 1959 to 2018.

Recap of the Daytona 500 from 1959 to 2018

Inside Victory Lane - The Daytona 500 Podcast

Inside Victory Lane - The Daytona 500

The 1959 Daytona 500

The 2018 Daytona 500, the 60th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 18, 2018, contested over 207 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish—on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and also marked the first race for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Chevrolet's car for this season, replacing the SS. Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing won the race, Darrell "Bubba" Wallace making his first Daytona 500 start finished second while Denny Hamlin came in third.

The 2018 Daytona 500, the 60th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 18, 2018, contested over 207 laps&mdash;extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish&mdash;on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and also marked the first race for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Chevrolet's car for this season, replacing the SS. Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing won the race, Darrell "Bubba" Wallace making his first Daytona 500 start finished second while Denny Hamlin came in third.

The 2018 Daytona 500

The 2017 Daytona 500, the 59th running of the event, was held on February 26, 2017, and was won by Kurt Busch. This was Busch's 1st Daytona 500 win. Ryan Blaney finished 2nd, and A. J. Allmendinger finished 3rd. This race was contested for 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and also marked the 1st race for Monster Energy as the new title sponsor for NASCAR's top series, replacing Sprint. Jeffrey Earnhardt made NASCAR history when he became the 1st ever 4th generation driver to compete in the Daytona 500.

The 2017 Daytona 500, the 59th running of the event, was held on February 26, 2017, and was won by Kurt Busch. This was Busch's 1st Daytona 500 win. Ryan Blaney finished 2nd, and A. J. Allmendinger finished 3rd. This race was contested for 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and also marked the 1st race for Monster Energy as the new title sponsor for NASCAR's top series, replacing Sprint. Jeffrey Earnhardt made NASCAR history when he became the 1st ever 4th generation driver to compete in the Daytona 500.

The 2017 Daytona 500

The 2016 Daytona 500, the 58th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on February 21, 2016, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race in a photo finish over Martin Truex Jr.. The top-five was rounded out by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.

Chase Elliott won the pole for the race and led three laps before crashing out early in the race and finished 37th. Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch won the Duel races. Unlike Busch, Earnhardt Jr. crashed out with 29 laps to go and finished 36th.

Hamlin led a race high of 95 laps on his way to winning the race. There were six caution flag periods for 31 laps and 20 lead changes among 15 different drivers.

This was the 27th career victory for Hamlin, first of the season, first at Daytona International Speedway and fifth win at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. He left Daytona Beach with a five-point lead over Truex Jr. Toyota left with an eight-point lead over Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings.

The Daytona 500 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

The 2016 Daytona 500, the 58th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on February 21, 2016, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race in a photo finish over Martin Truex Jr.. The top-five was rounded out by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.
Chase Elliott won the pole for the race and led three laps before crashing out early in the race and finished 37th. Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch won the Duel races. Unlike Busch, Earnhardt Jr. crashed out with 29 laps to go and finished 36th.
Hamlin led a race high of 95 laps on his way to winning the race. There were six caution flag periods for 31 laps and 20 lead changes among 15 different drivers.
This was the 27th career victory for Hamlin, first of the season, first at Daytona International Speedway and fifth win at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. He left Daytona Beach with a five-point lead over Truex Jr. Toyota left with an eight-point lead over Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings.
The Daytona 500 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

The 1959 Daytona 500

In 1 playlist(s)

Inside Victory Lane - The Daytona 500

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips