The 62nd running of the Daytona 500 is scheduled for February 16th and this year’s race will surely be another one for the record books. Here are some fun facts about the “Great American Race”:
- This track can hold 101,500 spectators and has sold out the past four years!
- The track is 2.5 miles long, 40 feet wide, and has 31-degree banked turns.
- Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959, with his Oldsmobile averaging 135 mph.
- Denny Hamlin won this race for a second time in 2019. His first win came in 2016.
- In 1967, Mario Andretti became the only foreign-born driver to win this race.
- The title for the lowest starting position by a winner goes to Matt Kenseth, who started 39th, in 2009.
- Junior Johnson holds the record for the slowest win speed, at 124 mph, when he won the race in 1960.
- Buddy Baker has the record for the highest win speed at 177 mph, when he won in 1980.
- Chevy has the most wins with 24, Ford has 15, Dodge and Plymouth have 4 each, Mercury, Olds, Buick and Pontiac have 3 each, and Toyota has 2.
- Richard Petty holds the record for the most wins with seven.
- Bill Elliot set the fastest qualifying record in 1987 at 210 mph!
- Danica Patrick became the first female to win the pole position in 2013 at 196 mph. She went on to finish in 8th place, the highest finish for a female in the race’s history.
- The engines used in this race are 358 cubic inch V-8’s, and they put out about 800 horse power.
Buckle up on race day and start your big screen TV’s – this race is always a thrill to watch!
