1959 Daytona 500

The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona[2] (now known as the 1959 Inaugural Daytona 500) was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators.[3] It was the first race held at the 2.5-mile (4.0 kilometer) Daytona International Speedway.

1959 Daytona 500
Race details[1]
Race 2 of 44 in the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series
Lee Petty No. 42 and Johnny Beauchamp No. 73 battle on the last lap of the 1959 Daytona 500.
Date February 22, 1959 (1959-02-22)
Official name First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures reaching up to 68 °F (20 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Average speed 135.521 mph (218.100 km/h)
Attendance 41,921
Pole position
Driver
Time 140.121 mph (225.503 km/h)
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Bob Welborn, Shorty Rollins and Jack Smith
Most laps led
Driver Jack Smith
Laps 57
Winner
No. 42 Lee Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network Not televised

Background
Map of Daytona International Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that was one of the first superspeedways to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course.[4] The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd. The speedway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959.[5]

The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.[6] It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. 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. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.[7]

Race report

Qualifying

Cotton Owens had the fastest qualifying lap, at 143.198 miles per hour (230.455 km/h). The race had one qualifying race for Convertibles and one for the hardtop Grand National cars. Bob Welborn, winner of the 100-mile (160 km) Grand National qualifying race earlier in the week, started on the pole position.[8] Shorty Rollins won the Convertible qualifying race and started second. Twenty of the 59 cars in the Daytona 500 were convertibles.[9]

Race

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. This would be repeated ten years later with the 1969 running of the Motor Trend 500. Welborn led the early laps in the race but his race ended after 75 laps (of 200) with engine problems. Other leaders in the first 22 laps of the race were "Tiger" Tom Pistone and Joe Weatherly. Fireball Roberts took over the lead on lap 23, leading the next 20 laps before dropping out on lap 57 due to a broken fuel pump. When Roberts went to the pits on lap 43, Johnny Beauchamp, running in second place, became the leader. On lap 50, Piston took over first place and Jack Smith moved into second; Beauchamp was third and Lee Petty was fifth. From lap 43 to 148 the race leaders were Piston, Smith, and Beauchamp. Although Smith and Pistone led most of these laps, Beauchamp led a few times, for example records show he led on lap 110.[10] There is print information about the details of the race, including the leaders of the race in five-lap intervals.[11] Pistone and Jack Smith both had dropped out of contention by lap 149 and Beauchamp took over first place. 100 miles (160 km). Richard Petty also had to retire from the race with an engine problem and earned $100 ($877.05 when adjusted for inflation) for his 57th-place performance.

Lee Petty battled with Beauchamp during the final 30 laps of the race, and they were the only two drivers to finish on the lead lap. Petty took the lead with 3 laps left and led at the start of the final lap. Petty and Beauchamp drove side by side across the finish line at the end final lap for a photo finish. Beauchamp was declared the unofficial winner by NASCAR officials, and he drove to victory lane. Petty protested the results, saying "I had Beauchamp by a good two feet. In my own mind, I know I won."[8] Beauchamp replied "I had him by two feet. I glanced over to Lee Petty's car as I crossed the finish line and I could see his headlight slightly back of my car. It was so close I didn't know how they would call it, but I thought I won."[8] Early leader Fireball Roberts, who was standing by the finish line, said: "There's no doubt about it, Petty won."[8] It took NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. three days to decide the winner the following Wednesday.[8] In the end, with the help of photographs and newsreel footage, Petty was officially declared the winner.

The controversial finish helped the sport. The delayed results to determine the official winner kept NASCAR and the Daytona 500 on the front page of newspapers.

Official results

The race lasted 3:41:22, with an average speed of 135.521 mph (218.10 km/h).[3]

  1. Lee Petty[3]
  2. Johnny Beauchamp
  3. Charley Griffith
  4. Cotton Owens
  5. Joe Weatherly
  6. Jim Reed
  7. Jack Smith
  8. Tom Pistone
  9. Tim Flock
  10. Speedy Thompson
  11. Johnny Allen
  12. Raul Cilloniz
  13. Curtis Turner
  14. Junior Johnson
  15. Dick Freeman
  16. Joe Lee Johnson
  17. Marvin Panch
  18. Gene White
  19. Roy Tyner
  20. Jimmy Thompson
  21. Herman Beam
  22. Wilbur Rakestraw
  23. Jim McGuirk
  24. Larry Frank
  25. Elmo Langley
  26. Rex White
  27. Ben Benz
  28. Dick Joslin
  29. Ken Rush
  30. Bob Rose
  31. Harold Smith
  32. Dick Foley
  33. Brownie King
  34. Glen Wood
  35. Bob Pronger
  36. Billy Carden
  37. Bernie Hentges
  38. Shorty Rollins
  39. Joe Eubanks
  40. Tiny Lund
  41. Bob Welborn
  42. Buck Baker
  43. Ken Johnson
  44. L. D. Austin
  45. Fireball Roberts
  46. Paul Bass
  47. Bobby Johns
  48. Eduardo Dibos
  49. Gober Sosebee
  50. Bob Said
  51. Bob Duell
  52. Pete Kelly
  53. Bob Potter
  54. Carl Tyler
  55. George Green
  56. Fritz Wilson
  57. Richard Petty
  58. Larry Odo
  59. Ken Marriott

References
  1. Weather information for the 1959 Daytona 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac.
  2. Caraviello, David (February 16, 2008). "In 1959, first Daytona 500 changed city, sport forever". NASCAR. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  3. Race results; Retrieved October 24, 2007.
  4. "Track facts". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona International Speedway. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  5. "The History of ISC". InternationalSpeedwayCorporation.com. International Speedway Corporation. June 14, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. What Makes Daytona Special. Daytona International Speedway. May 10, 2012. 2:51 minutes in. YouTube.
  7. "World's most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report". Initiative. January 19, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  8. 1959: Petty's photo finish Archived August 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine; Mark Aumann, Turner Sports Interactive; January 9, 2003; Retrieved October 24, 2007.
  9. Daytona 500 Anniversary – The 50th Run Archived September 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine; Stock Car Racing magazine; Benny Phillips; July 3, 2002; Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  10. For more detailed discussion and sources, see John Havick, Ghosts of NASCAR, the Harlan Boys and the First Daytona 500, University of Iowa Press, 2013.
  11. National Speed Sport News, March 4, 1959; see a fifty lap increment report, National Speed Sport News, February 23, 1959.
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