Daytona 500 - Interesting Facts

Here are some facts about Daytona International Speedway:

1. The 2.5-mile trioval runs 40 feet wide with 12 to 30-foot apron turns.
2. In the turns, the banking is 31 degrees.
3. Pit Road is 1,600 feet long, 50 feet wide.
4. Garage area includes seven garages with 82 stalls (spaces for 164 cars).
5. The track's Road Course is 3.56 miles (incorporates trioval superspeedway and non-banked infield section).
6. The infield course and chicane range from 30 to 50 feet wide.
Of the 480 total acres for the speedway facility, 180 make up the infield include 44-acre Lake Lloyd.

• Chevrolet is the most successful manufacturer at DIS with 18 wins in the 500.
• The largest field to ever start the race was an incredible 68 cars back in 1960.
• The lowest starting position by a winner was 33rd. Bobby Allison won from that slot in 1978.
• There have been 32 deaths in a half-century's worth of NASCAR racing. The first was Larry Mann in 1954 at Langhorne, PA. Actually, someone died at Langhorne in 1954, 1955, and 1956.
• Of the 32 NASCAR drivers that have died behind the wheel, 10 of them have been killed while driving at Daytona.
• The fastest qualifying speed ever recorded at the track was 210.364 miles per hour by Bill Elliot in 1987.
• The widest winning margin ever was two full laps (Richard Petty, 1973).
• The smallest margin of victory was a mere two feet in the inaugural Dayton 500 (Lee Petty, 1959).
• The driver that wins the Daytona 500 has gone on to win the Winston Cup (or whatever the hell they call their championship now) six times in 46 years. Jeff Gordon (1997) was the last to achieve the feat.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only one of the last five Daytona 500 winners to finish in the top five of the points race.
• DIS holds the record for most cars crashing at one time. An astounding 38-car pileup ensued on February 13, 1960 during a pre-500 event.
• Buddy Baker's average speed of 177.6 mph in 1980 was the fastest in Daytona history.
• Junior Johnson's average of 124.7 mph in 1960 was the slowest.
• Jeff Gordon's victory in 1997 made him the youngest winner ever at 25 years, 6 months, and 12 days.
• Bobby Allison's 1988 victory, in which he held off his son Davey over the last few laps, made him the oldest winner ever (50 years, 2 months, 11 days).
• Dale Earnhardt finished all 500 miles of the race more times than anyone in history (14).
• Most victories: The King, Richard Petty (7)
• There have been back-to-back winners just three times: Richard Petty (73-74), Cale Yarborough (83-84), and Sterling Marlin (93-94).
• Most career starts at Daytona: Dave Marcis, 33
• Most consecutive starts: Dave Marcis, 32
• Most poles won, career: 4 (by several different drivers)
• The most wins from the pole position: 2, Yarborough (68, 84) and Bill Elliott (85, 87)
• Most consecutive poles: 3, Fireball Roberts (61-63), Elliott (85-87), and Ken Schrader (88-90).
• Richard Petty went 17 years between his first (1964) and last (1981) Daytona 500 titles.
• The most different leaders in a single race: 15.
• The fewest different leaders in a single race: 3.
• The most lead changes in a single race occurred in 1974, when it changed hands 60 times.
• Most laps led, career: Richard Petty (780)
• Most miles completed, career: Richard Petty (12,150 miles over 4,860 laps).
• Most times leading in a single race: 21, by Bobby Allison in 1981.
• Richard Petty (naturally) put forth the most dominating performance in Daytona 500 history. He led 184 of 200 laps on his way to winning the 1964 race.
• On the contrary, Fireball Roberts led 170 laps in 1961, but lost the race to Marvin Panch.
• Benny Parsons was Johnny On The Spot in 1975 when he took the checkered flag after leading just four laps.
• Daytona International Speedway takes up 480 acres. That includes a 180-acre infield with a 19-acre lake in it.
• DIS is 2.5-miles long and 40 feet wide. The back stretch is 3,800 feet while the front stretch spans 3,000 feet.

• • New record purse for Daytona 500
• • Patrick secures starting spot in Daytona 500
• • Allmendinger, Michael Shank Racing win Rolex 24 at Daytona
• • Pocono track founder Mattioli dies
• • NASCAR not making any big changes for 2012 season