The Daytona 500 is the premier NASCAR race in the world. Here's a look at some of the numbers that have made it so historic.
1: The Daytona 500 is the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series of the year. But that's not its only #1. It is also the most prestigious race in NASCAR, and the highest total NASCAR purse awarded amongst contenders.
2.5: The Daytona International Speedway runs the Daytona 500 on its 2.5 mile track.
3: Dale Hamlin is the only active driver with multiple victories at the Daytona 500, winning three checkered flags.
3: In 2017 NASCAR broke the race into three stages, with stages one and two consisting of 65 laps each, and the final stage consisting of 75 laps.
4: The track has 4 turns, with 31 degree banks.
4: Cale Yarborough is the second winningest driver of the Daytona 500, chalking up 4 wins over his career.
7: Richard Petty holds the record with 7 wins at the Daytona 500
9: Petty Enterprises Hendrick Motorsports is the racing team with the most Daytona 500 wins with 9 overall victories. Seven by Richard Petty, one by Lee Petty, and one by Pete Hamilton driving a Plymouth Superbird with car #40
16: The 2025 Daytona 500 race culminates this year's Daytona Speedweeks on Sunday, February 16th at 2:30 p.m.
20: Trevor Bayne holds the record for the youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500 when he took the checkered flag in the 2011 race, one day after his 20th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
26: Chevrolet is the automobile manufacturer with the record for the most wins, with twenty-six Daytona 500 wins.
42: Lee Petty, father of "The King," Richard Petty and grandfather of Kyle Petty, won the first 500 mile race held at the newly constructed Daytona International Speedway in 1959, driving an Oldsmobile Super 88 with #42.
43: Richard Petty drove car #43 to his 7 wins at the Daytona 500
67: The 2025 edition is the 67th running of the Daytona 500.
177: Buddy Baker finished in 1980 with the top average speed ever recorded at the Daytona 500 posting an unprecedented average speed of 177.602 mph
200: Drivers make 200 laps of the 2.5 mile course
210: In 1987 driving Melling Racing's #9 Ford, Bill Elliot set the record for the fastest ever recorded qualifying lap to win the pole position with a 42.782-second lap, which stands at 210.364 mph.
800: The Daytona 500 is a 500 mile, 800 km race.
1959: The first 500 mile race held at the newly opened Daytona International Speedway, at the time called the Inaugural 500 Mile International Sweepstakes.
1961: The first year that the 500 mile race at Daytona International Speedway became officially known as the Daytona 500, won by Marvin Panch, driving car #20, a 1960 Pontiac.
1987: In 1987 NASCAR introduced the use of restrictor plates in the engines to reduce speeds and improve the level of driver and spectator safety. NASCAR implemented this safety precaution after Bobby Allison's crash at the Talladega Speedway, when his car went airborne at about 210 mph, and he took out 100 feet of safety fencing. Allison miraculously survived, and there were no fatalities, but numerous spectators were injured by flying debris.
28 million: The total purse of the 2025 Daytona 500 is estimated to exceed $28 million dollars. In 2024, it was reported that a NASCAR record, $28,035,991 was paid out.
Sources:
Comments