PrintDaytona 500 Winner
Click here to view our packages to the Daytona 500
Since the beginning, NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series race, Daytona 500 has produced many heart pounding and unpredictable races, not to mention captivating Daytona 500 winners. Lee Petty, father of Richard Petty, started the Daytona 500 winning tradition in that family by being the first Daytona 500 winner in February of 1959.
Fred Lorenzen was the 1965 Daytona 500 winner; the race was called on 133 laps due to rain. The next year’s Daytona 500 winner was Richard Petty, and again, the race was called due the rain; Petty did 198 laps. 1979’s Daytona 500 winner was Petty, and in 1981, he took a huge risk to be the Daytona 500 winner. With 24 laps to go, instead of changing his tires, Petty refueled. Because of this gamble, Petty is the only driver to be a Daytona 500 winner in three different decades.
In 1988, Bobby Allison beat his son, Davey Allison to the finish line for the Daytona 500 win. Bobby Allison also became the oldest Daytona 500 winner (driver). Darrell Waltrip’s 17 Daytona 500 race was the charm. In 1989, Waltrip won his first Daytona 500 after 17 attempts. NASCAR’s beloved Dale Earnhardt became a first time Daytona 500 winner after 20 years in 1998.
On the last turn of a final lap at the 2001 Daytona 500, Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt was killed in a crash. Ward Burton was a Daytona 500 winner in 2002 because of a crash that knocked the right front fender of Sterling Marlin’s car into his own right front tire. NASCAR officials saw Marlin trying to remove the fender. Because no one is allowed to work on a car during red-flag conditions, they sent Marlin to the back of the field. Marlin was fighting Jeff Gordon for the lead until then.
2003 saw Michael Waltrip become a Daytona 500 winner when rain shortened the Daytona 500 race to 109 laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. became a Daytona 500 winner, three years after his father’s death and six years to the date that his father won the Daytona 500. Jeff Gordon was the first Daytona 500 winner under NASCAR’s new green-white-checker finish rule. The green-white-checker finish rule ensures that fans would get to see a green flag finish. The rule also gives the field an attempt to finish the race under a green-flag condition. In 2006, Jimmie Johnson became a Daytona 500 winner under a nighttime green-white-checker finish.
Daytona 500 winners are presented with the Harley J. Earl Trophy in the victory lane. Then the Daytona 500 winning car is displayed in race winning condition for one year at Daytona
On Point specializes in arranging exclusive sports travel packages to major sporting events around the world. A Daytona 500 package through On Point means much more than getting fantastic seats for the race. By using our private jet charter services, we can arrange a private flight in a Learjet 60, or any number of private jets featured in our aircraft guide, to and from the hosting city. A Daytona 500 travel package means we can provide private transportation to and from the airport, as well as to the Daytona 500. It means arranging deluxe accommodations at the finest hotels in the area, reservations at fine dining restaurants, preferential access to our on-site concierge service 24 hours a day, and more. With the many options available through an On Point Daytona 500 package, you and your party can attend exclusive celebrity parties and private events. Our expertise and connections in the profession can provide you access to “meet and greet” events with today’s race car celebrities as well as racing legends of the past. On Point can also arrange admission to private extravagant Daytona 500 Parties and other elaborate events.
