Highlights
The most important of all NASCAR races, the Daytona 500 is different in that it is the first, rather than last, race of the season. The race was first held in 1959 in Daytona Beach, Fla., the brainchild of NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr.
France started this racing craze having cars that look like the cars regular people drive competing at the nearby beach before moving to the Speedway. The race is 200 laps on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. The race is also different in that the starting order, except for the first two spots, is determined by two 150-mile qualifying races, held the Thursday before the race.
The race, nicknamed the "Great American Race," is...
France started this racing craze having cars that look like the cars regular people drive competing at the nearby beach before moving to the Speedway. The race is 200 laps on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. The race is also different in that the starting order, except for the first two spots, is determined by two 150-mile qualifying races, held the Thursday before the race.
The race, nicknamed the "Great American Race," is...
The most important of all NASCAR races, the Daytona 500 is different in that it is the first, rather than last, race of the season. The race was first held in 1959 in Daytona Beach, Fla., the brainchild of NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr.
France started this racing craze having cars that look like the cars regular people drive competing at the nearby beach before moving to the Speedway. The race is 200 laps on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. The race is also different in that the starting order, except for the first two spots, is determined by two 150-mile qualifying races, held the Thursday before the race.
The race, nicknamed the "Great American Race," is one of four run with a restrictor plate, a devise used to keep speeds down. The 500 is the culmination of two weeks of racing at Daytona known as Speed Weeks. The first winner of the race was Lee Petty, father of NASCAR's all-time winningest driver Richard Petty, who won the Daytona 500 a record seven times. The race is also the scene of one of racing's saddest days when Dale Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 race. His death led to changes in the safety harnesses drivers wear. The race in 2008 will be the 50th.
France started this racing craze having cars that look like the cars regular people drive competing at the nearby beach before moving to the Speedway. The race is 200 laps on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. The race is also different in that the starting order, except for the first two spots, is determined by two 150-mile qualifying races, held the Thursday before the race.
The race, nicknamed the "Great American Race," is one of four run with a restrictor plate, a devise used to keep speeds down. The 500 is the culmination of two weeks of racing at Daytona known as Speed Weeks. The first winner of the race was Lee Petty, father of NASCAR's all-time winningest driver Richard Petty, who won the Daytona 500 a record seven times. The race is also the scene of one of racing's saddest days when Dale Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 race. His death led to changes in the safety harnesses drivers wear. The race in 2008 will be the 50th.
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Waltrip gearing up to rewrite history
Michael Waltrip will make a historic run in this year's Daytona 500. He will make his 75th start on the fabled superspeedway — the most of any driver — on Feb. 26. He will drive the No. 40 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota for Aaron Racing. "When...Tags: Michael Waltrip, Richard Petty, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR, Mark Martin
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Old-timers set to get back on the track
As the days tick away for the start of a fresh season at Daytona International Speedway, there still will be moments of old-school reverence at the fabled superspeedway. Welcome back, Ward Burton. We'll see you soon, too, Bill Elliott. Both "old-...Tags: Conservation, Conservation, Bill Elliott, Endangered Species, NASCAR
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Raw Recap: Circular storytelling with Undertaker and Triple H may be a bit stale
At its core, professional wrestling is about storytelling.
Every writer has good works and bad; it's simply the nature of the beast. Sometimes the simplest stories gain traction when they really shouldn't and become sensations (just ask Stephanie Meyer)....Tags: Concerts, Media Industry, Wrestling, Twitter, Inc., Wade Barrett
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Kentucky Speedway has parking solution
DAYTONA, Fla. — Kentucky Speedway officials are trying to make nice after the horrendous parking snafus that plagued the Sprint Cup race there last June in Sparta, Ky. "We had a little traffic problem," Bruton Smith, chairman and CEO of Speedway...Tags: Speedway Motorsports Incorporated, Daytona International Speedway, Dave Blaney, Kevin Harvick, NASCAR
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Patrick 'dedicated' to NASCAR future
Is there any question NASCAR's "It Girl" is serious about hanging with the big boys? News flash: Danica Patrick is skipping the Indianapolis 500 to race in the Coca-Cola 600 in May. That shows a serious level of engagement for Patrick, who has dabbled...Tags: NASCAR, Jeff Gordon, Cancer, Tony Stewart, Speedway Motorsports Incorporated
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Face it: Bet goes bad for Kenseth
The best story from testing at Daytona involves a beard and a bet. Matt Kenseth was among the invited guests for a New Year's Eve '70s party at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s house. In the heat of the festive moment, Junior bet Kenseth he couldn't keep a beard...Tags: David Gilliland, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
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The day that racing stopped
I was covering motorsports for four years before I saw someone die in what might be considered a senseless crash. I didn't know Ricky Knotts, a 28-year-old driver who had spent every dime he and his parents could muster to qualify for the 1980 Daytona...Tags: Dan Wheldon, Entertainment Events, Stress, NASCAR, Baltimore Grand Prix
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Local contractors cash in on Grand Prix
Television watchers can thank Peter Larsson and his fast-growing Hanover company for one of the best views available for Sunday's race through downtown Baltimore — and for just about any car race anywhere in the U.S., for that matter.
Larsson's...Tags: Media Industry, Companies and Corporations, Television Industry, The Go Daddy Group, Inc., NASCAR
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These kids are all fight
Depending on your maturity level, NASCAR's "boys, have at it" laissez-faire attitude is spectacular or the most idiotic form of reality TV on the planet. The second notion may be a reach, as long as the mutants from "Jersey Shore" inhabit the earth,...Tags: National Football League, Punishment, NASCAR, Basketball, Jersey Shore (tv program)
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Wild cards a winning formula
Count Brad Keselowski as one of the biggest fans of the new wild-card format in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Keselowski stands to benefit because he has won two races, but regardless, NASCAR has found a way to reward winners. "We've seen different...Tags: Vehicles, Clint Bowyer, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR, Toyota Motor Corp.
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At 71, Mario Andretti is anything but retired
Some things never change. As you walk around the hospitality and pit areas at an IZOD IndyCar race you can still find Mario Andretti signing autographs more than five decades since he drove his first racecar in competitive open wheel racing.
Andretti,...Tags: Blue Chip Stocks, Phil Hill, Nazareth, Mario Andretti, Charlie Daniels
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Marco Andretti has enjoyed the opportunity — and expectations — that come with his famous family
You have to give Marco Andretti credit.
He's an Indy Car driver, which would be something for any 24-year-old to be proud of. But for Andretti, having the guts to choose that profession is something many twenty-somethings wouldn't want to take on.
His...Tags: Michael Andretti, Nazareth, Formula One, Indianapolis 500, Mario Andretti
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