The DAYTONA 500---The Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing
On Sunday February 11, 2007, the Super Bowl of Stock Car
Racing kicks off the beginning of this years Nascar
Nextel Cup Series. Unlike other sports, where their
biggest event is usually held at the end of the season,
this race is one of the largest in fan support,
viewership and purse, with International coverage.
The Daytona 500 was first held in 1959 and was won by Lee
Petty, the father of Richard Petty. Prior to racing at
this track the races were held on the beach, as early as
1903.From beaches to a 2.5 mile tri-oval superspeedway
which covers nearly 500 acres.
The track is banked from only 3 degrees to 31 degrees in
the turns with aprons of 12-30 feet. The backstretch is
3400 feet long with a 3-degree bank. The infield is 180
acres with a 29-acre lake named Lake Lloyd.
To Qualify some teams must race their way into the Daytona 500 field, while all exempt teams (the top 35 teams of the previous year in owner points) are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500.
Row One is set by one round of qualifying, normally held one week before the race. The remainder of the field is set by qualifying races, about a week before the Daytona 500. After the exempt teams and top two non-exempt cars are added to the field, the top three non-exempt cars are added by fastest qualifying laps. A former Nextel Cup champion, if necessary, is added. Otherwise, the fourth fastest car is added to the field.
In 1959 the purse of $19,050 was awarded to the winner
Lee Petty. Last year's winner, Jimmy Johnson was awarded
$1,505,124, and went on to become the Nascar Nextel Cup
Champion.
Richard Petty has won the race 7 times, ran 4,860 laps
for 12,150 miles and led the most laps with 780.
The late Benny Parsons led the fewest laps in 1975 and
still won the race, by only leading 4 laps.
Dale Earnhardt started 20 times before he won in 1998.
Although it took him many years before he made it onto
Victory Lane he completed all 500 miles 14 different
times.
The fastest winning speed for the race was recorded by
Buddy Baker in 1980.
For more information about the track, the race or
accommodations you can go to:
http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/
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2 comments:
NASCAR rides the wave. They don’t create it. In NASCAR, the most visible sponsors are the car companies. The driver’s names are listed then the type of car. NASCAR claims to be one of the best uses of advertising dollars, but the Big Three (Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge) keep losing market share. Now that Toyota has entered the NASCAR world of Nextel Cup, they can claim responsibility for its rise in market share. Let’s look at two of the drivers (Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip) who will be driving for Toyota this year. Both of these drivers really tailed off last year (on purpose?). Therefore, if they have a vast improvement, this makes Toyota (with mega money) look impressive. This is another example of NASCAR turning their backs on their long-time loyal sponsors and fans that helped grow their sport (taking races away from smaller southern tracks is another example). Another thing that bothers me about drivers and other sports figures is them complaining about the long season when they make millions of dollars. They should try working a job all year (52 weeks) for $30,000.
I like your idea and how you are documenting your run to get a Cup team rolling.
I would like to see the whole "series" Open Source and something that could be related to worldwide (358ci 1950's motors probably won't cut it for those in the UK and Germany, although Doug Yates is featured in Engine Technology International--a UK engineering magazine, this month).
My blog I am starting with my ideas is : http:\\opensourceracing.blogspot.com
Check it out sometime and let me know your thoughts.
Good luck in your trip to Cup.
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