1959 Daytona 500
Race details[1]
Race 2 of 44 in the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series
Lee Petty No. 42 and Johnny Beauchamp No. 73 battle on the last lap of the 1959 Daytona 500.
Lee Petty No. 42 and Johnny Beauchamp No. 73 battle on the last lap of the 1959 Daytona 500.
Date February 22, 1959 (1959-02-22)
Official name First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures reaching up to 68 °F (20 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Average speed 135.521 mph (218.100 km/h)
Attendance 41,921
Pole position
Driver
Time 140.121 mph (225.503 km/h)
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Bob Welborn, Shorty Rollins and Jack Smith
Most laps led
Driver Jack Smith
Laps 57
Winner
No. 42 Lee Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network Not televised
Program promoting the 1959 Daytona 500.

The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona[2] (now known as the 1959 Inaugural Daytona 500) was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators.[3] It was the first race held at the 2.5-mile (4.0 kilometer) Daytona International Speedway.[4]

Background

Map of Daytona International Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that was one of the first superspeedways to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course.[5] The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd. The speedway is currently owned and operated by the International Speedway Corporation.[6]

The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959.[7]

The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.[8] It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.[9]

Race report

Qualifying

Cotton Owens had the fastest qualifying lap, at 143.198 miles per hour (230.455 km/h). The race had one qualifying race for Convertibles and one for the hardtop Grand National cars. Bob Welborn, winner of the 100-mile (160 km) Grand National qualifying race earlier in the week, started on the pole position.[10] Shorty Rollins won the Convertible qualifying race and started second. Twenty of the 59 cars in the Daytona 500 were convertibles.[11]

Race

There were no caution periods in the race; making it one of the few "perfect games" in NASCAR history, though it would occur in three of the first four Daytona 500s, as the Daytona 500 also went caution-free in both 1961 and 1962. This would be repeated ten years later with the 1969 running of the Motor Trend 500. Welborn led the early laps in the race but his race ended after 75 laps (of 200) with engine problems. Other leaders in the first 22 laps of the race were "Tiger" Tom Pistone and Joe Weatherly. Fireball Roberts took over the lead on lap 23, leading the next 20 laps before dropping out on lap 57 due to a broken fuel pump. When Roberts went to the pits on lap 43, Johnny Beauchamp, running in second place, became the leader. On lap 50, Pistone took over first place and Jack Smith moved into second; Beauchamp was third and Lee Petty was fifth. From lap 43 to 148 the race leaders were Pistone, Smith, and Beauchamp. Although Smith and Pistone led most of these laps, Beauchamp led a few times, for example records show he led on lap 110.[12] There is print information about the details of the race, including the leaders of the race in five-lap intervals.[13] Pistone and Jack Smith both had dropped out of contention by lap 149 and Beauchamp took over first place. 100 miles (160 km). Richard Petty also had to retire from the race with an engine problem and earned $100 ($1,003.88 when adjusted for inflation) for his 57th-place performance.

Lee Petty battled with Beauchamp during the final 30 laps of the race, and they were the only two drivers to finish on the lead lap. Petty took the lead with 3 laps left and led at the start of the final lap. Petty and Beauchamp drove side by side across the finish line at the end final lap for a photo finish. Beauchamp was declared the unofficial winner by NASCAR officials, and he drove to victory lane. Petty protested the results, saying "I had Beauchamp by a good two feet. In my own mind, I know I won."[10] Beauchamp replied "I had him by two feet. I glanced over to Lee Petty's car as I crossed the finish line and I could see his headlight slightly back of my car. It was so close I didn't know how they would call it, but I thought I won."[10] Early leader Fireball Roberts, who was standing by the finish line, said: "There's no doubt about it, Petty won."[10] It took NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. three days to decide the winner the following Wednesday.[10] In the end, with the help of photographs and newsreel footage, Petty was officially declared the winner.[14]

The controversial finish helped the sport. The delayed results to determine the official winner kept NASCAR and the Daytona 500 on the front page of newspapers.

Official results

The race lasted 3:41:22, with an average speed of 135.521 mph (218.10 km/h).[3]

Fin St # Driver Sponsor Make Laps Led Status
1 15 42 Lee Petty Newton Chappell Motors 1959 Oldsmobile 200 38 running
2 21 73 Johnny Beauchamp 1959 Ford Thunderbird 200 30 running
3 17 18 Charley Griffith Red Bank 1957 Pontiac 199 0 running
4 11 6 Cotton Owens W.H. Watson Trucking 1958 Pontiac 199 0 running
5 7 48 Joe Weatherly Wilson's Pure Oil Service 1959 Chevrolet 199 6 running
6 39 7 Jim Reed 1959 Chevrolet 196 0 running
7 41 47 Jack Smith Bud Moore's Garage, Georgia Chevy Dealers 1959 Chevrolet 196 57 running
8 5 59 Tom Pistone Rupert Safety Belt 1959 Ford Thunderbird 195 39 running
9 42 15 Tim Flock Russ Bramblet Ford 1959 Ford Thunderbird 193 0 running
10 31 1 Speedy Thompson 1957 Chevrolet 193 0 running
11 59 8 Johnny Allen 1957 Chevrolet 192 0 running
12 35 38 Raul Cilloniz 1959 Ford Thunderbird 192 0 running
13 43 41 Curtis Turner Delta Auto Sales 1959 Ford Thunderbird 189 0 running
14 33 11 Junior Johnson Champion Garage 1957 Ford 189 0 running
15 25 29 Dick Freeman Ruebush Brothers 1959 Chevrolet 188 0 running
16 16 77 Joe Lee Johnson Honest Charley 1957 Chevrolet Convertible 187 0 running
17 4 98 Marvin Panch McGee & Taylors 1958 Ford Convertible 185 0 running
18 10 25 Gene White 1957 Chevrolet Convertible 185 0 running
19 57 9 Roy Tyner 1957 Chevrolet 184 0 running
20 18 2 Jimmy Thompson 1957 Chevrolet 182 0 running
21 49 19 Herman Beam 1957 Chevrolet 182 0 running
22 14 92 Wilbur Rakestraw 1957 Ford Convertible 181 0 running
23 53 16 Jim McGuirk 1959 Pontiac 181 0 running
24 12 76 Larry Frank Carolina Plating 1958 Ford Convertible 178 0 running
25 48 10 Elmo Langley Cafe Burgundy 1957 Ford 175 0 running
26 19 4 Rex White Idlewild Homes 1959 Chevrolet 174 0 engine
27 30 55 Ben Benz 1957 Chevrolet Convertible 169 0 running
28 27 71 Dick Joslin 1957 Dodge 167 0 piston
29 24 14 Ken Rush 1957 Mercury Convertible 163 0 engine
30 55 80 Bob Rose Florida Dump Trucks 1957 Chevrolet 162 0 running
31 50 69 Harold Smith 1959 Studebaker 159 0 running
32 44 66 Dick Foley 1959 Chevrolet 157 0 running
33 28 32 Brownie King City Motor 1958 Chevrolet Convertible 152 0 engine
34 8 21 Glen Wood Wood Brothers 1958 Ford Convertible 149 0 clutch
35 47 83 Bob Pronger 1958 Ford 143 0 running
36 26 39 Billy Carden 1957 Mercury Convertible 140 0 running
37 23 81 Bernie Hentges 1959 DeSoto 138 0 engine
38 2 99 Shorty Rollins Shorty's 1958 Ford Convertible 115 0 engine
39 22 82 Joe Eubanks 1958 Ford Convertible 95 0 transmission
40 13 88 Tiny Lund Shook's Transfer 1959 Chevrolet 92 0 timing
41 1 49 Bob Welborn Tuxedo Plumbing & Heating 1959 Chevrolet 75 9 engine
42 54 87 Buck Baker 1959 Chevrolet 75 0 timing
43 37 53 Ken Johnson 1957 Ford 67 0 push rod
44 58 74 L.D. Austin 1957 Chevrolet 65 0 generator
45 46 3 Fireball Roberts Pontiac, America's No. 1 Car 1959 Pontiac 56 21 fuel pump
46 40 45 Paul Bass McGee Edsel 1958 Ford Edsel Convertible 52 0 engine
47 29 72A Bobby Johns 1957 Chevrolet 46 0 overheating
48 9 37 Eduardo Dibos Peru 1959 Ford Thunderbird 44 0 suspension
49 36 50 Gober Sosebee Cherokee Garage 1957 Chevrolet Convertible 44 0 transmission
50 20 89 Bob Said 1958 Chevrolet Convertible 42 0 transmission
51 51 95 Bob Duell 1959 Ford 38 0 distributor
52 32 36 Pete Kelly 1957 Chevrolet Convertible 34 0 engine
53 45 24 Bob Potter 1959 Chevrolet 33 0 timing
54 52 86 Carl Tyler 1957 Ford 29 0 overheating
55 34 33 George Green City Motors 1957 Chevrolet Convertible 21 0 engine
56 3 64 Fritz Wilson Museum of Speed 1959 Ford Thunderbird 15 0 piston
57 6 43 Richard Petty Air Lift 1957 Oldsmobile Convertible 8 0 engine
58 38 79 Larry Odo 1957 Ford Convertible 3 0 engine
59 56 75 Ken Marriott 1958 Ford Convertible 1 0 engine

References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1959 Daytona 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac.
  2. ↑ Caraviello, David (February 16, 2008). "In 1959, first Daytona 500 changed city, sport forever". NASCAR. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  3. 1 2 Race results; Retrieved October 24, 2007.
  4. ↑ Jan 7, Joe Menzer; ET, 2017 at 5:35p. "Classic photos from controversial first Daytona 500 in 1959". FOX Sports. Retrieved July 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "Track facts". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona International Speedway. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Lo'Aids". April 9, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  7. ↑ "The History of ISC". InternationalSpeedwayCorporation.com. International Speedway Corporation. June 14, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ What Makes Daytona Special. Daytona International Speedway. May 10, 2012. 2:51 minutes in. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
  9. ↑ "World's most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report". Initiative. January 19, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 1959: Petty's photo finish Archived August 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine; Mark Aumann, Turner Sports Interactive; January 9, 2003; Retrieved October 24, 2007.
  11. ↑ Daytona 500 Anniversary – The 50th Run Archived September 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine; Stock Car Racing magazine; Benny Phillips; July 3, 2002; Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  12. ↑ For more detailed discussion and sources, see John Havick, Ghosts of NASCAR, the Harlan Boys and the First Daytona 500, University of Iowa Press, 2013.
  13. ↑ National Speed Sport News, March 4, 1959; see a fifty lap increment report, National Speed Sport News, February 23, 1959.
  14. ↑ "Complete Daytona 500 winner history | NASCAR.com". Official Site Of NASCAR. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
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