Washington’s Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the
third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President
of the United States, who was born on February 22, 1732. Since the Uniform
Federal Holidays Act of 1971, its observance can occur from February 15 to
21, inclusive.Colloquially, the day is also now widely known as Presidents’
Day and is often an occasion to honor the incumbent president and all who
have served as president, not just George Washington. The day is a state
holiday in most states.

BRIAN THOMAS

Former professional basketball player Michael Jeffrey Jordan is 57 years
old today. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships
with the Chicago Bulls. He is considered by many fans of the sport the
greatest basketball player of all time. Known by his initials, MJ is the
principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets basketball team. 

Lee Petty No. 42 and Johnny Beauchamp No. 73 battle on the last lap
of the 1959 Daytona 500.

The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona
(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. It was the first race
held at the 2.5-mile Daytona. The race lasted 3:41:22, with an average
speed of 135.521 mph.

It took NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. three days to decide the winner
the following Wednesday. In the end, with the help of photographs and
newsreel footage, Petty was officially declared the winner.

Lee Arnold Petty
(March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)

Lee Petty was one of the pioneers of
NASCAR and one of its first superstars.
He is also the father of Richard Petty,
who went on to become one of the
most successful stock car racing
drivers of all time.

The original NASCAR logo.

On February 16, 1923, in Thebes, Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter (above) entered the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamen.

Because the ancient Egyptians saw their pharaohs as gods, they carefully preserved their bodies after death, burying them in elaborate tombs
containing rich treasures to accompany the rulers into the afterlife. In the
19th century, archeologists from all over the world flocked to Egypt, where
they uncovered a number of these tombs. Many had long ago been broken
into by robbers and stripped of their riches.

(FoxNews) – The 62nd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday will mark the
start of a new era for NASCAR, following its landmark offseason acquisition
of International Speedway Corp.

NASCAR now owns the Daytona International Speedway, home of the
venerable season-opening race, as well as several other tracks included
in the $2 billion acquisition. While big changes related to the deal aren’t
expected until 2021, the transaction gives NASCAR unprecedented control
over its racing schedule as it reshapes its business to appeal to younger
fans.

“It makes a big difference,” NASCAR Chairman Jim France said of the merger.
“It gives us an opportunity to respond quicker to the changing environment
out here with the economy and all the things that are going on that impact motorsports. It was a major big step that we needed to make probably for
quite a while.”

NASCAR Chairman Jim France.