Tyler Reddick (30), who drives for Michael Jordan’s 23XI
Racing, was in first place when he crossed the line at
Daytona International Speedway and won the Daytona
500 for the first time in his career. He didn’t lead a single
lap until the very end.
On February 15, 1998, after 20 years of trying, racing great
Dale Earnhardt Sr. finally won his first Daytona 500, the
NASCAR season opener and an event dubbed the “Super
Bowl of stock car racing.”
Driving his black No. 3 Chevrolet, Earnhardt recorded an
average speed of 172.712 m.p.h. and took home a then-
record more than $1 million in prize money.
Following his victory, crews from competing teams lined
the pit road at the Daytona International Speedway in
Daytona Beach, Florida, to congratulate Earnhardt, who
drove his car onto the grass and did several celebratory
doughnuts, or circles.
Earnhardt, whose tough, aggressive driving style earned
him the nickname “The Intimidator,”
Dale Earnhardt Sr. (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)
On August 19, 1911, the first race was held at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway, now the home of the world’s most famous
motor racing competition, the Indianapolis 500.
Built on farmland five miles northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana,
the speedway was started by local businessmen as a testing
facility for Indiana’s growing automobile industry.
The idea was that occasional races at the track would pit cars
from different manufacturers against each other. After seeing
what these cars could do, spectators would presumably head
down to the showroom of their choice to get a closer look.
Ray Harroun won the race in his Harmon Wasp with an
average speed of 74.6 mph.
On July 22, 1894, the world’s first-ever automobile race took
place, with 17 of 21 entrants completing the route from Paris
to Rouen, France, covering a distance of 78.3 miles.
The Concours Paris-Rouen—better known as the Paris-
Rouen Trial—paved the way not only for Le Mans, the
Indianapolis 500, and all the car races to come, but also
heralded the dawn of the motor age by showcasing the
automobile’s reliability.
The first-place prize of 5,000 francs—a value of around
$40,000 today—was shared equally between the French
manufacturers Panhard & Levassor and Les Fils de
Peugeot frères for hewing closest to the competition’s
ideals.
The real winner of the Paris-Rouen Trial, however, was
the automotive industry itself.
