The 1959 First Annual 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes held at
Daytona (now known as the 1959 inaugural Daytona 500) was the second
race of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) season. It was
held in front of 41,921 spectators and was the first race held at the 2.5-mile
(4.0 kilometer) Daytona International Speedway.The winner of the race was 
Lee Petty (shown above) driving the #42 car,a 1959 Oldsmobile. He is the  
father of Richard Petty,“The King”, who become NASCAR’s all-time winner.

A photo of a spin out on the track

Dale Earnhardt died in a last-lap crash of “the Super Bowl of NASCAR”,
the Daytona 500. Hours later, at a press conference, NASCAR President
Mike Hilton made the formal announcement to the world saying, "This is
undoubtedly one of the toughest announcements that I’ve ever personally
had to make. But…after the accident in Turn 4 at the end of the Daytona
500, we’ve lost Dale Earnhardt”.

Earnhardt had notable success in the Winston Cup Series, now called the
Sprint Cup Series, winning seventy-six races, including one Daytona 500
victory in 1998. Earnhardt’s seven championships are tied for most all-time
with Richard Petty. Dale Earnhardt as been inducted in numerous halls of
fame, including the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

James Byron Dean is a cultural icon, best thought of as being like the
title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which
he starred as a troubled  teenager, Jim Stark. The other two roles that
made him a star were as Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955), and the farmer, 
Jett Rink, in Giant (1956). Dean’s continued popularity rests on his work
in only these three films, all leading roles. His premature death in car 
crash in 1955 helped establish his legendary status. He was only 24.

James Dean was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award for 
Best Actor and remains the only actor to have had two posthumous acting
nominations. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Dean the 18th best
male movie star on their AFI 100 Years…100 Stars list.

James Dean behind the wheel of his Porsche 550 Spyder, the car
he died in

The Dukes of Hazzard  originally aired on the CBS television network beginning
on January 26, 1979. It was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners.Throughout
its TV run, "The Dukes of Hazzard" featured many newcomers as well as guest
appearances by established country stars. The theme song “The Good Ol’ Boys”
was written and performed by Waylon Jennings. He was also the shows narrator.  

The main stars of the show were from left to right, John Schneider as ”Bo” Duke,
Catherine Bach as cousin Daisy Duke, and Tom Wopat as “Luke” Duke.

  
Shown above is the shows other star, The General Lee, a 1969 Dodge Charger

Actor Dean Carroll Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977. At the  beginning of his career, Jones appeared in minor film and television roles. He made his Broadway debut, along with Jane Fonda, in the 1960 play There was a little Girl. Later that same year Jones played Dave Manning in the Broadway comedy Under the Yum-Yum Tree, a role he repeated in the 1963 film version starring Jack Lemmon.