On February 22, 1959, Lee Petty defeated Johnny Beauchamp
in a photo finish at the just-opened Daytona International
Speedway in Florida to win the first-ever Daytona 500.

Ralph Dale Earnhardt (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)

Dale Earnhardt is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history and was named as one of the NASCAR’s 50
Greatest Drivers class in 1998.

On February 15, 1998, after 20 years of trying, racing great
Dale Earnhardt Sr. finally wins his first Daytona 500, the
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing 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’s win that February in 1998 represented his sole Daytona
victory. Tragically, on February 18, 2001, Earnhardt died at the
age of 49 during a crash at that year’s 43rd Daytona 500.

    
    
    
    
    
   
On February 18, 2001, Dale Earnhardt Sr., considered one of the
greatest drivers in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) history, died at the age of 49 in a last-lap crash at the
43rd Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Earnhardt died of a basilar skull ring fracture, the most serious
type of skull fracture.        
        
        
   
       

Ralph Dale Earnhardt
(April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)

LeeRoy Yarbrough chased down Charlie Glotzbach, who
had an 11-second lead, and passed him on the final lap
after starting 19th. It was the first Daytona 500 won on a
last lap pass.

Yarbrough won in a back-up Ford car after crashing his
primary one. This would also be the second-last Daytona
500 before the NASCAR Grand National Series became
the Winston Cup Series in 1971. Starting in 1971, all races
were to have 43 competitors maximum in a starting grid
starting with the 1971 Daytona 500.