John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963 – January 30, 2020)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — John Andretti carved out his own niche in one of
the world’s most successful racing families.

He became the first driver to attempt the Memorial Day double. He won
on dirt tracks, street courses and superspeedways. He won an endurance
race, competed in dragsters and became an iron man in IndyCar and
NASCAR. He used his platform and passion for racing to help others
and On Thursday, John lost a three-year battle with colon cancer.

Michael Stefanik (May 20, 1958 – September 15, 2019)

(FoxNews) – NASCAR champion Michael Stefanik died Sunday in a
single-engine plane crash near the Rhode Island state line.

Connecticut state police said Stefanik took off in a single-engine,
single-seat Aerolite 103 from the Riconn Airport in Coventry, R.I.,
and was turning back to the airfield when it crashed in a wooded
area.

“Mike Stefanik was one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR
history, but even more so, he was a true representative of our sport,
” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “His
tough, competitive nature and excellence on the race track won him
the admiration of fans and competitors alike.”

 
   
Racing legend Richard Petty made the 1,000th start of his National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR)
career, in the Miller American 400 in Brooklyn, Michigan.

He became the first driver in NASCAR history to log 1,000
career starts.

Richard Lee Petty (The King) will turn 82 July 2nd.

Mike Joy (left), Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon.

(Fox News) – Fox Sports NASCAR analyst Darrell Waltrip has announced that
he will retire at the end of the network’s broadcast season.

Waltrip was a member of the Fox Sports NASCAR team when it first went on
the air in 2001, when he helped call the Daytona 500 that was won by his
brother Michael, but is mostly remembered for the last-lap accident that
took the life of Dale Earnhardt.

Fox Sports CEO & executive producer Eric Shanks said “Darrell has been
the heart and soul of the Fox NASCAR booth since day one, so it’s incredibly bittersweet to know this is his final season.”

Waltrip, a 3-time series champion, said he has been talking about the decision
with his family for several months.

Darrell Waltrip (far right) with #17 Tide Chevrolet Monte Carlo & Race Team along with transporter.

On this day in 1959, Lee Petty defeats Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish at
the just-opened Daytona International Speedway in Florida to win the first-ever Daytona 500. The race was so close that Beauchamp was initially named the
winner by William France, the owner of the track and head of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). However, Petty, who was
driving a hardtop Oldsmobile 88, challenged the results and three days later,
with the assistance of news photographs, he was officially named the champ.

There was speculation that France declared Beauchamp the winner in order to intentionally stir up controversy and generate publicity for his new race track.

Today, the 200-lap, 500-mile Daytona 500 is one of auto racing’s premiere
events and the first race of the NASCAR season. France, a gas station owner
and racing promoter, officially co-founded NASCAR in Daytona Beach in
1948.

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

Johnny Beauchamp
(March 23, 1923 – April 17, 1981)

   
William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992)

Lee Petty’s 1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.