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1959 Daytona 500

 

 
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1959 Daytona 500
 
 
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The 1959 First Annual 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona (now known as the 1959 inaugural Daytona 500
Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida....
) was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR
NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is the largest sanctioning body of stock cars in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series....
 Grand National (now Sprint Cup) 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 (4.0 kilometer) Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home to the most important race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Daytona 500....
.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m2173932",this)' onMouseout='hide("m2173932")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Cotton_Owens">Cotton Owens
Cotton Owens

Everett "Cotton" Owens "the King of the Modifieds" was a NASCAR driver. For five straight years , Owens captured at least one Grand National series win....
 had the fastest qualifying lap 143.198 miles per hour
Miles per hour

The mile per hour is a physical unit of speed, expressing the number of Mile covered per hour.It is currently the Unit of measurement used for speed limits, and speeds, on roads in the United Kingdom and United States....
 (mph) (230.45 kilometres per hour
Kilometres per hour

The kilometre per hour is a physical unit of both speed and velocity . The unit symbol is km/h or km?h-1; however, the colloquial abbreviations "kph" and "kmph" are sometimes also used in English-speaking countries, in analogy to mph, although these are not in accordance with international scientific standards....
 [km/h]).






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The 1959 First Annual 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona (now known as the 1959 inaugural Daytona 500
Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida....
) was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR
NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is the largest sanctioning body of stock cars in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series....
 Grand National (now Sprint Cup) 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 (4.0 kilometer) Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home to the most important race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Daytona 500....
.

Qualifying

Cotton Owens
Cotton Owens

Everett "Cotton" Owens "the King of the Modifieds" was a NASCAR driver. For five straight years , Owens captured at least one Grand National series win....
 had the fastest qualifying lap 143.198 miles per hour
Miles per hour

The mile per hour is a physical unit of speed, expressing the number of Mile covered per hour.It is currently the Unit of measurement used for speed limits, and speeds, on roads in the United Kingdom and United States....
 (mph) (230.45 kilometres per hour
Kilometres per hour

The kilometre per hour is a physical unit of both speed and velocity . The unit symbol is km/h or km?h-1; however, the colloquial abbreviations "kph" and "kmph" are sometimes also used in English-speaking countries, in analogy to mph, although these are not in accordance with international scientific standards....
 [km/h]). The race had one qualifying race for Convertibles
NASCAR Convertible Division

The NASCAR Convertible Division was a division of convertible cars early in NASCAR's history....
 and one for the hardtop Grand National cars. Bob Welborn
Bob Welborn

Robert "Bob" Joe Welborn of Denton, North Carolina is a former NASCAR Grand National driver. He was named to NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers list in 1998....
, winner of the Grand National qualifying race earlier in the week, started on the pole position
Pole Position

Pole Position is a racing game video game released in 1982 by Namco. In this game, the player has to complete a lap in a certain amount of time in order to qualify for an Formula One race at the Fuji Speedway....
. Shorty Rollins
Shorty Rollins

Lloyd George "Shorty" Rollins , nicknamed "Shorty", born in Granbury, Texas was the first official NASCAR Rookie of the Year. He began stock car racing in Corpus Christi, Texas....
 won the Convertible qualifying race and started second. 20 of the 59 cars in the Daytona 500 were convertibles.

Race

There were no caution periods in the race. Welborn led the early laps in the race but his race ended after 75 laps (of 200) with engine problems. Other leaders in the first 22 laps of the race were "Tiger" Tom Pistone
Tom Pistone

"Tiger" Tom Pistone is a former NASCAR Nextel Cup driver from Chicago. He made his Grand National debut in 1955 and won two races and finished 6th in championship points in the 1959 season for Carl Rupert, his best season statistically....
 and Joe Weatherly
Joe Weatherly

Joe Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver....
. Fireball Roberts
Fireball Roberts

Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Jr. was one of the pioneering auto racing drivers of NASCAR....
 took over the lead in lap 23, leading the next 20 laps before dropping out of the race on lap 57 due to a broken fuel pump.. Johnny Beauchamp
Johnny Beauchamp

Johnny Beauchamp was an American NASCAR racer from Harlan, Iowa. He is best known for finishing second at the 1959 Daytona 500 in a photo finish after being declared the unofficial winner....
 led several laps before Pistone and Jack Smith
Jack Smith (NASCAR)

Jack Smith , was a NASCAR driver....
 battled for the lead during the next .

Lee Petty battled with Beauchamp during the final 30 laps of the race, and they were the only two drivers to finish on the lead lap. Petty took the lead with 3 laps left, and led at the start of the final lap. Petty and Beauchamp drove side by side across the finish line at the end final lap for a photo finish
Photo finish

A photo finish occurs in a sporting Racing, when two competitors cross the finishing line at near the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to discriminate between which of the competitors crossed the line first, a strip photo, a series of rapidly triggered photographs, or a video taken at the finish line may be used for a more accura...
. Beauchamp was declared the unofficial winner by NASCAR officials who felt he had won by 12 inches (30 centimeters), and he drove to victory lane. Petty protested the results, saying "I had Beauchamp by a good two feet. In my own mind, I know I won." Beauchamp replied "I had him by two feet. I glanced over to Lee Petty's car as I crossed the finish line and I could see his headlight slightly back of my car. It was so close I didn't know how they would call it, but I thought I won." Early leader Fireball Roberts, who was standing by the finish line, said "There's no doubt about it, Petty won." 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
Newsreel

A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest....
 footage, Petty was officially declared the winner.

The controversial finish helped the sport. The delayed results to determine the official winner kept NASCAR and the Daytona 500 on the front page of newspapers.

Official results

The race lasted 3:41:22, with an average speed of 135.521 mph (218.10 km/h).
  1. Lee Petty
    Lee Petty

    Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 60s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars....
  2. Johnny Beauchamp
    Johnny Beauchamp

    Johnny Beauchamp was an American NASCAR racer from Harlan, Iowa. He is best known for finishing second at the 1959 Daytona 500 in a photo finish after being declared the unofficial winner....
  3. Charley Griffth
  4. Cotton Owens
    Cotton Owens

    Everett "Cotton" Owens "the King of the Modifieds" was a NASCAR driver. For five straight years , Owens captured at least one Grand National series win....
  5. Joe Weatherly
    Joe Weatherly

    Joe Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver....
  6. Jim Reed
  7. Jack Smith
    Jack Smith (NASCAR)

    Jack Smith , was a NASCAR driver....
  8. Tom Pistone
    Tom Pistone

    "Tiger" Tom Pistone is a former NASCAR Nextel Cup driver from Chicago. He made his Grand National debut in 1955 and won two races and finished 6th in championship points in the 1959 season for Carl Rupert, his best season statistically....
  9. Tim Flock
    Tim Flock

    Julius Timothy "Tim" Flock was one of NASCAR's early pioneers, and a two time series champion. He was a brother to NASCAR's second female driver Ethel Mobley and NASCAR pioneers Bob Flock and Fonty Flock....
  10. Speedy Thompson
    Speedy Thompson

    Alfred "Speedy" Thompson was a NASCAR pioneer and driver in the Nextel Cup [now Sprint Cup] series from 1950 to 1971, capturing 20 wins along the way....
  11. Johnny Allen
    Johnny Allen (NASCAR)

    Johnny Allen was a NASCAR Grand National driver from 1955-1967. His won one race in his career, which occurred at the Myers Brothers 200 at the Bowman-Gray Stadium on June 16, 1962....
  12. Raul Cilloniz
  13. Curtis Turner
    Curtis Turner

    Curtis Turner was an early NASCAR driver. In addition to his success in racing, he made a fortune, lost it, and remade it buying and selling timberlands....
  14. Junior Johnson
    Junior Johnson

    Robert Glen Johnson, Jr. , known as Junior Johnson, was a moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s....
  15. Dick Freeman
  16. Joe Lee Johnson
    Joe Lee Johnson

    Joe Lee Johnson was a NASCAR Grand National driver who won the inaugural World 600 in 1960. He was also the 1959 NASCAR Convertible Division champion....
  17. Marvin Panch
    Marvin Panch

    Marvin Panch is a former NASCAR driver....
  18. Gene White
  19. Roy Tyner
  20. Jimmy Thompson
  21. Herman Beam
    Herman Beam

    Herman Beam was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and team owner from Johnson City, Tennessee who was active as a driver from 1957 until 1963....
  22. Wilbur Rakestraw
    Wilbur Rakestraw

    Wilbur Rakestraw is a retired automobile racer from Dallas, Georgia. He was born into a family racers. His career includes racing in the SRE organization as well as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Convertible Division series....
  23. Jim McGuirk
  24. Larry Frank
  25. Elmo Langley
    Elmo Langley

    Elmo Langley was a NASCAR driver and owner. He was born in Landover, Maryland. Langley primarily used the number "64" on his race cars during his NASCAR career....
  26. Rex White
    Rex White

    Rex White is a former NASCAR champion. He began racing in 1956, grabbing fourteen top-ten finishes. After a part-time run in 1957, White won twice the next year....
  27. Ben Benz
  28. Dick Joslin
  29. Ken Rush
  30. Bob Rose
  31. Harold Smith
  32. Dick Foley
  33. Brownie King
  34. Glen Wood
    Glen Wood

    Glen Wood is a former NASCAR driver from Stuart, VA. He founded the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953 in NASCAR, and won four races over an eleven year driving career....
  35. Bob Pronger
  36. Billy Carden
  37. Bernie Hentges
  38. Shorty Rollins
    Shorty Rollins

    Lloyd George "Shorty" Rollins , nicknamed "Shorty", born in Granbury, Texas was the first official NASCAR Rookie of the Year. He began stock car racing in Corpus Christi, Texas....
  39. Joe Eubanks
  40. Tiny Lund
    Tiny Lund

    DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund was a NASCAR driver. He was known as "Tiny" due to his rather large and imposing size....
  41. Bob Welborn
    Bob Welborn

    Robert "Bob" Joe Welborn of Denton, North Carolina is a former NASCAR Grand National driver. He was named to NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers list in 1998....
  42. Buck Baker
    Buck Baker

    Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. better known as Buck Baker was an United States racecar driver....
  43. Ken Johnson
  44. L. D. Austin
  45. Fireball Roberts
    Fireball Roberts

    Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Jr. was one of the pioneering auto racing drivers of NASCAR....
  46. Paul Bass
  47. Bobby Johns
    Bobby Johns

    Bobby Johns is a retired American racecar driver.Johns raced in the NASCAR series in the 1956-1969 seasons, with 141 career starts. He had 2 wins among his 36 top ten finishes and finished the 1960 season 3rd in the points....
  48. Eduardo Dibos
  49. Gober Sosebee
    Gober Sosebee

    Gober Sosebee was an United States racecar driver. He won on the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1949, 1950 and 1951. He was born in Dawson County, Georgia, and began his career in 1940 at Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway....
  50. Bob Said
    Bob Said

    Boris "Bob" Said was a racing driver from USA. Boris was the first American to win a road race in Europe after World War II - the 1953 Grand Prix of Rouen....
  51. Bob Duell
  52. Pete Kelly
  53. Bob Potter
  54. Carl Tyler
  55. George Green
  56. Fritz Wilson
  57. Richard Petty
    Richard Petty

    Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the Winston Cup Series. "The King", as he is nicknamed, is most well-known for winning the Nascar Championship seven times , winning a record 200 races during his career, winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times, and winning a record 27 rac...
  58. Larry Odo
  59. Ken Marriott