The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona (now known as the 1959 Inaugural Daytona 500) was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators.Race results; Retrieved October 24, 2007. It was the first race held at the Daytona International Speedway.
Background
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that was one of the first superspeedways to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a sports car course and a motorcycle course. The track's infield includes the Lake Lloyd. The speedway is currently owned and operated by the International Speedway Corporation.
The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach and Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959.
The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar. It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.
Race report
Qualifying Cotton Owens had the fastest qualifying lap, at . The race had one qualifying race for Convertibles and one for the hardtop Grand National cars. Bob Welborn, winner of the Grand National qualifying race earlier in the week, started on the pole position.1959: Petty's photo finish ; Mark Aumann, Turner Sports Interactive; January 9, 2003; Retrieved October 24, 2007. Shorty Rollins won the Convertible qualifying race and started second. Twenty of the 59 cars in the Daytona 500 were convertibles.Daytona 500 Anniversary – The 50th Run ; Stock Car Racing magazine; Benny Phillips; July 3, 2002; Retrieved February 21, 2008.
On February 21st, there was a Consolation race where the winner would be added to the field. Jack Smith was the winner.
Race There were no caution periods in the race; making it one of the few "clean races" in NASCAR history, though it would occur in three of the first four Daytona 500s, as the Daytona 500 also went caution-free in both 1961 and 1962. This would be repeated ten years later with the 1969 Motor Trend 500.
On the morning of the race, Bob Welborn's chief mechanic, Paul McDuffie, discovered a rocker arm bolt off-center and knew the engine wouldn't last the entire race. McDuffie said, "We didn't have time to fix it because we would have had to install a new head. We didn't locate the trouble until we made a last minute check on the valves. That head was the only thing in the engine I didn't build. It was a factory head."
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 and Joe Weatherly. Fireball Roberts took over the lead on lap 23, leading the next 20 laps before dropping out on lap 57 due to a broken fuel pump. When Roberts went to the pits on lap 43, Johnny Beauchamp, running in second place, became the leader. On lap 50, Pistone took over first place and Jack Smith moved into second; Beauchamp was third and Lee Petty was fifth. From lap 43 to 148, the race leaders were Pistone, Smith, and Beauchamp. Although Smith and Pistone led most of these laps, Beauchamp led a few times, for example records show he led on lap 110. For more detailed discussion and sources, see John Havick, Ghosts of NASCAR, the Harlan Boys and the First Daytona 500, University of Iowa Press, 2013. There is print information about the details of the race, including the leaders of the race in five-lap intervals.National Speed Sport News, March 4, 1959; see a fifty lap increment report, National Speed Sport News, February 23, 1959. Pistone and Jack Smith both had dropped out of contention by lap 149 and Beauchamp took over first place. . Richard Petty also had to retire from the race with an engine problem and earned $100 ($ when adjusted for inflation) for his 57th-place performance.
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 three 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. Beauchamp was declared the unofficial winner by NASCAR officials, 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 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). FinSt#DriverMakeLapsLedStatus11542Lee Petty1959 Oldsmobile20038running22173Johnny Beauchamp1959 Ford Thunderbird20030running31718Charley Griffith1957 Pontiac1990running4116Cotton Owens1958 Pontiac1990running5748Joe Weatherly1959 Chevrolet1996running6397Jim Reed1959 Chevrolet1960running74147Jack Smith1959 Chevrolet19657running8559Tom Pistone1959 Ford Thunderbird19539running94215Tim Flock1959 Ford Thunderbird1930running10311Speedy Thompson1957 Chevrolet1930running11598Johnny Allen1957 Chevrolet1920running123538Raul Cilloniz1959 Ford Thunderbird1920running134341Curtis Turner1959 Ford Thunderbird1890running143311Junior Johnson1957 Ford1890running152529Dick Freeman1959 Chevrolet1880running161677Joe Lee Johnson1957 Chevrolet Convertible1870running17498Marvin Panch1958 Ford Convertible1850running181025Gene White1957 Chevrolet Convertible1850running19579Roy Tyner1957 Chevrolet1840running20182Jimmy Thompson1957 Chevrolet1820running214919Herman Beam1957 Chevrolet1820running221492Wilbur Rakestraw1957 Ford Convertible1810running235316Jim McGuirk1959 Pontiac1810running241276Larry Frank1958 Ford Convertible1780running254810Elmo Langley1957 Ford1750running26194Rex White1959 Chevrolet1740engine273055Ben Benz1957 Chevrolet Convertible1690running282771Dick Joslin1957 Dodge1670piston292414Ken Rush1957 Mercury Convertible1630engine305580Bob Rose1957 Chevrolet1620running315069Harold Smith1959 Studebaker1590running324466Dick Foley1959 Chevrolet1570running332832Brownie King1958 Chevrolet Convertible1520engine34821Glen Wood1958 Ford Convertible1490clutch354783Bob Pronger1958 Ford1430running362639Billy Carden1957 Mercury Convertible1400running372381Bernie Hentges1959 DeSoto1380engine38299Shorty Rollins1958 Ford Convertible1150engine392282Joe Eubanks1958 Ford Convertible950transmission401388Tiny Lund1959 Chevrolet920timing41149Bob Welborn1959 Chevrolet759engine425487Buck Baker1959 Chevrolet750timing433753Ken Johnson1957 Ford670push rod445874L.D. Austin1957 Chevrolet650generator45463Fireball Roberts1959 Pontiac5621fuel pump464045Paul Bass1958 Ford Edsel Convertible520engine472972ABobby Johns1957 Chevrolet460overheating48937Eduardo Dibos1959 Ford Thunderbird440suspension493650Gober Sosebee1957 Chevrolet Convertible440transmission502089Bob Said1958 Chevrolet Convertible420transmission515195Bob Duell1959 Ford380distributor523236Pete Kelly1957 Chevrolet Convertible340engine534524Bob Potter1959 Chevrolet330timing545286Carl Tyler1957 Ford290overheating553433George Green1957 Chevrolet Convertible210engine56364Fritz Wilson1959 Ford Thunderbird150piston57643Richard Petty1957 Oldsmobile Convertible80engine583879Larry Odo1957 Ford Convertible30engine595675Ken Marriott1958 Ford Convertible10engine
References
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