Daytona 500

Template:NASCAR race infobox The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. In 2008, the race will celebrate its 50th running.

The Daytona 500 is widely regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse. Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other NEXTEL Cup race. It is also NASCAR's 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. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.

The event serves as the final event of Speedweeks and is known as "The Great American Race" and the "Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing." It is held the third or second Sunday in February, and since 1971, has been loosely associated with Presidents Day weekend.

The winner of the Daytona 500 is presented with the Harley J. Earl Trophy in Victory Lane, and the winning car is displayed, in race-winning condition, for one year at Daytona USA, a museum and gallery adjacent to Daytona International Speedway.

Memorable Daytona 500s

The race is the direct successor of shorter races held on Daytona Beach. This long oval was partially on the sand and also on the highway near the beach. Earlier events featured 200 mile (320 km) races with stock cars. These cars were equipped with wipers and radiators to combat the sand they faced. Eventually, the 500 was held and has been held at Daytona International Speedway since its inaugural run in 1959.

1959-1969

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1959 Daytona 500

Lee Petty, patriarch of a famous racing family whose most renowned member was his son Richard, won the first Daytona 500 on February 22, 1959 defeating Johnny Beauchamp in a highly unusual manner. Petty and Beauchamp were lapping Joe Weatherly at the finish, when officials initially called Beauchamp the winner as the three cars crossed the line. After reviewing photographs and film of the finish for three days, the call was reversed, and Petty was awarded the win.

After 3 years of being the best driver never to win the Daytona 500, Fireball Roberts came to the 1962 edition race of the 500 on a hot roll, he won the American Challenge for winners of 1961 NASCAR events, the pole postition for the 500, and the Twin-100 mile qualifier. In the race, he dominated the race leading 144 of the 200 laps and finally won his first (and eventually his only) Daytona 500 win.

Driving a potent Plymouth with the new Hemi engine, Richard Petty leads 184 of the 200 laps to win the 1964 Daytona 500 going away. Plymouths run 1-2-3 at the finish. The triumph was Petty's first on a super-speedway.

The first rain-shortened Daytona 500 was the 1965 event. Leader Marvin Panch and Fred Lorenzen made contact on Lap 129, as rain began to fall; Panch spun out, and Lorenzen won when the race was finally called on Lap 133. The 1966 500, won by Richard Petty, was also shortened, to 198 laps, due to rain.

The 1967 race saw Mario Andretti dominate the race. He led 112 of the 200 laps including the last 33 laps to capture his only NASCAR Grand National win.

The 1968 race saw a duel involving Cale Yarborough and LeeRoy Yarbrough. For much of the day, both drivers traded the lead. With 5 laps to go, Yarborough made a successful slingshot pass on the third turn to take the lead from Yarbrough and never look back as he won his first Daytona 500 by 1.3 seconds.

1970-1979

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Daytona 500, circa 1977

The 1970s open with Cale Yarborough setting the pace as he qualified with a 194.015 mph, and was on the pole. Fate played a major role in the 1970 race,claiming one driver after another as soon as the green flag fell. Richard Petty, then Yarborough who dropped out after leading 26 of the first 31 laps, Donnie Allison, and A.J. Foyt also dropped out of the race. Later in the race, Pete Hamilton an unknown driver prior to this race, was challenging for the lead with the likes of Charlie Glotzbach and David Pearson. On lap 192, Hamilton passed Pearson for the lead , and although Pearson tried valiantly to gain the lead, it was Hamilton who took the checkered flag in front of then the largest crowd to ever seen the Daytona 500 (an estimated 103,800). It was the first of 4 victories Hamilton would have in his short but sweet NASCAR career.

The 1973 race was a classic 2-car race involving Petty and Buddy Baker. In the first 150 laps of the race, Baker led for 118 of the 150 laps, but lurking was Petty, who avoided engine problems by other cars and a car crash on lap 155. After both Petty and Baker make pit stops with 10 laps to go, Petty had a 4.4 second lap, but Baker was closing in lap by lap. By Lap 195, the lead was only 2.5 seconds, but then Baker's engine blew, it was over for him as Petty coasted to his 4th Daytona 500 victory.

During the start of the 1974 NASCAR season, many races had their distance cut ten percent in response to the energy crisis of the year. As a result, the 1974 Daytona 500, won by Richard Petty (his second straight, making him the first driver ever to do it), was shortened to 180 laps (450 miles), as symbolically, the race "started" on Lap 21. The Twin 125 qualifying races were also shortened to 45 laps (112.5 miles).

In the 1976 500, Richard Petty was leading on the last lap when he was passed on the backstretch by David Pearson. Petty tried to turn under Pearson coming off the final corner, but didn't clear Pearson. The contact caused the drivers to spin in to the grass in the infield just short of the finish line. Petty's car didn't start, but Pearson was able to keep his car running and limp over the finish line for the win.

For Bobby Allison, The Daytona 500 prior to the 1978 race was not kind to him, in fact he came to the race with a 67-race winless streak but with 11 laps remaining, he pushed his Bud Moore Ford around Buddy Baker to take the lead and never look back as he captured his first Daytona 500 win.

The 1979 Daytona 500 was the first 500-mile race to be broadcast live on national television. (The Indianapolis 500 was only broadcast on tape delay that evening in this era; most races were broadcast only through the final quarter to half of the race, as was the procedure for ABC's Championship Auto Racing broadcasts; with the new CBS contract, the network and NASCAR agreed to a full live broadcast.) That telecast introduced in-car and low-level track-side cameras, which has now become standard in all sorts of automotive racing broadcasts. A final lap crash and subsequent fight between leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison (along with Donnie's brother Bobby Allison) brought national (if unwelcome) publicity to NASCAR, with the added emphasis of a snowstorm that bogged down much of the northeastern part of the United States. Donnie Allison was leading the race on the final lap with Yarborough drafting him tightly. As Yarborough attempted a slingshot pass at the end of the backstretch, Allison attempted to block him. Yarborough refused to give ground and as he pulled alongside Allison, his left side tires left the pavement and went into the wet and muddy infield grass. Yarborough lost control of his car and contacted Allison's car halfway down the backstretch. As both drivers tried to regain control, their cars made contact several more times before finally locking together and crashing into the outside wall in turn three. After the cars settled in the grass, Donnie Allison and Yarborough began to argue. After they had talked it out, Bobby Allison, who was lapped at that point, pulled over, began defending his brother, and a fight broke out. Richard Petty, who was over half a lap behind at the time, went on to win; with the brawl in the infield, the television audience scarcely noticed. The story was the talk of the water cooler the next day, even making the front page of The New York Times Sports section. NASCAR, as a national sport, had finally arrived after years of moonshine runners.

1980-1989

Buddy Baker started the decade by winning the fastest Daytona 500 in history, at 177.602 mph (285.809 km/h).

The 1981 event saw Richard Petty take an amazing gamble to win his 7th Daytona 500. With 24 laps to go, Petty came to the pits for his final scheduled pit stop, but instead of changing tires, only took on fuel. It worked well as Petty became the only driver to win the Daytona 500 in three different decades.

In 1983, Cale Yarborough was the first driver to run a qualifying lap over 200 mph (320 km/h) at Daytona in his #28 Hardees Chevrolet Monte Carlo. However, on his second of two qualifying laps, Yarborough crashed and flipped his car in turn four. The car had to be withdrawn, and the lap did not count. Despite the crash, Yarborough drove a back-up car (a Pontiac LeMans) to victory. A year later in 1984, Yarborough completed a lap of 201.848 mph (324.828 km/h), officially breaking the 200 mph barrier at Daytona. He won the race for the second year in a row, and fourth time in his career.

In 1987, Bill Elliott qualified for the pole position at an all-time Daytona record of 210.364mph (338.532 km/h). He had already won convincingly in the 1985 race, and won his second Daytona 500 in 1987 in dominating fashion.

Sandwiched between Elliott's wins, was a classic 1986 race that came down to the final 70 laps of the race (the last 70 were run under green). It was a 2-car race involving Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine. Earnhardt lead for 10 laps while Bodine lead for 60. With 3 laps to go, Earnhardt was forced to make a pit stop for a "splash 'n go". However, as Earnhardt left the pits he burned a piston, allowing Bodine to cruise to victory by 11.26 seconds.

The 1988 Daytona 500 was the first race requiring the use of new restrictor plates, mandated because it was felt the speeds were getting too high at the super-speedways, as demonstrated at Bobby Allison's crash at Talladega in 1987. Before the race, there was much uncertainty about how well these would work. In the 1988 500, Bobby Allison beat his son Davey Allison to the finish line for the win; father and son celebrated together in Victory Lane. Bobby Allison thus became the oldest driver to win the Daytona 500. The race is also remembered for Richard Petty's wild accident on lap 106. Petty spun, got airborne and tumbled along a large section of catch fence before his car came to a stop. The car was then torn nearly in half from hits by A. J. Foyt and Brett Bodine. Petty escaped without serious injury.

The 1989 event was won by Darrell Waltrip, his first Daytona 500 victory after 17 attempts. (Coincidentally, the car he drove to victory wore number 17.) Fans loudly cheered the child-like exuberance of Waltrip's victory celebration. As he was being interviewed by CBS pit reporter Mike Joy, Waltrip shouted, "I won the Daytona 500! I won the Daytona 500!" Shortly after, an exuberant Waltrip performed an "Ickey Shuffle" dance in Victory Lane.

1990-1999

After years of trying to win it, Dale Earnhardt appeared headed for certain victory in the 1990 Daytona 500 until a series of events in the closing laps. On lap 193 Geoff Bodine spun in the first turn, causing the third and final caution of the race. Everyone pitted except Derrike Cope, who stayed out. On the lap 195 restart, Earnhardt retook and held the lead, only to puncture a tire when he drove over a piece of metal bell housing from the failed engine of Rick Wilson's car on Lap 199. As Earnhardt's damaged car slowed, Cope drove past and earned his first Winston Cup (now NEXTEL Cup) victory. It was the first of two victories for the relatively unknown Cope in the 1990 season. In an ironic twist, the local CBS affiliate of Cope, who at the time was a resident of the Seattle suburb of Spanaway, opted to pre-empt the race to telecast a Seattle Supersonics basketball game, and the race was delayed until 3 PM US PST because of the pre-emption, following a CBS NBA telecast.

Earnhardt didn't fare better in the 1991 race as Ernie Irvan pass Earnhardt with six laps to go to score an upset win. Earnahrdt spins out with two laps remaining and takes out Davey Allison and Kyle Petty. Irvan cruised on the final lap as the race ends under the caution flag.

In 1992, Davey Allison dominated en route to his only Daytona 500 victory. He avoided the "Big One" on lap 92 and went on to lead the final 102 laps.

In 1993, Jeff Gordon made his first 500 start. He made quite a splash, finishing in the top five. On lap 170, trying to avoid the spinning cars of Michael Waltrip and Derrick Cope, Rusty Wallace's Pontiac lost control and cart-wheeled several times down the backstretch grass. With two laps to go and Dale Earnhardt leading, Dale Jarrett's Chevrolet was running third going into turn three. Using a push from fourth place Geoff Bodine, Jarrett went under Jeff Gordon for second and pulled even with the leader Earnhardt. They bumped and that sent the five time Winston Cup Champion sliding up the track and Jarrett made the pass. With his father and former Cup Champion Ned Jarrett in the broadcast booth, he became his son's biggest fan on national TV. It was the fourth time Earnhardt had been leading the 500 with less than ten laps to go, but failed to win.

In 1994, there was some changes on the Cup circuit for the 500. After the tragic deaths of Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki, some drivers changed teams. Ernie Irvan bought his way out of the number 4 Kodak Chevy to go drive Allison's old ride, the 28 Havoline Ford. Replacing Irvan was Sterling Marlin. Geoff Bodine bought Alan Kulwicki's team and drove the number seven Exide Batteries Ford. Between father Coo Coo and son Sterling, the Marlin family was 0-for-443 in Winston Cup starts heading into the 36th annual Daytona 500. Driving on just hope, Marlin was able to run the final 59 laps on his tank of fuel to win it. Several other drivers also gambled on gas but weren't able to get the same mileage as Marlin. Lake Speed, running fifth at the time, ran out with three laps left. Mark Martin was third before his tank went dry with two laps to go. Irvan, the 1991 winner, drove the number 4 Chevrolet the previous season ironically finished second, .19 seconds behind his former ride.

In 1995, Sterling Marlin amazingly became the first person to win back-to-back 500s since Cale Yarborough. But this year he won on sheer horsepower and track position and not on a fuel gamble. On he final caution, Marlin's crew chief, Tony Glover, kept Marlin on the track since there were 21 cars on the lead lap at the finish. Even on old tires, he was able to fend off the charging Dale Earnhardt, who went from 14th to second on fresh tires following the final restart with 10 laps to go. Earnhardt quickly moved past everyone but Marlin, locking onto the leader's back bumper by lap 197. Needing help to get around Marlin on the final lap, Earnhardt looked for third place Mark Martin. But Martin's car was on worn tires and he couldn't provide the needed push.

In 1998, Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 after 20 years of trying. Though Earnhardt had usually been a strong competitor in the Daytona 500, mechanical problems, crashes or bad luck had prevented him from winning the race. In 1998, however, Earnhardt was leading when Lake Speed and John Andretti made contact on Lap 198, causing the race to end under caution. After his victory, a joyous Earnhardt drove slowly down pit road, where members of other race teams had lined up to give him handshakes and high-fives. The victory was widely celebrated, even by people who weren't his fans, and was a defining moment in Earnhardt's career and legacy.

2000-2007

On the last turn of the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt was killed in a crash. This was the second restrictor-plate race run under a rules package (discontinued after the 2001 season) that included a small strip atop the car's roof and a small lip on the rear spoiler. Though it was meant to give power back to the drivers and help produce more lead changes, critics charged that it created dangerous racing conditions, as cars raced three or more wide for long stretches of the race, and compared to past set ups, the cars raced much closer together. An 18-car crash on lap 173, which sent Tony Stewart's car flying end-over-end, caused the race to be red-flagged (stopped) while the track was made safe. Michael Waltrip, making his first start for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., won the race, with his teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finishing second, in cars that were both owned by Dale Earnhardt, who had been running third prior to his fatal crash in Turn 4. The 2001 Daytona 500 was also the first NASCAR Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) points race to be televised by the Fox Network, which covered the other major Cup events during Speedweeks, as well as the previous day's Busch Series race. Fox's commentators and reporters included Darrell Waltrip, Michael's brother, and Larry McReynolds, who had been Dale Earnhardt's crew chief at the 1998 Daytona 500.

Sterling Marlin was battling Jeff Gordon for the lead of the 2002 Daytona 500 when they made contact. Gordon spun while a multi-car crash broke out behind them. NASCAR red-flagged the race so it could be raced to completion, and stopped the field on the backstretch. Marlin had been told the right front fender on his car had been knocked into the right front tire, and jumped out of the car to pull the fender away from the tire. NASCAR officials in the safety vehicle immediately jumped out and stopped him. Since no one is allowed to work on a car during red-flag conditions, Marlin was sent to the back of the field, giving Ward Burton the win.

In 2003, Michael Waltrip won when rain shortened the race to 109 laps due to rain. The following year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned one of the most memorable victories in recent memory. Late in the race, Dale made a daring move without drafting help going into turn 3 to get by Tony Stewart. The win came six years to the date after his father won the event.

Changes to the Daytona 500 meant the race could run into the dusk, with engines starting at 2:40 PM, and the green flag waving around 2:55 PM, meaning the race would finish under the lights as darkness fell at the finish. In 2005, Jeff Gordon won his third Daytona 500 in the first instance of NASCAR using the green-white-checker finish rule in the 500. Jimmie Johnson took the honors in 2006, also under a nighttime green-white-checker finish. Johnson won the race in a year that would see him win the Nextel Cup Championship.

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Kevin Harvick edges past Mark Martin to win the 2007 Daytona 500.

The 2007 race, held exactly six years to the day of Dale Earnhardt's tragic death, was the first time Toyota, a "foreign name plate" car, entered the Daytona 500. Two of the four qualifying Toyotas completed the race, with Dale Jarrett finishing 23rd and Michael Waltrip finishing 30th. Tony Stewart's wreck that took him out of the race was strangely similar to the one that claimed Earnhardt, although Stewart was not injured in the crash.

At the end, Mark Martin was leading for the last 26 laps. A wreck in the final five laps forced a race stoppage. In a green-white-checker finish, Martin was passed by Kevin Harvick, driving for the team Earnhardt made famous (with Earnhardt's famous #3 replaced by the #29) going into Turn 3, but concurrently, a large wreck was happening behind them. Coming to the checkered flag, Martin and Harvick had a drag race to the finish with Harvick claiming victory by .02 second, the closest since the inaugural race in 1959 as the rest of the field was wrecking. One car, the Jack Daniels #07 driven by Harvick's RCR teammate Clint Bowyer, flipped on its top with another car colliding into him, causing Bowyer's car to catch fire. Bowyer's momentum carried him over the finish line, upside-down and in flames, for an 18th place finish. The car then righted itself in the infield grass and Bowyer alertly exited the burning vehicle to walk away unharmed. Harvick tied Benny Parsons and Ward Burton for the record of the driver to lead the least laps and go on to victory, as all three only led four laps, and Harvick also broke the record by winning from the 34th position.

The newest Cup driver to Roush Fenway Racing, David Ragan, would also surprise many by finishing 5th in his debut superspeedway race. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya would make his 2nd NASCAR start at Daytona, although he did not have a stellar performance like his ARCA debut where he finished 3rd. He would finish in the 19th position after starting 36th from his Gatorade Duel finish.

2008

The 2008 Daytona 500 is the upcoming 50th annual running of "The Great American Race", the Daytona 500. The race is scheduled to be run on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race will celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the first race run in 1959, won by Lee Petty. To commemerate the event, the Harley J. Earl Trophy, which goes to the winner of the race, will be plated in gold instead of silver. The race is scheduled to be the first Daytona 500 run using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which was introduced in 2007.

DAYTONA 500 winners Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Mario Andretti, sitcom star Jason Lee, TV host Kelly Ripa, and action sport legend Tony Hawk, among others, have put their artistic talents to the test to help commemorate the 50th running of NASCAR’s crown jewel stock car race, the 2008 DAYTONA 500. Daytona International Speedway (DIS) has launched its “Celebrity Tickets for Charity” competition, where the design of the most sought-after ticket in motorsports history will be chosen from submissions provided by celebrities, with fans having a voice in the decision.

Voting begins Tuesday, May 1. Fans are encouraged to click on the “Celebrity Tickets for Charity” banner on [www.daytona500.com] as often as they like to view and vote for their favorite celebrity ticket designs.

Qualifying procedure

Qualifying is unique at Daytona for the 500. Some teams must race their way into the Daytona 500 field. However, since 2005, all exempt teams (the top 35 teams of the previous year in owner points) are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500. The first row is set by one round of qualifying, normally held one week before the race. (Prior to 2003, this was two rounds; prior to 2001, it was three.) The remainder of the field is set by qualifying races (these were 100 miles from 1959-1967; 125 miles from 1969-2004; and 150 miles, with two-lap overtime if necessary, beginning in 2005. These races were not held in 1968 because of rain). The top two drivers from the qualifying races that are not in the top 35 in owner points are given spots on the field, and the rest is set by the finishing order of the duels, with guaranteed spots to those in the top 35. The remaining spots, 40 to 43 are filled by top qualifying times of those not already in the field from the qualifying race. If there is a previous NASCAR Champion without a spot, he will get one of those four spots, otherwise, the fourth fastest car is added to the field.

Prior to 2005, after the top two cars were set, the top 14 cars in the qualifying races advanced to the field, and then between six (1998-2003), eight (1995-97, 2004), or ten (until 1994) fastest cars which did not advance from the qualifying race were added, and, since the mid-1980s, between two and seven cars were added by previous year's points performance and or championship.

Television

The Daytona 500 was the first 500-mile auto race to be televised live flag-to-flag on network television when CBS aired it in 1979. CBS continued airing the Daytona 500 until 2000. From 2001 to 2006, the race alternated between FOX and NBC under the terms of a six-year, $2.48 billion NASCAR television contract. Starting in 2007, FOX became the exclusive home of the Daytona 500 under the terms of NASCAR's new television package.

A byproduct of both the track's 1998 lighting and the 2001 television package has been later start times. The race started at 12:15 p.m. (US EST) from 1979 until 2000. The start time was moved to 2:30 p.m. for the convenience of west coast viewers. The 2005 race ended at sunset for the first time in its history, and the 2006 race ended well after sunset. The changing track conditions caused by the onset of darkness in the closing laps force the crew chiefs to predict the critical car setup adjustments needed for their final pit stop. The 2007 race ended at night, at 7:07 PM US EST.

In 1986, the Daytona 500 paid tribute to astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and many cars carried a decal in memory of the STS-51-L crew. Seventeen years later, in 2003, a similar tribute was paid to the astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. All cars carried a decal in memory of the STS-107 crew.

The television ratings for the Daytona 500 have surpassed those of the Indianapolis 500 since 1995, even though the 1995 race was available in fewer homes than in the past, CBS had lost affiliates in major markets as a result of realignment in the wake of FOX landing the NFL, and was actually not available in a NASCAR Busch Series market, Milwaukee and their new CBS affiliate, WDJT, was not available to some cable subscribers.

List of Daytona 500 winners

Year	Date	Driver	Car #	Car Make	Start	Laps Led	Winner's prize	Average Speed (mph)
1959	February 22	Lee Petty	42	Oldsmobile	15th	38	$19,050	135.521
1960	February 24	Robert G. "Junior" Johnson	27	Chevrolet	9th	67	$19,600	124.740
1961	February 26	Marvin Panch	20	Pontiac	4th	13	$21,050	149.601
1962	February 18	Edward G. "Fireball" Roberts	22	Pontiac	1st	144	$24,190	152.529
1963	February 24	DeWayne L. "Tiny" Lund	21	Ford	12th	127	$24,550	151.566
1964	February 23	Richard Petty	43	Plymouth	2nd	184	$33,300	154.334
1965	February 14	Fred Lorenzen	28	Ford	4th	25 (of 129)	$27,100	141.539*
1966	February 27	Richard Petty	43	Plymouth	1st	108 (of 198)	$28,150	160.927*
1967	February 26	Mario Andretti	11	Ford	12th	112	$48,900	146.926
1968	February 25	Cale Yarborough	21	Mercury	1st	76	$47,250	143.251
1969	February 23	LeeRoy Yarbrough	98	Ford	19th	18	$38,950	157.950
1970	February 22	Pete Hamilton	40	Plymouth	9th	13	$44,850	149.601
1971	February 14	Richard Petty	43	Plymouth	5th	70	$45,450	144.462
1972	February 20	A.J. Foyt	21	Mercury	2nd	167	$44,600	161.550
1973	February 18	Richard Petty	43	Dodge	7th	17	$36,100	157.205
1974	February 17	Richard Petty	43	Dodge	2nd	73 (of 180)	$39,650	140.894*
1975	February 16	Benny Parsons	72	Chevrolet	32nd	4	$43,905	153.649
1976	February 15	David Pearson	21	Mercury	7th	37	$46,800	152.181
1977	February 20	Cale Yarborough	11	Chevrolet	4th	137	$63,700	153.218
1978	February 19	Bobby Allison	15	Ford	33rd	28	$56,300	159.730
1979	February 18	Richard Petty	43	Oldsmobile	13th	12	$73,900	143.977
1980	February 17	Buddy Baker	28	Oldsmobile	1st	143	$102,175	177.602
1981	February 15	Richard Petty	43	Buick	8th	26	$90,575	169.651
1982	February 14	Bobby Allison	88	Buick	7th	147	$120,360	153.991
1983	February 20	Cale Yarborough	28	Pontiac	8th	23	$119,600	155.979
1984	February 19	Cale Yarborough	28	Chevrolet	1st	89	$160,300	150.994
1985	February 17	Bill Elliott	9	Ford	1st	136	$185,500	172.265
1986	February 16	Geoff Bodine	5	Chevrolet	2nd	101	$192,715	148.124
1987	February 15	Bill Elliott	9	Ford	1st	104	$204,150	176.263
1988	February 14	Bobby Allison	12	Buick	3rd	70	$202,940	137.531
1989	February 19	Darrell Waltrip	17	Chevrolet	2nd	25	$184,900	148.466
1990	February 18	Derrike Cope	10	Chevrolet	12th	5	$188,150	165.761
1991	February 17	Ernie Irvan	4	Chevrolet	2nd	29	$233,000	148.148
1992	February 16	Davey Allison	28	Ford	6th	127	$244,050	160.256
1993	February 14	Dale Jarrett	18	Chevrolet	2nd	8	$238,200	154.972
1994	February 20	Sterling Marlin	4	Chevrolet	4th	30	$258,275	156.931
1995	February 19	Sterling Marlin	4	Chevrolet	3rd	105	$300,460	141.710
1996	February 18	Dale Jarrett	88	Ford	7th	40	$360,775	154.308
1997	February 16	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	6th	40	$377,410	148.295
1998	February 15	Dale Earnhardt	3	Chevrolet	4th	105	$1,059,805	172.712
1999	February 14	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	1st	15	$1,172,246	161.551
2000	February 20	Dale Jarrett	88	Ford	1st	87	$1,277,975	155.669
2001	February 18	Michael Waltrip	15	Chevrolet	19th	23	$1,331,185	161.783
2002	February 17	Ward Burton	22	Dodge	19th	4	$1,389,017	130.810
2003	February 16	Michael Waltrip	15	Chevrolet	4th	68 (of 109)	$1,419,406	133.870*
2004	February 15	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	8	Chevrolet	3rd	59	$1,495,070	156.341
2005	February 20	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	15th	28 (of 203)	$1,497,150	135.173*
2006	February 19	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	9th	24 (of 203)	$1,505,120	142.734*
2007	February 18	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	34th	4 (of 202)	$1,510,469	149.333*

*All of the above races were 500 miles (200 laps) long, except those listed below:

• 1965: 322.5 Miles (129 laps) because of rain
• 1966: 495 Miles (198 laps) because of rain
• 1974: 450 Miles (180 laps) Race scheduled for 450 miles (90% distance) due to energy crisis
• 2003: 272.5 Miles (109 laps) because of rain
• 2005-2006: 507.5 Miles (203 laps) because of green-white-checker finish rule
• 2007: 505 Miles (202 laps) because of green-white-checker finish rule

NOTE: Effective July 25, 2004, NASCAR changed finish rules in Nextel Cup Series and Busch Series competition. If at any time during the penultimate lap the race is under caution, the race will end with two green flag laps or the next caution upon the ensuing restart. Craftsman Truck Series had already been using a green-white-checker finish rule since 1995.