2004 Daytona 500
The 2004 Daytona 500, the 46th running of the event was the first race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was a race held on February 15, 2004, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was televised by NBC, with Allen Bestwick, 1975 race winner Benny Parsons, and Wally Dallenbach Jr. calling the action for the second time after the 2002 race. It was the first NASCAR Nextel Cup race to air in high definition. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race, making this his first Daytona 500 victory exactly six years to the day after his father Dale Earnhardt, Sr. won his first and only Daytona 500 in the 1998 race. Tony Stewart finished second and rookie Scott Wimmer finished third. Qualifying and Gatorade 125's Greg Biffle won his first career Cup Series pole, but an engine change during Speedweeks forced him to go the rear of the field. The inside column of cars all moved up one row, promoting Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had won the first Gatorade 125, to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual fall showdown Dixie Vodka 400 being held at Homestead south of Miami. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, it has been the season-opening race of the Cup series. The Daytona 500 is 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 NASCAR Cup Series race. It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. F ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, IMSA, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary high-speed tri-oval, a sports car course, a motorcycle course, and a karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's infield includes the Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is operated by NASCAR pursuant to a lease with the City of Daytona Beach on the property that runs until 2054. Dale Earnhardt is Daytona International Speedway's all-time winningest driver, with a total of 34 career victories (12- Daytona 500 Qualifying Races) (7- NASCAR Xfinity Series Races) (6- Busch Clash Races) (6- IROC Races) (2- Pepsi 400 July Races) (1- The 1998 Daytona 500). The track was bu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
1975 Daytona 500
The 1975 Daytona 500, the 17th running of the event on February 16, 1975, was a race in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Race report From the start, it appeared that David Pearson was on his way to his first Daytona 500 victory as he built a sizable lead on second place Benny Parsons late in the race. However, Richard Petty was eight laps behind the leaders on his way to finishing seventh, and Parsons hooked up in a draft and began reeling in Pearson who was slowed by lapped traffic. The key moment of the race occurred two laps from the end when contact with Cale Yarborough in traffic sent Pearson spinning on the backstretch. Parsons avoided the accident and went on to take the win. One of the things that set up that incident late in the race that cost David Pearson the race was the fact that Cale Yarborough was running on 7 cylinders. On the final restart, Cale was actually placed in front of the leaders, on the end of the lead lap, but the power deficit he was at resulted in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ryan Newman (racing Driver)
Ryan Joseph Newman (born December 8, 1977), nicknamed "Rocket Man", is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full time in the SRX Camping World Series driving the No. 39. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing, as well as part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 39 Ford F-150 for DCC Racing. Newman made his racing debut in 1993 in the United Midget Auto Racing Association and the All-American Midget Series, winning both Rookie of the Year and the championship. His 100 feature wins and two titles have him in the Quarter Midget Hall of Fame. Moving to USAC in 1995 running the C.E. Lewis No. 39 Drinan Chassis powered Brayton Motor, he was ROTY again in both the Midget Series and the Silver Crown in 1996. In 1999, he was the first driver to win in all three divisions while being the Silver Bullet Series champion in the No. 14 Beast Chassis powered Chevy. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Andy Belmont
Andy Belmont (born November 20, 1957) is a retired stock car driver and team owner. Belmont began racing at an early age before moving south. In 1987, he was named the NASCAR Dash Series Rookie of the Year, then he won the championship the next year as a car owner. Belmont posted three wins in the DASH Series (currently known as ISCARS DASH Touring since 2005) at Hickory Motor Speedway on October 18, 1987, Myrtle Beach Speedway on May 20, 1988, and Southside Speedway on July 8, 1988. Career overview In 1989, Belmont made his Winston Cup debut at Dover Downs International Speedway (now Dover International) Peak Performance 500, starting 35th and finishing 29th after his No. 04 Winner Ford Cherry Hill Ford Thunderbird suffered braking failure. In 1992, he finished runner-up for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year despite running just eight races. His best NASCAR finish came in a Busch Series race in 1995 at Darlington Raceway. Running in only five ARCA events in 1995, Andy earned three ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Junie Donlavey
Wesley Christian "Junie" Donlavey Jr. (April 8, 1924June 9, 2014), a native of Richmond, Virginia, was the owner of Donlavey Racing; he began fielding the team in 1950. He drove for his team at first, but soon gave way to other drivers. Donlavey earned a reputation as working well with young drivers over his tenure, as Ken Schrader and Jody Ridley won NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors while driving for Donlavey. Donlavey served in the United States Navy during the 1940s. Afterwards, Donlavey started his own auto repair business, and began to develop an interest in racing. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007. Donlavey closed his racing team after the 2004 season when Andy Hillenburg failed to qualify for the Daytona 500; in 2006, he stated that he still had several cars in his race shop, but was in the process of selling them and had no plans to return to racing. He died in Richmond, Virginia on June 9, 2014, at the age of 90. His age of death is i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Andy Hillenburg
Andrew Hillenburg (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current team owner and track owner. His race team, Fast Track Racing, fields multiple cars in the ARCA Menards Series and formerly fielded entries in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is credited with reviving the North Carolina Speedway, now known as Rockingham Speedway, after the track lost its NASCAR dates starting in 2005. Racing career Hillenburg was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He began his racing career at age 11 when he competed in the Indianapolis soap box derby. He won the state quarter midget championships in 1975–1979. Hillenburg won the ARCA Super Car Series Championship in 1995, with 3 time ARCA Champion Bob Dotter as Crew Chief. He won the 1995 and 1997 Daytona ARCA 200, the premiere event in the series. He served as a test driver for the International Race of Champions and Team Racing Auto Circuit series. He competed in the 2 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Automobile Racing Club Of America
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Loga. The ARCA Menards Series races stock cars similar to those seen in past years in the NASCAR Cup Series, and indeed most cars used in the Menards Series were previously used in NASCAR. ARCA's competitors contain a mix of both professional racers and hobby racers alike, in addition to younger competitors trying to make a name for themselves, sometimes driving as part of a driver development program for a NASCAR team. ARCA Menards Series races are broadcast on Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 or MAVTV, and they have been previously broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, USA Network, TNN, Prime Network, CBS Sports Network, NBCSN, TBS and TNT. ARCA owns both the Toledo Speedway and Flat Rock Speedway. ARCA formerly sanctioned the ARCA Midget Series from ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ford Taurus
The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from the 1986 to 2019 model years. Introduced in late 1985 for the 1986 model year, six generations were produced over 34 years; a brief hiatus was undertaken between 2006 and 2007. From the 1986 to 2009 model years, the Taurus was sold alongside its near-twin, the Mercury Sable; four generations of the high-performance Ford Taurus SHO were produced (1989–1999; 2010–2019). The Taurus also served as the basis for the first-ever front-wheel drive Lincoln Continental (1988–2002). The original Taurus was a milestone for Ford and the entire American automotive industry, being the first automobile at Ford designed and manufactured using the statistical process control ideas brought to Ford by W. Edwards Deming, a prominent statistician consulted by Ford to bring a "culture of quality" to the enterprise. The Taurus had an influential design that brought many new features and i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Kirk Shelmerdine
Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Crew chief After spending his early NASCAR career as an engineer for Hylton Engineering, in 1984 he joined Richard Childress Racing to become the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt had 46 wins, 142 top 5 finishes, and 246 top 10 finishes with Shelmerdine en route to four championships in 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1991. The pit crew won four consecutive Pit Crew Titles over the next eight years. His accomplishments include being the youngest crew chief to win a NASCAR race, and the youngest crew chief to win a Winston Cup championship. In 1992, he announced he was retiring from his crew chief duties, and embarked on a racing career on his own to pursue his dream of being a driver. Driving career begins He started running in the ARCA series in 1993 where he has three career wins. He has since run in all the top levels in NASCAR. S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sterling Marlin
Sterling Burton Marlin (born June 30, 1957) is an American semi-retired, professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, driving the No. 114 for Sterling Marlin Racing. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, winning the Daytona 500 in 1994 and 1995. He is the son of late NASCAR driver Coo Coo Marlin. He is married to Paula and has a daughter, Sutherlin, a son, Steadman, a former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, and a grandson Stirlin who splits a schedule with Sterling in Sterling’s No. 114 Super Late Model. Career Beginnings Marlin attended Spring Hill High School, where he played high school basketball and football, earning the captain status his senior year while he played quarterback and linebacker. He began his collection of civil war artifacts shortly after high school. In 1976, he made his NASCAR debut at Nashville Speedway, filling in for his injured father in the No. 14 H.B. Cunningham Chevrolet. He started 30th and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Speedweeks
Daytona Speedweeks presented by AdventHealth is a series of racing events that take place during January and February at Daytona International Speedway. Traditionally leading up to the Daytona 500, in 2021 it concluded with the Daytona road course race. Nearby tracks New Smyrna Speedway and Volusia County Speedway also run special events during the period. There is also a Monster Jam event held at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic Monster Energy Supercross raced at Camping World Stadium in Orlando which is about an hour South of the speedway. The races took place on February 13th and 20th which was the same day as both NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the speedway. January Through 2014, ''Speedweeks'' informally kicked off in early January with off-season testing at Daytona. The NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regularly conducted annual preseason tests on the oval, under the moniker "Pre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |