1961 Daytona 500

The 1961 Daytona 500, was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) event that was held on February 26, 1961 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Marvin Panch won the race in year old 1960 Pontiac built and owned by Smokey Yunick after taking the lead on lap 187. Panch was not originally scheduled to drive, and was only added to Yunick's team after Fireball Roberts suggested adding him. Panch drove the number 20 to victory in three hours and 20 minutes. The race was run in its entirety without a single caution flag. Panch took the lead with 13 laps remaining when race leader Fireball Roberts' car suffered a blown engine. The win was Panch's first, and only, victory of the season.

Background

Tragedy struck during the preliminaries of Daytona Speedweeks when a driver from Phoenix Arizona crashed in turn 3 of the 2.5-mile track. Harold Haberling was killed when his 1955 modified Chevy flipped in the 31 degree banking. This was the first fatality at the facility since 1959.

Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805 km) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Sprint Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero 400. It is one of the four restrictor plate races on the Sprint 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 Sprint Cup race. 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.

Daytona 500 (song)

"Daytona 500" is the second single by Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah, featuring The Force M.D.s, Raekwon, and Cappadonna from his 1996 solo debut album Ironman. The title is taken from the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar: The Daytona 500. Released unofficially, the song didn't chart on any charts but is considered a longtime favorite among Wu-Tang fans. The song was later added to his greatest hits album, Shaolin's Finest.

Music video

To complement the fast-paced nature of the track, the music video for "Daytona 500" shot from October 1-2, 1996 and is composed of clips from the original anime series Speed Racer. It is also one of the first anime music videos to be shown on a TV channel, and currently is one of the most popular anime music videos. In addition, it has been one of the earliest anime music videos ever made.

Track listing

A Side

  • Camay (Radio Edit)
  • Camay (Album Version)
  • Camay (Instrumental)
  • B Side

  • Daytona 500 (Radio Edit)
  • Daytona 500 (Album Version)
  • Podcasts:

    PLAYLIST TIME:

    Daytona 500

    by: Ghostface Killah

    We are the G, O-D's
    And we came to rock, the spot
    Like Ironman Starks
    They be the illest MC's, in the world today
    Cappa Raekwon and the R-Z-A
    So listen to them clear, and put the box right near your ear
    Light your blunts and down your beers
    Cause you could never fuck with Wu-Tang Killer Beez...
    Say peace to cats who rock mack knowledge
    Knowledgists, street astrologists
    Light up the mic God, knowledge this
    Fly joints that carried your points
    Corolla Motorola holder
    Play it God, he pack over the shoulder
    Chrome tanks, player like Yanks, check the franchise
    Front on my guys, my enterprise splash many lives
    Rapel on fakes like reflectors
    He had sugar in his ear in his last crack career
    We can can him, manhandle him, if you wanna
    run in his crib-o, get ditto, skate like a limo
    And jet to the flyest estate, relate take a break
    Break down an eighth and then wait drop it like Drake
    Thugs they be booing and screwing, we canoeing
    Claim they doin the same shit we doin, fuck your unit
    It's the same style, RZA trainable, jump the turnstyle
    On the alley tried to challenge God for the new vials
    Especially that, aluminum bat in the act
    Relax, lay back, sell a grenade a day, it pays black
    The Mac-10 flex white cats like Windex
    Index finger be sore, bustin these fly scripts
    The Wally kid count crazily grands with our plans
    Layin with my bitches and my mans in Lex Lands
    We losin em, jet to the stash and now Jerusalem
    Abusin em, rockin his jewels like we usin em
    Low pro star, seven thick waves rock Polar
    Roll with the older God, build with the Son and the Star
    All these MC's start realizing
    That Ghost got that shit, that'll keep you vibing
    The Wu is here to bring, you Shaolin's finest
    But if your shields are weak, you better step behind us
    Mercury raps is roughed then God just shown like taps
    Red and white Wally's that match, bend my baseball hat
    Doin forever shit, like pissin out the window on turnpikes
    Robbin niggaz for leathers, high swipin on dirt bikes
    Voice be metal like Von Harper radio bubble
    Murder sleep away camp, the fly lady champ
    The arsonist, who burn with his pen regardless
    Slaying all these earthlings and fake foreigners
    In the Phillipines, pick herbal beans, bubbling strings
    Body chemical CREAM, we burn kerosene
    The conviction of my tape is rape, wicked like Nixon
    Long-heads inscriptions with three sixes in
    Kiss the pyramid experiment with high explosive
    I slapbox with Jesus, lick shots at Joseph
    Zoomin like binoculars, the rap blacksmith
    Money's Rolex, with sparkles, Chef ragtop is spotless
    I'm Iron Man no cheap cash metal I'm steel alloy
    True identity hidden inside secret tabloids
    Breathe oxygen both sides of my jaw carry oxes
    The track hit like the bangers, in hundred watt boxes
    Yo jostling these cats while Little J be deli-ing
    Sip Irish Moss out of Widelians
    Give me the the fifty thou, small bills
    My gold plate, my slang kills
    My Benz spills, whattup Lils
    Murder one Dunn
    Killer bee stung, guess who back home Son
    My technique of slang camp won, third platoon soon
    Cristal bottles, cages of boom, probably wardrobe
    The mad-hatter big dick style, beware goons
    smuggle balloons, lord of dooms, in fat pussy wombs
    Let the Gods build, pull up the grill
    Check out the mad skills
    Top secret technique, too hard for you to peep it
    and keep it, jiggy style of rap and watchin knuckle slang
    sweep it out of order ape recorder can't record my slaughter
    spoil the rotten Don is too good to be forgotten
    High top notch, borderline rhymes is handcocked
    Ninety-six, my ill sound clash is still hot




    Latest News for: 1961 daytona 500

    Edit

    Quickies from March Madness to Warren Buffet to SpaceX, also Tiger Woods and ... Evel Knievel?

    News Journal - Daytona Beach 20 Mar 2025
    Daytona Motor Mouths ... Not anymore ... 1 ... 2. Gambling. Duh ... .. ... … I’m reminded of the Smokey Yunick quote from the 1961 Daytona 500, when his brand new Pontiac that was supposed to win (with Fireball Roberts aboard) dominated but blew an engine near the end.
    • 1
    ×