1997 Daytona 500

The 1997 Daytona 500, the 39th running of the event, was held on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Consisted of 200 laps and 500 miles, it was the first race of the 1997 Winston Cup season. Mike Skinner, driving the #31 car for Richard Childress Racing, won the pole and Jeff Gordon, driving the #24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race. The race was broadcast on television by CBS.

Background

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

1966 Daytona 500

The 1966 Daytona 500, the 8th running of the event, was won by Richard Petty driving a 1966 Plymouth on February 27, 1966. Petty drove his number 43 to victory in just over three hours after starting the race on the pole. There were four caution flags which slowed the race for 22 laps. Petty came from two laps down to win the event after 198 laps were completed. The race was shortened by two laps due to rain. The win was Petty's second victory of the season.

1966 Season

The 1966 season marked the return of the Chrysler Hemi engine in NASCAR competition, while Ford took a one year leave from competition before realizing that the ploy was detrimental to their sales. The 1966 Daytona 500 was the fifth event of 49 in the 1966 season, which included the two qualifying races for the 500. The 1966 season opened in Augusta with Petty taking the win in the season inaugural event. Dan Gurney followed with a win in Riverside before the drivers and their teams ventured to Daytona International Speedway for the 500-mile (800 km) event. NASCAR ran a total of 49 events, ending at the Rockingham Speedway in October.David Pearson won the NASCAR Grand National Championship (now Sprint Cup) after winning 15 events while 168 drivers competed in at least one event during the 1966 season.

2006 Daytona 500

The 2006 Daytona 500, the 48th running of the event, was the first race in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was held on February 19, 2006 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Jimmie Johnson won the race in a green-white-checker finish. It was the second Daytona 500 in a row to go longer than 200 laps and 500 miles (800 km); this race, like the previous Daytona 500, had a total distance of 203 laps and 507.5 miles (816.7 km). This was also the first Daytona 500 to end after dark, ending even later than the 2005 race, in which the checkered flag had waved just a few moments after sunset.

Johnson's car failed pre-race inspection and as a result his crew chief, Chad Knaus was suspended for the first four races and the team was fined $200,000. As a result, Darian Grubb replaced him as crew chief. Knaus was not blocked, however, from contacting the team and by many accounts still had significant input. Johnson would go on to win his first championship that year.