Daytona boss praises Petty
Lee Petty, the winner of the inaugural Daytona 500 NASCAR race who died on Wednesday, has been praised by the current boss of the Daytona motor speedway
"Lee Petty will forever hold a special place here at Daytona as winner of the first Daytona 500, and for all he meant for the sport, both on and off the track.," said John Graham.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Petty family."
Petty's Daytona record pre-dated the now famous banked speedway, the scene of his finest moment. His first race at the Florida venue was on the original beach course, using gaps carved in the sand dunes as turns and a passing road as the back straight.
Petty won the 1954 race, came second in the 1956 event, and second again in 1957. The beach course was replaced with the current Daytona Motor Speedway in 1959.
Petty's record at the Speedway is as follows:
|
Year |
Race |
Start |
Finish |
|
1959 |
Daytona 500 qualifier |
14 |
8 |
|
1959 |
Daytona 500 |
15 |
1 |
|
1959 |
Firecracker 250 |
19 |
33 |
|
1960 |
Daytona 500 qualifier |
3 |
7 |
|
1960 |
Daytona 500 |
14 |
4 |
|
1960 |
Firecracker 250 |
12 |
4 |
|
1961 |
Daytona 500 qualifier |
15 |
15 |
(Petty crashed after 37 laps in the 1961 qualifying round and was seriously injured. He never returned to race at the Speedway.)
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