Pepsi 400: Nothing like racing at night

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- To many of the newly hewn fans of NASCAR Winston Cup racing, the Pepsi 400 on the Fourth of July weekend under the lights at Daytona International Speedway is as natural as going to the beach or a fireworks display on the same holiday.

But before Jeff Gordon won the first race under the spectacular Musco lighting system in 1998 at the "World Center of Racing," the Pepsi 400 was simply another holiday fixture.

Winston Cup cars flash by in the enroaching dusk at Daytona. Credit: ASP

Before 1988, the event had always been held on July 4, no matter which day of the week it fell. In fact, Bobby Allison's final Pepsi 400 victory in 1987 just happened to fall on July 4, which was the first Saturday in July.

Ever since, the event has been scheduled on the first Saturday in July.

As landmark an event as Gordon's second of two Pepsi 400 victories was, it is only a single one of the 43 mid-summer events that have been held on the high-banked, high-speed 2.5-mile tri-oval.

And to hear Gordon tell it, it was a groundbreaker.

"I told them that they're crazy and there was no way we were going to be able to run 190 mph on a 2.5-mile race track," Gordon said. "But believe it or not, the lights are awesome here.

"They really, really did a great job and it makes it exciting for us and makes it exciting for the fans and I do think it took it to a new level."

Drivers of the stature of David Pearson, Fireball Roberts, A.J. Foyt, Cale Yarborough, Allison and Richard Petty had seen that the race's level was pretty high to begin with.

To witness the event today it's amazing to consider from where it came. The 1959 inaugural had only 37 cars, and 15 of those were from NASCAR's short-lived convertible division.

But it was notable, both for its 250-mile distance -- over which it was run for the first four years -- as well as for the first of three victories in the event by Roberts, the hometown hero.

How stark is the difference between then and now? That first event had an estimated attendance of about 13,000 fans, but on Saturday night, the 44th annual Pepsi 400 will host more than 175,000.

Pearson, whose ultimate Daytona victory probably came in the 1976 Daytona 500, for whatever indecipherable reason excelled in the summer at "the Beach." He won his first running of the event that began life as the "Firecracker," denoting its holiday status, in 1961.

Pearson went on to win a career best five editions of the race, including three straight from 1972-74. The highlight there was the inaugural 400-miler in 1963, when he used the slingshot move that Daytona made famous to beat Fred Lorenzen by less than a car length.

Yarborough and Petty figured pretty heavily in a lot of Daytona history -- with "The King's" 200th career victory in 1984, in front of President Ronald Reagan as the highlight -- possibly of the entire history of the race.

Yarborough won four times, including two straight in 1967-68. Petty, along with Allison and Roberts, won three times.

To counterpoint what became expected, such as A.J. Foyt's two straight wins in 1964-65, the Firecracker 400 also boasted the unexpected -- such as airline pilot Sam McQuagg's lone career victory in 1966 and Greg Sacks' well-earned but hugely upsetting 1985 score.

In 1997, John Andretti drove Yarborough's No. 98 Ford to the legendary driver/owner's first victory in the latter category -- in the 39th annual Pepsi 400, the final daytime race.

The following year, Musco -- the Iowa company that has formed a large niche in its business lighting race tracks -- transformed Daytona into the largest lighted sports complex in the world, with 1,835 light fixtures, 191 poles ranging from 70 to 110 feet, 150 miles of wire, 800 tons of concrete and 2,600 square feet of mirrors.

Many could say that at the same time, Musco transformed the event itself.

On Oct. 7, 1998 -- after the event was postponed from the summer because of raging wildfires, which in itself was an historic event -- stock cars were turned loose on the 2.5-mile tri-oval under the lights for the 40th annual Pepsi 400.

And all of a sudden, the Pepsi 400 took on a different atmosphere, which was electric in more ways than one.

It has caused a number of conclusions to be reached.

The cars look different. To the naked eye, the lights make the cars seem like they're traveling faster and fans can see the sparks fly when cars bottom out in the turns. Also, many of the top teams run special paint schemes featuring patriotic themes.

The racing is better. Night races seem to bring the most out of the drivers. It's sort of a throwback to the grassroots, Saturday night bullring atmosphere the drivers experienced when starting their racing careers.

Comfort. With cooler temperatures, both the fans and the drivers don't have to deal with the hot summer days of Florida and can enjoy the 180 mph racing under the stars.

"It's really like a different place," Ricky Craven said. "You have the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and then you have this other track (for) the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

"As confusing as that sounds that's the perspective you have on the two events. They're completely different because of the lights."

But the historical bent never goes away.