Size, scope of Daytona 500 have changed over years

Fifty years ago, drivers took their first look at the new Daytona International Speedway and wondered just what in the heck they had gotten themselves into.

In those days, most races were held on dirt bullrings of a mile or less. Darlington Raceway was considered a superspeedway. So the idea of doing 150 mph in the equipment of the day was unfathomable

"There have been other tracks that separated the men from the boys," driver Jimmy Thompson said after making his first practice laps on the 2.5-mile tri-oval. "This is the track that will separate the brave from the weak after the boys are gone."

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But it didn't take long for Daytona's reputation for exciting racing -- and close finishes -- to come to the forefront. The inaugural race wound up as a photo finish between Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp, except that NASCAR officials hadn't installed a finish-line camera.

According to NASCAR historian Buz McKim, Bill France went down to the start/finish line to see if he could determine a winner, but his view was blocked by the lapped car of Joe Weatherly as the cars came to the line three-wide. Beauchamp was declared the winner but Petty protested, forcing France to find as many photos and films of the final lap as he could get his hands on.

After three days, France announced his ruling: Petty was the winner. And from that point on, there has been a camera at the finish line.

The early days of the Daytona 500 were truly a proving ground for man and machine. Engines, chassis and tires were put under enormous stress at those speeds. Of the 59 cars which took the green flag for the first 500, only 31 were running at the finish. In 1960, Bobby Johns' rear window blew out while he was leading the race, handing the win to Junior Johnson.

Fireball Roberts was a perfect example. He dominated three consecutive races, but mechanical issues sidelined him in 1960 and 1961, just a few miles from the finish. But he was not to be denied in 1962, leading 144 laps for his only Daytona 500 victory.

Tiny Lund was without a ride in 1963 when fate intervened. When 1961 winner Marvin Panch crashed his Maserati sports car during practice, Lund was one of the people who pulled Panch from the burning car. From his hospital bed, Panch asked the Wood Brothers to consider Lund as his substitute. Lund went on to win the race, his first NASCAR victory.

It took Richard Petty six tries to get to Daytona's Victory Lane, but once he got there in 1964, he became a regular visitor. He missed the 1965 race when Chrysler's Hemi engine was declared illegal -- the year Fred Lorenzen was able to keep his wrecked car running when the race was called because of rain -- but came back to win in the rain in 1966.

Mario Andretti is best known for his USAC and Formula One championships, but his only NASCAR win came in the 1967 Daytona 500, when his Holman Moody Ford was nearly untouchable.

Two men with similar last names won the next two 500s in almost identical fashion. Cale Yarborough beat LeeRoy Yarbrough on a slingshot move late in the race in 1968, only to see Yarbrough do the same thing to Charlie Glotzbach on the last lap a year later.

By 1970, manufacturers were heavily involved in making the cars sleeker and more aerodynamic, and speeds climbed. In an effort to lure Petty back to Chrysler, designers used a wind tunnel and computer analysis to create a high-winged car that was the forerunner to the current NASCAR chassis design.

Cale Yarborough's pole-winning speed that year was a mind-boggling 194.015 mph, but Northeast star Pete Hamilton drove his Superbird to the victory. (Continued)