Petersen Museum to host 'NASCAR: 60 Years' exhibit

LOS ANGELES -- NASCAR and the Petersen Automotive Museum have announced that in celebration of 60 years of NASCAR racing, they will unveil a retrospective on the history of the fabled sport. On Friday, Feb. 15, the Petersen Automotive Museum will open its doors to a new NASCAR: 60 Years exhibit, featuring a unique collection of racecars spanning NASCAR's history.

50th Daytona 500

• Most memorable
• Winning drivers
• Winning crew chiefs
• History of the 500
• How DIS came to be
• Flashback: Daytona '79

The museum will also host a Daytona 500 viewing party on Sunday, Feb. 17, complete with a block-party style Fan Fest, featuring NASCAR racing simulators, food and beverage stations, a jumbo television screen, music, the NASCAR Street Tour, interactive displays and more. The eastbound lanes of Wilshire Boulevard in front of the museum (between S. Fairfax Avenue and S. Orange Grove Avenue) will be closed to host the event.

The free event will allow fans to enjoy some of the sights and sounds of the NASCAR experience firsthand, providing the ultimate viewing opportunity to watch the 50th running of the Daytona 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX) on a 12-foot projector screen. The event will serve as a lead-in to the West Coast premiere of NASCAR, when the Auto Club 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) will be held at California Speedway in Fontana on Feb. 24.

"There is nothing more American than NASCAR," said Dick Messer, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum. "We are excited about partnering with this iconic motorsports brand and celebrating 60 years of NASCAR at the Petersen."

Starting on Feb. 15, the museum will showcase unique racecars that all have a place in NASCAR history. Among the collection are:

• 1940 Mercury driven by Sam Packard
• 1964 Mercury Marauder driven by Darel Dieranger
• 1972 Ford Torino driven by Bobby Unser
• 1974 Dodge Charger driven by Richard Petty
• 1989 Pontiac driven by Rusty Wallace
• 2002 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Also on display will be this year's Sprint Cup Series championship trophy, as well as a series championship trophy from 2003. The vehicles and trophies will be on display until Aug. 31.

"As NASCAR celebrates 60 years of stock-car racing, nothing could be timelier than for our fans to see the evolution of racecars pulled together by the Petersen Museum," said Jim Obermeyer, managing director, brand and consumer marketing. "The cars are obviously a critical element of NASCAR's heritage and should be celebrated in connection with six decades of the world's finest racing. NASCAR fans are the most passionate fans in the world and are the key link to the sport's roots."

NASCAR and the Petersen Automotive Museum will also host a screening of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby on Wednesday, Feb. 20, featuring a meet-and-greet with the 2008 Daytona 500 winner. Tickets to the showing are free and will be given away at the Fan Fest. Fans can also enter to win tickets on myfoxla.com through Feb. 15.