While NASCAR ran its first race more than a year before this occasion– Feb. 15, 1948, on the beach road course in Daytona – this date holds significance for the first race under the NASCAR “Strictly Stock” banner – the eventual predecessor to the NASCAR Cup Series. The inaugural track of choice to begin the eight-race run that year came at a 0.75-mile dirt track known at the time as Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway. With 13,000 in attendance, a field of 33 took to the track for 197 laps, where No. 34 driver Jim Roper, in his 1949 Ford Lincoln, eventually prevailed en route to the first victory in the series.

Beach racing certainly brought public spectacle. The problem, however, was that the spectacle was becoming almost too big. Spreading land usage from an expanding population and ever-increasing race crowds made for crowding circumstances. And so, Bill France Sr. looked to find a solution. Initial proposals and talks in 1953-54 eventually led to land clearing in 1957 and the first practice on the 2.5-mile tri-oval on Feb. 6, 1959. Two weeks later, Lee Petty crossed the checkered flag ahead of 58 other eager racers in front of a crowd of 41,921. And so, the “Great American Race” was born.

Richard Petty only led 12 laps – and avoided an on-track incident between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison on the last lap – to capture the win during the second race to open the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. However, the race marked another crown achievement for a sport looking to grow on a national scale. To the joy of television viewers across the country, CBS Sports presented the first flag-to-flag telecast of the Daytona 500. It was the first time in history that a 500-mile NASCAR event was televised by a major network in its entirety. When a fight broke out between Yarborough and the Allison brothers after the incident, it only added to the spectacle.

An Independence Day celebration was supplemented with a convincing showing at Daytona International Speedway by Richard Petty, who secured his 10th career Cup win at the track with the finish. But the individual win added to the luster surrounding “the King” even more than simply being a victory on a holiday. The win was Petty’s 200th in Cup and would wind up being his last in the premier series. It also came with President Ronald Reagan in attendance. The 200 mark remains tops among Cup drivers.

Going international might be one hurdle. But taking NASCAR overseas? Well, that was a different challenge entirely. But it was an opportunity to put on an exhibition in Japan. Enter the NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special, which saw cars get shipped in containers and a field of 27 eventually come to the 1.394-kilometer road course in Suzuka Circuitland. Rusty Wallace led 84 of 100 laps en route to the win. Another contest on the same track was run on Nov. 23, 1997.

One day after the All-Star Race – and two weeks after the Hall of Fame’s grand opening – five individuals were inducted into NASCAR’s first-ever Hall of Fame. The quintet – Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson and Richard Petty – helped personify appreciation for longtime contributors in helping the sport grow. Spanning more than 13 classes since, 56 drivers, owners, crew chiefs and broadcasters have joined the first five in being permanently etched in NASCAR’s history.

A dynastic run of five straight Cup championships to close out the 2000s (2006-10) didn’t prevent Jimmie Johnson from striving for more. And Johnson did just that with another title in 2013, followed by another in 2016. With his title win during the latter, the 42-year-old Johnson joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers to win a record-tying seven titles in Cup history. Just like that, a dynamic duo became a thunderous trio.