Fireball Roberts and Joe Weatherly won the twin 100 mile NASCAR Grand National qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway. In race 1, Dan Gurney finished 4th in his first GN start. Darel Dieringer, who won the pole in a special 10 lap pole position race held on February 11th, was involved in a 6 car crash in the early going of the second qualifier. Following the race, Dieringer was replaced in the primary Ray Fox Pontiac by David Pearson, leaving Dieringer on the sidelines for the '500'.
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1975
Benny Parsons slipped by a spinning David Pearson with 2 laps to go and went on to win the Daytona 500. Parsons had closed on Pearson with drafting help from Richard Petty, who was 8 laps down. While attempting to pass the lapped cars of Richie Panch and Cale Yarborough on the backstretch, Pearson and Yarborough tapped fenders, sending Pearson spinning across the grass. Parsons' DeWitt Chevy went on to finish over a lap ahead of Bobby Allison in the Roger Penske AMC Matador. Wrecks and mechanical troubles put many contenders well off the pace. Parsons started 32nd in the field.
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1980
Jack Ingram won the Daytona Sportsman 300 race at the Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, FL. (Click here for the race report.)
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1986
Geoff Bodine won the Daytona 500, picking up his first career superspeedway win. Bodine and Dale Earnhardt were dueling for the win when Earnhardt ran out of fuel with three laps to go. Earnhardt blew his motor while peeling out of the pits after the splash and go stop. Terry Labonte was second, 11.25 seconds behind the winner.