THIS DAY IN MOTORSPORTS
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FEBRUARY 28th



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FEBRUARY 28

1914
Ed Pullen won the 5th 'American Grand Prize' in his Mercer. Resuming after a one year break, the race was held for the first time on an 8.417 mile course of streets in and around Santa Monica. It was the first (and only) time an American driver won the American GP in an American car.
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1920
Jimmy Murphy wins the 250 mile race in a Duesenberg at the just opened Beverly Hills race track in California.
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1940
Mario Andretti... Born ... One of the most successful Americans in the history of auto racing. He has competed and won in many different types of auto racing, including stock cars, midget cars, sprint cars, IndyCars, drag racing cars, sports cars, and single-seater Formula One cars. During his career, Andretti won four IndyCar titles, the 1978 Formula One World Championship, and IROC VI (the 1978 - 1979 IROC). To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), NASCAR's Daytona 500 (1967), and the Formula One World Championship. Andretti had a long career in racing. He was the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984). He was also one of only three drivers to win races on road courses, paved ovals, and dirt tracks in one season, a feat that he accomplished four times. At his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became the first driver to win IndyCar races in four decades and the first to win races in five decades.
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1960
Richard Petty, 22, wins his first of what would be 200 Grand National/Cup races, when he guides his 1959 Plymouth to victory in a 200-lap race at Southern States Fairgrounds in Charlotte, N.C. Petty's average speed on the half-mile dirt track is 53.404 mph. Petty wins by six car lengths over Rex White before a crowd of 7,849. The victory comes in his 35th race.
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1965
Ned Jarrett won the 100 mile NASCAR GN race at the Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, North Carolina. ( Click here for the race report. )
Richard Petty, driving in a drag race at the Southeastern International Dragway in Dallas Georgia, lost control of his car and it went into the spectators killing an 8 year old boy. ( Click here for the story. )
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1966
Joe Gaerte... Born ... World of Outlaws sprint car driver.
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1971
A.J. Foyt won the 500 mile NASCAR GN race at Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, CA. Foyt drove the Wood Brothers Mercury past Buddy Baker with 14 laps left and crossed the finish line 8.5 seconds in front of Baker's Petty Dodge. 51 cars took the green flag starting three-abreast in the first NASCAR race on the 2.5 mile OMS oval.
Al Unser won both ends of the two-heats of the Rafaela 300 USAC Indy Car race at the 2.87-mile oval Autodromo De Rafaela track in Rafaela, Argentina.
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1987
Steve Kinser won the World of Outlaws Sprint Car race at the Baylands Raceway Park, Fremont, CA. Jac Haudenschild was second followed by Brad Doty, Ron Shuman and Bobby Davis Jr..
Mike Sweeney won the CRA Sprint Car race at the Imperial Fairgrounds, Imperial, CA. Brad Noffsinger was second followed by Steve Ostling, Jerry Meyer and Bobby George.
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1993
Rusty Wallace wins the Goodwrench 500 over Dale Earnhardt at the North Carolina Speedway , Rockingham, NC.
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2000
Tony Schumacher drove his Top Fuel dragster through the 1/4 mile at 330.23 mph at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona. His speed is nearly 4 mph faster than his previous record in 1999.
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2021
William Byron won the NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla. Tyler Reddick finished second followed by Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch.
Tim Wagaman won the Ice Breaker Sprint Car feature at the Lincoln Speedway, Abbottstown, Pa. Kyle Moody was second followed by Tim Glatfelter, Alan Krimes, Matt Campbell, Anthony Macri, Brandon Rahmer, Dylan Cisney, Justin Peck and Tyler Ross.
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