The Daytona 500 is the biggest race in all of NASCAR, setting up every NASCAR Cup Series season for over 40 years. But this race has had numerous occasions of not having a race to the 500 mile scheduled distance. Many see this in the form of NASCAR overtime, or the green-white-checker finish but on four different instances the Daytona 500 failed to make it to the 500 mile distance. One of these was the shortest Daytona 500 ever, the 2003 Daytona 500. So today let’s look back at this, the shortest Daytona 500 in NASCAR history.
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Outro Song:
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Songs:
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34 comments
What is your favorite Daytona 500?
My favorite will be when Keselowski finally wins it
2010 because of all the craziness of the track falling apart and the wild finish.
2007
@Logan England That would be my favorite if Mark Martin would have won. That still hurts me to this day.
So glad Michael won this one kinda like some closure for him 🙂
It’s fitting that Michael Waltrip won the shortest Daytona 500, as it’s the only thing that was shorter than his prime.
God damn man who pissed in your corn flakes
His prime was lap 1 of the 2001 daytona 500
No he DID have to roast the man. How did he win 2 Daytona 500s?!!!!!!
@Casey by winning two 500s
@Jessica Taylor and by punching lake speed at M.I.S. You’re a Kyle Busch fan huh? Does he get any wins in ‘23?
I really wonder what would have happened had this race barely been postponed before halfway, or gone the whole distance into prime time. Junior probably would have made his way back to the front and lead lap.
Also, Ken Squier could be heard and seen doing PA work during 2003 Speedweeks which I thought was interesting. Allen Bestwick did MRN Radio filling in for Barney Hall during the 125s until the end of the 500.
The year that Dale Jr Almost completed the Daytona Speedweeks sweep, hadn’t it been for electrical issues
the only thing that I remember about this race is that it is Mikeys only 500 win that there was no sadness as there was when he won’t 3 years before…
The 2000 Daytona 500…
Just kidding 😉
If I was to pick one, it’d be the 1979 Daytona 500. Patience with the weather paid off, it had new drivers up front, multiple different leaders at different times, an epic recovery drive by two front runners, those same two drivers crashed out of first and second on the final lap and Richard Petty adding to his already unbeatable record for wins in the Daytona 500.
It was the first time we heard of some guy called Dale Earnhardt, who made his first attempt in this race. Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison getting stuck in the swampy back stretch (due to rain that had affected the action that day), both of them not only recovering their lap lost, but battling for the lead on the final lap. After the race, they fought in the infield.
For NASCAR, it was probably its most important race on a national level, it made the sport truly “National”
That race was like something out of a movie for many people. The circumstances that day were almost perfect, you couldn’t make any of this up.
@JM Productions -Justin Miller- absolutely, no amount of messing around with the regulations by the sanctioning body could replicate how exciting that race was. It also featured the first example of The Clash.
Ever since Buddy Baker won The Clash and his qualifier race but had an engine failure in the 500, nobody since (while The Clash was on the Oval at Daytona) has been able to pull off the triple. It’s extraordinary that nobody was able to accomplish that
As far as my favorite Daytona 500 I’d have to say 2007 or 2012. 2012 because of the Jet Dryer red flag and all the chaos that caused. And 2007 because that was one of the best all around 500’s.
All I remember from this race is Ryan Newman flipping and the car that was also involved in that wreck had Carrot Top on it
(Also that was the first time I ever car flip)
In a lot of ways, I thought that this race and the previous year’s Pepsi 400 were good closure for Michael and it also showed people that he could win without Dale’s help in good cars. But Dale Earnhardt did something that no owner did, he pepped him up and gave him confidence and he left that behind in Michael, you could see it in his attitude and driving even after Dale died. Michael loved driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
The 1999 Daytona 500 was a dogfight the last 20 laps or so. Dale was going for back-to-back, Rusty was driving his heart out trying to win a Daytona 500 and I think Gordon made the winning pass on the apron. It’s been a while since I’ve watched it. Also 2017 was compelling with the fuel mileage. I watched the race in the infield in 2017 in spot #24 and thought Chase Elliott was gonna pull the win off in the 24 car.
That 1999 Daytona 500 is my favorite too, being a huge Rusty Fan. The other I liked was the Daytona 500 where Dale Earnhardt Jr came back from his second/third head injury the really bad one from that one season he was out after just after the 1/2 way point, thinking he was going to hang it up for good. I thought he was done, and a sad way for a driver to go out.
My favorite was 2014, it was not the greatest overall, but it was the first time I would see dale jr win a race( he was my favorite driver) and I also got to see him win the Daytona 500
Being an Australian, we didn’t get the Daytona 500 on normal TV over here, but one of my dad’s mates taped the 2003 race on Foxtel (our cable/satellite service). I must’ve watched it a dozen times as a kid, which I think is a reason why Newman’s big wreck is still such a vivid memory to me. That and seeing Dale Jr’s 8 car get “bump drafted” with a flat battery
I miss the days NASCAR was on One…
Speaking of rain, a month & half after this Daytona 500, rain would play a massive role in one of the most insane F1 races of all time the 2003 Brazilian GP. Heading into the race it had been raining all weekend with numerous accidents during qualifying & practice. Then when the race began, it instantly turned into a wreckfest with drivers being unable to see in monsoon conditions. The decision to stop the race came on lap 54 when Mark Webber violently crashed into a concrete barrier & Fernando Alonso hit one of his loose wheels at full speed (Alonso didn’t know that the race was under safety car) and careened into a concrete barrier as well resulting in debris from both cars littering the track. However the crazy part about this race was that it took 2 weeks to officially decide a winner as initially Kimi Raikkonen was named the winner but due to a timekeeping/scoring error Gincarlo Fisichella was the actual winner. This was Fisichella’s only win in his F1 career, Ford’s last ever win in F1 as an engine provider & Jordan’s last ever win as an F1 team (the remnants of the Jordan team still exist in F1 as Aston Martin).
Wow that was fascinating
The 2010 Daytona 500 had a special meaning to me. Even though it was plagued with that pothole, it allowed for my dad, who was working that day, to get home and watch the end of it, sparking an idea in his head to take me down to the Coke Zero 400 event later that year in July, which was my first Cup race attending in person. But I think the 2023 Daytona 500 may have to take the top spot already as it will be the very first time I will be down there for the entire Speedweek!
’07 500 will forever be my favorite. Was a big Harvick fan growing up and he came from nowhere to win on the last lap. Massive pileup behind him and Martin. Last race with the Gen 4 cars. It was a really special race.
I was at this race, my first ever NASCAR race. It was so incredibly muggy and rainy I was surprised the race even happened, but it was fun watching it. Newman’s flip was insane to watch up close. The people out there were so hammered and hilarious.
Those big sweeping shots of the 3 wide field are what I still think of when I think of nascar.
7:20 remember when NASCAR would actually cut from commercial or ads when there was an accident? Those were the days
If you grew up mid 90’s-early 2000’s, I think we had the last true real great childhood. And damn did we have the best of nascar I always get nostalgic everytime I see those gen 4 cars