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The 50th Annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola Historical Timeline
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 30, 2008) – Beginning July 4, 1959, the 50th annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola has evolved through the years to become one of the most prestigious stops in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Here’s a look at some key moments in the history of the race: July 4, 1959: Hometown favorite Glenn “Fireball” Roberts started from the pole and won the inaugural summer race at Daytona, then only 250 miles. July 4, 1963: Daytona’s summer race is extended from 100 laps, 250 miles to 160 laps, 400 miles and Fireball Roberts earns his second consecutive victory and third overall in the Independence Day holiday event. July 4, 1964: A.J. Foyt won the first of two straight 400-mile events at Daytona. The victory was also his first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. July 4, 1968: Cale Yarborough won his second straight 400-mile summer race for the Wood Brothers with a record margin of victory – 2 laps plus. July 4, 1974: David Pearson won a record third straight Firecracker 400. On the last lap, Pearson was leading Richard Petty when he suddenly backed off the throttle and ducked to the low side of the track on the straightaway entering Turn 1. Petty had to take evasive action and pass him. Pearson gained enough steam and made up the two-second deficit and pulled off sling shot pass in Turn 4. Petty, who had yet to win a 400 at the time and finished second for the fourth straight year, was furious about Pearson’s last lap tricks. July 4, 1975: While he experienced plenty of success in the Daytona 500 with a record seven victories, Richard Petty struggled in July at Daytona. He won the first of three 400-mile wins by topping Buddy Baker by 2.35 seconds. July 4, 1978: David Pearson won his fifth and final 400-mile race. July 4, 1980: Bobby Allison picked up the first of three 400 victories driving Bud Moore’s Mercury with a race record average speed of 173.473 mph. July 4, 1982: Bobby Allison becomes the last driver to sweep both the Daytona 500 and the summer race driving the No. 88 Buick for DiGard Racing. July, 4, 1984: President Ronald Reagan served as Grand Marshal for the 400 and gave the starting command “Gentlemen, start your engines” from Air Force One. Reagan arrived mid-race, called the race with MRN Radio’s Ned Jarrett and witnessed Richard Petty’s historic 200th NASCAR win. It was the first time in NASCAR history that a sitting President attended a race. July 4, 1985: In one of the greatest upsets in NASCAR history, Greg Sacks, driving for DiGard Racing, won the 400-mile race in a research and development Chevrolet built by Gary Nelson. Sacks’ margin of victory over race-day favorite Bill Elliott was 23.5 seconds. July 4, 1987: Driving the No. 22 Buick for the Stavola Brothers, Bobby Allison rallied from a lap down to top Buddy Baker and Dave Marcis and become the oldest winner of the 400-mile race at 49 years, seven months and one day. July 2, 1988: For the first time in event history, the Daytona summer race isn’t held on July 4, but instead moved to the first Saturday in July. Bill Elliott nipped Bartow, Fla., driver Rick Wilson at the start/finish line by a margin of 18 inches. Elliott, who started 38th, set the mark for the lowest starting position by a winner. July 6, 1991: The starting time for the 400-mile race was pushed back from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for the first time in event history. July 4, 1992: President George Bush served as the Grand Marshal for the Pepsi 400. He gave the starting command for Richard Petty’s final NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway. July 2, 1994: Jimmy Spencer, driving for Junior Johnson, edged Ernie Irvan at the start/finish line by .008 seconds to earn his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. The finish currently stands as the fifth closest in NASCAR history since the advent of computer scoring. It was the only lap Spencer led in the race. July 1, 1995: Jeff Gordon captured his first points-paying victory at Daytona International Speedway. He also became the youngest winner in the history of the 400-mile race at 23 years, 10 months and 27 days. July 5, 1997: John Andretti, driving Cale Yarborough’s No. 98 Ford, becomes the last driver to win the 400-mile race during the daytime. October 17, 1998: After the race was postponed because of the summer wildfires in Central Florida, Jeff Gordon won the first ever 400-mile race held under the lights at Daytona. July 1, 2000: George W. Bush, Governor of Texas and Presidential Candidate, served as the Grand Marshal for the Pepsi 400. July 7, 2001: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first career DIS victory and 11 years to the day that his father won his first then-Winston Cup race at DIS. July 2, 2005: Tony Stewart won the first of two straight 400-mile races at Daytona leading a record 151 laps. Because of rain delays, the race ended in the early morning hours of Sunday and Stewart, for the first time, began his tradition of climbing fences to the top of the flag stand. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld served as Grand Marshal. July 6, 2006: Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney attended the mid-summer classic. Cheney led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance then viewed the race from the Daytona 500 Club. For the second straight year, Tony Stewart won and scaled the fences to the top of the flag stand. July 7, 2007: The NASCAR Nationwide Series race was postponed by rain the previous night and was held Saturday morning. The postponement created the first-ever doubleheader as DIS with the 400 scheduled for Saturday night. Kyle Busch captured the Nationwide Series race but Jamie McMurray nosed Busch out for the 400-mile victory by a margin of victory of .005 seconds, the second-closest Sprint Cup Series finish in history since the advent of computer scoring. July 5, 2007: Coke Zero will begin sponsorship of the summer Daytona NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The race will be known as the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola.
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