Coke Zero 400

Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, FL.

Daytona International Speedway History

• Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was on November 25, 1957.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona was held on Feb. 13, 1982.
• Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
• Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under lights ever since.
• The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona was held on Feb. 18, 2000.

Track Numbers

• NASCAR Cup Series Races: 122
• Pole Winners: 50
• Race Winners: 52
• Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole.
• Bob Welborn won the first race, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
• Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959.
• Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, in 1963.
• 19 driver’s have won more than one pole.
• Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 13 poles.
• There have been five different pole winners in the last six races. Jeff Gordon (2004 and 2005) is the only repeat pole winner there since 2002.
• Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with five poles.
• 24 driver’s have more than one victory there – led by Richard Petty with 10.
• Jeff Gordon has six victories at Daytona, more than any other active driver.
• The Wood Brothers have won 14 races at Daytona, more than any other organization.
• 15 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole. Thirteen have been won from the second starting position, for a total of 28 race winners from the front row.
• A driver has swept both races at Daytona only four times, most recently by Bobby Allison in 1982.
• Bill Elliott won the 1988 summer race from 38th, the deepest in the field that a Daytona race winner has started.
• Tony Stewart has led 531 laps in 19 races at Daytona, more than any other active driver. He is 10th all-time in laps led there. Jeff Gordon is 12th all-time in Daytona laps led with 511 – but Gordon has competed in 12 more races there than Stewart.

Track Records

• Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott (210.364 mph, 42.783 secs., 2-9-87)
• Track race record: Bobby Allison (173.473 mph, 7-4-80)

Daytona Race Day Data

• Estimated Pit Window: Every 36 – 38 laps, based on fuel mileage.
• Race #18 of 36 (7-05-08)
• Track Size: 2.5 miles
• Race Length: 400 miles (160 laps)
• Banking/Corners: 31 degrees
• Banking/Straights: 3 degrees
• Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees