Larson's DAYTONA 500 front-row sweep now part of Chevrolet's storied success at Florida track
Excitement is building for the upcoming 65th running of the DAYTONA 500, as Kyle Larson and No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro is set to compete with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in front of a sellout crowd as part of professional stock car racing’s biggest weekend.
Larson earned the outside pole position for “Great American Race” for the second consecutive year and will take the green flag next to teammate Alex Bowman, who captured the coveted first-starting spot.
The inaugural superspeedway race was in 1959, which celebrated opening of the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. A crowd of more than 41,000 spectators filled the grandstands to watch NASCAR’s Grand National Stock Car Series duke it out in an awe-inspiring venue for the first time. Won by Lee Petty in a Petty Enterprises Oldsmobile – the finish was so close that original winner Johnny Beauchamp celebrated before a photo review eventually upended the result later in the week.
The next year it was Chevrolet’s turn, when Junior Johnson wheeled an Impala to victory lane as numerous cautions and high winds played an outsized role in the results. It is still the slowest average speed ever contested for the race, but the first of a record-breaking 24 DAYTONA 500 victories for the brand.
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In 1977, Johnson, now a car owner, led Cale Yarborough to his second DAYTONA 500 race win behind the wheel of a Holly Farms-sponsored Monte Carlo. It was also a milestone race for the sport, as Janet Guthrie became the first female to compete in the race, taking home an impressive 12th-place finish in her green No. 68 Chevrolet.
The 1980s saw numerous triumphs for Chevrolet, including Yarborough’s dominating 1984 performance. Qualifying on the pole at 201.848 mph -- the first to cross the official 200-mph threshold at Daytona – he used the same last-lap “slingshot” pass he popularized in his 1983 DAYTONA 500 victory to win over runner-up Dale Earnhardt and third-place Darrell Waltrip. It was the fourth 500 victory of his career.
Geoff Bodine scored Hendrick Motorsports first DAYTONA 500 victory in 1986, the organization’s third-overall start, while Waltrip took home the organizations second in 1989. It was Waltrip’s first 500 win after numerous near misses, prompting one of the sport’s most memorable victory lane celebrations.
One of the more significant moments came in 1997, when a young Jeff Gordon brought home his first 500 victory. Gordon, a partner with Jeff Gordon Chevrolet in Wilmington, North Carolina, was the youngest winner of the “Great American Race” at the time at 25 years and six months. Trevor Bayne’s unexpected 2011 DAYTONA 500 win at 20 years and one day eventually eclipsed Gordon’s feat.
The 1997 race saw Gordon avoid numerous incidents that imperiled many driver’s chances, including a dramatic rollover crash for Earnhardt with 12 laps remaining. The triumph for Hendrick Motorsports was resounding, as defending Cup Series champion Terry Labonte and teammate Ricky Craven crossed the finish line second and third behind Gordon, respectively. The race finished under caution, allowing the team to offer fans a rare and iconic formation finish.
Of course, one of the most-famous races happened in 1998, when the black No. 3 of “The Intimidator” Earnhardt finally scored his first-ever victory in the second-fastest DAYTONA 500 ever run. The entire garage area felt the gravity, lining up on pit road to congratulate the legendary driver on a moment some never thought would arrive. Tragically, Earnhardt was lost during a last-lap incident just three years later in the 2001 race.
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Speaking of legendary, Hendrick Motorsports’ success at Daytona – all in Chevrolet’s – is incredibly impressive as well.
In 2014, Dale Earnhardt Jr., a partner with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Buick GMC and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Cadillac in Tallahassee, Florida, completed the Concord, North Carolina-based race team’s eighth 500 triumph. It was an emotional victory lane celebration, as the racing world celebrated its “Most Popular Driver” while also remembering his father’s incredible legacy.
This Sunday (Feb. 19), don’t forget to tune into FOX, Sunday at 2:30 pm ET to catch Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro try to capture Hendrick Motorsports’ ninth DAYTONA 500 win, in hopes of tying the great Petty Enterprises.
To learn more about the HendrickCars.com NASCAR program and Larson, visit https://www.hendrickcars.com/racing.htm.
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