Firecracker 400
Race
The Firecracker 400 was originally the Firecracker 250. The first (250) race was held July 4th, 1959 at Daytona.
The inaugural race was held on July 4, 1959, at about midday to limit the possibility of afternoon interference from thunderstorms common to Florida, and to exploit the potential for competitors meeting relatives and friends for an afternoon of fun on the nearby beach. Before the race, preliminary activities took place, including a Miss Dixie pageant, where twenty aspiring pageant winning hopefuls marched to showcase their bathing suits. With 12,900 spectators in attendance the race ran its scheduled 250 miles with no caution flags, and with a 57-second lead over runner-up Joe Weatherly, Daytona Beach native Fireball Roberts won in dominating fashion leading 84 of 100 laps. Over the course of the next three years a couple of NASCAR's top drivers would go on to win the Firecracker 250, including Jack Smith, David Pearson and a repeat victory in 1962 for Fireball Roberts.
Subject ID: 34865
MoreThe Firecracker 400 was originally the Firecracker 250. The first (250) race was held July 4th, 1959 at Daytona.
The inaugural race was held on July 4, 1959, at about midday to limit the possibility of afternoon interference from thunderstorms common to Florida, and to exploit the potential for competitors meeting relatives and friends for an afternoon of fun on the nearby beach. Before the race, preliminary activities took place, including a Miss Dixie pageant, where twenty aspiring pageant winning hopefuls marched to showcase their bathing suits. With 12,900 spectators in attendance the race ran its scheduled 250 miles with no caution flags, and with a 57-second lead over runner-up Joe Weatherly, Daytona Beach native Fireball Roberts won in dominating fashion leading 84 of 100 laps. Over the course of the next three years a couple of NASCAR's top drivers would go on to win the Firecracker 250, including Jack Smith, David Pearson and a repeat victory in 1962 for Fireball Roberts.
Expansion was needed. In just three years from the race's inaugural event attendance had grown by more than 10,000 spectators, as tourists flocked to the beaches for the holidays. In 1963, the race was expanded from 100 laps to 160 laps, for a distance of 400 miles and subsequently became known as the Firecracker 400. In the same year, Fireball Roberts drove his 1963 Ford to victory, becoming the first driver to win back-to-back events, barely beating Fred Lorenzen.
A ten-year contract, starting in 2008, between Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and International Speedway Corporation (ISC), made Coke the official soft drink, official sparkling beverage and official water for ten of ISC's operated motorsports facilities and the Daytona 500. The company replaced Pepsi-Cola, a 19-year race sponsorship, to showcase Coke Zero as the race's title brand through 2018.
Subject ID: 34865
Subject ID: 34865
