Question 1

True or false: The Daytona 500 has been held every year since 1959 without any cancellations.

Accepted Answer

True. Despite multiple rain postponements (e.g., 2012, 2020, 2021), the race has always been completed, usually the following day. No edition has ever been fully canceled since the event began.

Question 2

True or false: The first Daytona 500 was won by a driver who never led a lap until the final one.

Accepted Answer

True. Lee Petty won the inaugural 1959 Daytona 500 after a photo finish. He didn't lead a single lap until the final one, making it one of the most dramatic first wins in NASCAR history.

Question 3

True or false: The Daytona 500 trophy includes a gold-plated eagle that weighs over 50 pounds.

Accepted Answer

False. The iconic Harley J. Earl Trophy features a gold-plated eagle, but it weighs about 35 pounds, not over 50. The exaggeration makes it a plausible myth.

Question 4

True or false: The Daytona 500 was the only NASCAR Cup Series race that used restrictor plates.

Accepted Answer

False. Both Daytona's July race (Coke Zero 400) and races at Talladega Superspeedway also used restrictor plates, making the claim false.

Question 5

True or false: A woman has never led a lap during the Daytona 500.

Accepted Answer

False. Danica Patrick led 5 laps in the 2013 Daytona 500, becoming the first woman to officially lead a lap in the race's history.

Question 6

True or false: Richard Petty's 7 Daytona 500 wins include one where he crossed the finish line backwards.

Accepted Answer

False. Richard Petty spun across the finish line backwards during the 1976 Firecracker 400, not the Daytona 500. It's a famous moment often misattributed to the 500.

Question 7

True or false: No driver has ever won the Daytona 500 from the pole position in the 21st century.

Accepted Answer

True. The last driver to win from the pole was Dale Jarrett in 2000. Since then, no pole-sitter has won, making it one of NASCAR's most stubborn droughts.

Question 8

True or false: The pace car for the first Daytona 500 was a 1959 Thunderbird, but none exist today.

Accepted Answer

True. A 1959 Ford Thunderbird served as the pace car, but it was scrapped or destroyed after use. No original 1959 Daytona 500 pace car is known to survive.

Daytona 500 Trivia Questions