In the modern era, man has quested after the need for speed. Earliest locomotion awoke this need. For many decades sleeker and faster bicycles were the way to go faster and faster. As those gave way to automobiles, people realized they could go really fast. One of the places where they went fast were on the hard packed sands of the beach at Daytona, Daytona Beach, Florida, that is. In 1959, the constant races became an annual ritual, as the Daytona 500 was run for the first time. Initially longer races held at Daytona were still using the beach, and an adjacent section of highway, which was laid out to form an oval racecourse. The Daytona International Speedway opened in time to host the first Daytona 500, and has been its home since then. The event is considered to be the opening of the Cup series each year. It is always held in February, and often coincides with the "President's Day" weekend. The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse. Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing. Last week, we mentioned the racing festival which has been held in Daytona all week; the race serves as the final event of Speedweeks and is sometimes known as "The Great American Race" or the "Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing." The winner of the Daytona 500 is presented with the Harley J. Earl Trophy in Victory Lane, and the winning car is displayed in race-winning condition for one year at Daytona 500 Experience, a museum and gallery adjacent to Daytona International Speedway. Austin Dillon is the defending winner of the Daytona 500, having won it in 2018. Austin Dillon, nicknamed, "The Ace", was born on April 27, 1990, in Welcome, North Carolina. He is the son of former driver and RCR general manager Mike Dillon, older brother of Ty Dillon and grandson of Richard Childress. He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro SS for RCR. After winning NASCAR Rookie of the Year in the Truck Series in 2010, Dillon won the Truck Series championship in 2011, and later the Nationwide Series championship in 2013, also one year after his Rookie of the Year title in 2012. He holds the record for most consecutive poles in the Nationwide Series with four. He won last year's race in overtime. William Byron will start from the pole alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. The 21-year-old, Byron, will seek to become the first driver in nearly 20 years to win The Great American Race from the pole position. And while Dale Jarrett was the last to do it in 2000, it was exactly 20 years ago that Jeff Gordon won both the Daytona 500 pole and race in the same No. 24 car for the same team. Byron is listed at 40-to-1 to take the checkered flag, the same odds Austin Dillon had when he won the race last year. This time around, Dillon comes in at 30-to-1. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "omnisport" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/omnisport. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
