# Canonical recap data for Daytona 500 Inaugural Race (1959)
# Source: https://recap.at/1959/daytona-500-1959
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: daytona-500-1959
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1959/daytona-500-1959"
title: Daytona 500 Inaugural Race
subtitle: The first running of stock car racing's most prestigious event, held at the newly opened Daytona International Speedway.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1959-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1959
decade: 1950
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805 km) NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual Straight Talk Wirel
summaryLong: The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805 km) NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual Straight Talk Wireless 400 being held at Homestead south of Miami. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, it has been the season-opening race of the Cup Series.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Green_flag_at_Daytona.JPG/1280px-Green_flag_at_Daytona.JPG"
heroImageCredit: Nascarking · via Wikipedia
importance: 70
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_500"
  title: Daytona 500
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- sports
- festival
metaDescription: The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805 km) NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the fi
wikidataQid: Q841738
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260701055934/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_500"
  capturedAt: 2026-07-01
  label: Daytona 500
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_500"
