Risk vs. Reward: Daytona International Speedway

As we all sit and watch the Daytona 500 on Sunday, please pray for the racers' families who have lost someone to Daytona.

Racing related deaths at Daytona International Speedway since the track opened in 1959:

1. Marshall Teague, NASCAR stock car practice, Feb. 11, 1959.

2. George Amick, USAC 100-mile race, April 4, 1959.

3. Dr. Bernie Taylor, powerboat race in infield lake, June 14, 1959.

4. Harold Haberling, NASCAR stock car practice, Feb. 21, 1964.

5. Billy Drew Wade, NASCAR stock car tire test, Jan. 5, 1965.

6. Don MacTavish, Sportsman 300 race, Feb. 21, 1969.

7. Wayne Harris Bartz, lightweight motorcycle race, March 12, 1969.

8. Talmadge "Tab" Prince, Twin 125-mile qualifying race, Feb. 19, 1970.

9. Joe "Rusty" Bradley, Daytona 200 race, March 14, 1971.

10. Davd Pearl, Paul Whiteman Trophy Race, July 30, 1971.

11. Friday Hassler, Twin 125-mile NASCAR qualifying race, Feb. 17, 1972.

12. Ricky Knotts, Twin 125-mile NASCAR qualifying race, Feb. 14, 1980.

13. Francis Affleck, ARCA stock car practice, Feb. 7, 1985.

14. Dr. Charles Ogle, stock car testing, injured Dec. 15, 1985, died Dec. 26, 1985.

15. Bruce Jacobi, Twin 125-mile NASCAR qualifying race, injured Feb. 1983, died Feb. 4, 1987.

16. Joe Young, Charlotte-Daytona Dash race, Feb. 13, 1987.

17. James Kolman, kart testing, Dec. 27, 1987.

18. Randy Glenn, motorcycle practice, Feb. 26, 1988.

19. Don Williams, Sportsman 300 race, injured Feb. 1979, died May 21, 1989.

20. Dale Robertson, kart race, Dec. 27, 1989.

21. Julius Johnson, ARCA 200 stock car race, injured Feb. 11, 1990, died Feb. 14, 1990.

22. Joe Booher, Florida 200 Dash race, Feb. 12, 1993.

23. James Adamo, motorcyle race, March 7, 1993.

24. Neil Bonnett, NASCAR stock car practice, Feb. 11, 1994.

25. Rodney Orr, NASCAR stock car practice, Feb. 14, 1994.

26. Michael Himes, IMSA Two-Hour endurance race, Jan. 31, 1997.

27. Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR Daytona 500, Feb. 18, 2001.

28. Roy H. Weaver III, Dash Series race, Feb. 8, 2003.

Is the Reward greater than the Risk?

For most of his racing career, Dale Earnhardt said the Daytona 500 didn't define a career. But that was a ruse to deflect 19 years of frustration.

It wasn't until his win in 1998 that Earnhardt admitted the obvious: The Daytona 500 doesn't just define a career. It creates legends.

That connection wasn't lost on his son. Dale Earnhardt Jr. watched his father die on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 from his rearview mirror. Three years later, Dale Jr. won his first 500.

Even now, he can't put the significance of the 500, good and bad, into words.

"You do anything in the world just to get in the Daytona 500," he said. "Once you're in the race, there's no feeling like it. It's an incredible feeling. There's no way to describe it. It's impossible to answer the question on what it's like to win the Daytona 500."

Former winners agree the 500 changes lives like no other race. They quickly learn a win is far more reaching that a record payday (today's winner will earn at least $1.4 million) or a big trophy. Winning at Daytona does define a driver's career. It makes him a legend.

"It's a special claim nobody can ever take from you," said 2002 winner Ward Burton. "As time passes, it gets bigger."

All 24 surviving former winners  will be at the Daytona International Speedway for the 51th edition of the Great American Race.

Five hundred miles later, somebody will join that elite group. Somebody will become a legend.

The race has had everything. The first in 1959 ended in a photo finish between Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp. It took NASCAR three days to finally pick a winner.

The 500 is Richard Petty and David Pearson crashing 500 yards short of the finish line in 1976. It's Donnie Allison, Bobby Allison, and Cale Yarborough fighting in Turn 3 after the 1979 race. It's Bobby Allison beating his son, Davey, by a car length in 1988.

It's Tiny Lund winning in 1963 without changing tires. It's Earnhardt Sr.'s flat tire in Turn 3 and Derrike Cope's stunning win in 1990. It's Darrell Waltrip's victory dance in 1989. And it's Kevin Harvick's photo finish win over Mark Martin a year ago.

"Daytona doesn't compare with anything," said 1986 winner Geoff Bodine. "For NASCAR, it's our biggest race. As winners, we feel that way. That's all that matters."

Previous Winners include -

1959	Lee Petty	135.520	Cotton Owens	143.198
1960	Junior Johnson	124.740	Fireball Roberts	151.556
1961	Marvin Panch	149.601	Fireball Roberts	155.709
1962	Fireball Roberts	152.529	Fireball Roberts	156.995
1963	Tiny Lund	151.566	Johnny Rutherford	165.183
1964	Richard Petty	154.345	Paul Goldsmith	174.910
1965	Fred Lorenzen	141.539	Darel Dieringer	171.151
Shortened to 332+ miles by rain
1966	Richard Petty	160.627	Richard Petty	175.165
Shortened to 495 miles by rain
1967	Mario Andretti	149.926	Curtis Turner	180.831
1968	Cale Yarborough	143.251	Cale Yarborough	189.222
1969	Lee Roy Yarbrough	157.950	David Pearson	190.029
1970	Pete Hamilton	149.601	Cale Yarborough	194.015
1971	Richard Petty	144.462	A.J. Foyt	182.744
1972	A.J. Foyt	161.550	Bobby Isaac	186.632
1973	Richard Petty	157.205	Buddy Baker	185.662
1974	Richard Petty	140.894	David Pearson	185.017
Shortened to 450 miles because of energy crisis
1975	Benny Parsons	153.649	Donnie Allison	185.827
1976	David Pearson	152.181	A.J. Foyt	185.943
1977	Cale Yarborough	153.218	Donnie Allison	188.048
1978	Bobby Allison	159.730	Cale Yarborough	187.536
1979	Richard Petty	143.977	Buddy Baker	196.049
1980	Buddy Baker	177.602	A.J. Foyt	195.020
1981	Richard Petty	169.651	Bobby Allison	194.624
1982	Bobby Allison	153.991	Benny Parsons	196.317
1983	Cale Yarborough	155.979	Ricky Rudd	198.864
1984	Cale Yarborough	150.994	Cale Yarborough	201.848
1985	Bill Elliott	172.265	Bill Elliott	205.114
1986	Geoff Bodine	148.124	Bill Elliott	205.039
1987	Bill Elliott	176.263	Bill Elliott	210.364†
1988	Bobby Allison	137.531	Ken Schrader	193.823
1989	Darrell Waltrip	148.466	Ken Schrader	196.996
1990	Derrike Cope	165.761	Ken Schrader	196.515
1991	Ernie Irvan	148.148	Davey Allison	195.955
1992	Davey Allison	160.256	Sterling Marlin	192.213
1993	Dale Jarrett	154.972	Kyle Petty	189.426
1994	Sterling Marlin	156.931	Loy Allen Jr.	190.158
1995	Sterling Marlin	141.710	Dale Jarrett	193.498
1996	Dale Jarrett	154.308	Dale Earnhardt	189.510
1997	Jeff Gordon	148.295	Mike Skinner	189.813
1998	Dale Earnhardt	172.712	Bobby Labonte	192.415
1999	Jeff Gordon	161.551	Jeff Gordon	195.067
2000	Dale Jarrett	155.669	Dale Jarrett	182.334
2001	Michael Waltrip	161.794	Bill Elliott	183.565
2002	Ward Burton	142.971	Jimmie Johnson	185.831
2003	Michael Waltrip	133.870	Jeff Green	186.606
Shortened to 409 miles because of rain
2004	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	156.345	Greg Biffle	188.387
2005	Jeff Gordon	135.173	Dale Jarrett	188.312
2006	Jimmie Johnson	142.667	Jeff Burton	189.151

Remember the ones we lost at Daytona and pray for a safe race.