Daytona International Speedway is one of NASCAR’s most historic and beloved venues. Still, it has also been the track that saw the sport lose one of its best-ever, Dale Earnhardt Sr., in a deadly 2001 crash, as well as launch Austin Dillon into the catchfence, and Ryan Newman be hit at full speed after going airborne.
NASCAR will return to Daytona, where it kicks off its racing season for the Daytona 500, but for the final regular season race of the campaign, the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Fourteen Cup drivers have already booked their places in the playoffs, leaving two spots up for grabs, which a winless driver could snatch, or they will be handed down to the top-two winless racers in the series this season, currently slated to be 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman.
The 2.5-mile track provides NASCAR fans with some of the most unpredictable racing. Last year, Harrison Burton was a shock winner in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, booking his Wood Brothers’ Racing car into the playoffs.
Cup Stars can reach speeds north of 200mph in the draft, but one mistake could see their race go horribly wrong and bear devastating consequences, as drivers of the past have shown. Dale Sr.’s fatal crash at the 2001 Daytona 500 remains one of NASCAR’s most historic losses, and the seven-time champion’s passing saw the sport begin to revamp driver safety.
Still, despite many changes, it hasn’t stopped further crashes, with high-speed wrecks being the nature of the sport. The Daily Express US Sports highlights five of the biggest NASCAR crashes to have taken place at Daytona International Speedway.
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