NASCAR and Daytona have a summertime fling with lots of history, in both July and August

Snuck up on you, didn’t it?

Daytona’s “other” NASCAR race generally does that, especially since it moved to late August four years ago. Back when it was on or around the Fourth of July, you always knew the holiday was soon arriving and therefore inherently knew an automobile race would join the local festivities.

It also helped back when you’d walk down the cereal and beer aisles at Publix and see cardboard cutouts of Terry Labonte and Sterling Marlin. Nowadays you have to be among those paying attention to the racing season.

From one who keeps at least one eye peeled toward such things, a suggestion that this summertime 400-miler (the Coke Zero Sugar 400, of course) will be worth a look-see Saturday night, largely due to its modern spot on the schedule but also because this is 2024 and odd things often happen to this race when the year ends with the number 4.

And by the way, Richard Petty has a lot to do with that.

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A perfect landing spot on the schedule?

First, let’s talk about that modern (post-modern?) scheduling position, including this year’s one-time tweak.

From its 1959 debut through 1997, the 400 started at either 10 or 11 a.m. and ended before the possibility of those summertime thunderstorms (one exception: 1996). Once they planted light poles and moved the race to early evening in 1998, the weather gods immediately got busy.

Ironically, it began with dry. Way, way too much dry, resulting in two months of Central Florida wildfires that forced postponement of the 1998 race — Daytona’s first night NASCAR race — to October.

Since then, however, we’ve seen enough rain to float an armada. That stoked lots of chatter about the presumed foolishness of trying to race here in mid-summer. Since ’99, nearly a third of Daytona’s summer races (eight of 25) have been delayed, shortened or postponed by rain.

A popular refrain gained momentum: “They should move the race to the end of the season.”

While using the Daytona 500 and Firecracker/Pepsi/Coke 400 as bookends to the season sounds enticing, it’s a logistical non-starter. It would provide just three months from season’s end to the following February’s Speedweek — production of the modern Daytona 500 is practically a year-round affair in that big GlassCar building on Speedway Boulevard.

And it’d be just two months from season’s end to Daytona’s Rolex 24 events, which have played an increasingly large and important role on the worldwide racing stage.

Moving it back six or seven weeks, beginning in 2020, to the end of NASCAR’s 26-race regular season, preceding the playoffs, seems like the best of both worlds. Due to scheduling quirks involving NASCAR’s two-week break during the Olympics, this week it’s the next-to-last race of the regular season.

It’ll presumably return to the final-race slot next year, but then again, we’re still awaiting the 2025 schedule release and you never know. Oldtimers like to say one benefit of NASCAR headquartering in Daytona Beach is the ability to write rules and edicts in the sand.

Now back to that number 4, Richard Petty and summertime at Daytona.

What will the 2024 race bring?

Jeff Gordon got his 68th in 2004. Ho-hum. But those other “4” years were either historic, quite memorable, or maybe a bit quirky.

1964: A.J. Foyt got his first NASCAR win at the Firecracker 400, finishing a car length ahead of Bobby Isaac, but the whole affair took place under a sense of gloom. Daytona’s hometown racing hero and defending 400 champ, Fireball Roberts, died two days earlier, some six weeks after suffering horrible burns in a wreck at Charlotte.

Fireball’s graveside service was the following day, a Sunday, at Daytona Beach’s Memorial Park. The tragedy would be compounded years later when close confidants said Fireball was set to retire after that year’s Firecracker 400 to begin a broadcasting career.

1974: For the third straight year, David Pearson and King Richard finished 1-2 in the Firecracker 400, in that order. It was also about the only time folks saw Petty spittin’ mad at the end of a race.

Pearson, leading but not wanting to lead, flat-out lifted off the gas approaching the white flag with Petty just behind him. Petty had to jerk his wheel to the right to avoid crashing and found himself with a big lead on the final lap while Pearson (he cemented the Silver Fox label that day) reeled him in and eventually passed for the win.

Richard was so angry he interrupted Pearson’s post-race press conference to pass along his opinion of David’s “dangerous” move.

1984: It was a definite mile marker on NASCAR’s route to its modern place in the sports-entertainment industry. Not only did Petty win, but it was 200th career win, it came by inches over Cale Yarborough, and it came in front of Ronald Reagan, the first sitting president to attend a race.

On this date in 1984:
Richard Petty won the Firecracker 400 at Daytona, with President Ronald Reagan in attendance.

It was Richard’s 200th and final Winston Cup victory. pic.twitter.com/HVrCZMvmFU

— NASCAR Memories (@NASCARMemories) July 4, 2021

1994: Jimmy Spencer led just one lap but it was the one that paid, and Mr. Excitement finally got himself a Cup Series win — his second and final Cup Series checkers came three weeks later at Talladega.

Richard Petty was two years into his retirement, but Daytona still had two Pettys in the field. Joining his son Kyle was nephew Ritchie, son of Maurice Petty, the wrench-turning ace under King Richard’s hood for so much of the No. 43’s long reign. It was the fourth and final start of Ritchie’s abbreviated career.

Meanwhile, Richard was still around as team owner, but in ’94 his car, driven by Wally Dallenbach Jr., failed to qualify for several races, including the July race at Daytona. Remember when “failed to qualify” was a weekly threat?

A few weeks later, Wally was replaced by John Andretti.

2014: Petty Enterprises was back in Victory Lane at Daytona but without its namesake. While Aric Almirola was celebrating his rain-shortened win in the 400, Richard was on his way back to North Carolina. Almirola was 0-for-107 at that point of his career, the weather was nasty, so an early getaway seemed logical.

And now we arrive at the 2024 and we’ll see what unfolds, though some things seem certain: With playoff desperation in full bloom, on-track gambles will bring out the tow trucks. Assuming the weather holds.

But in a nice little touch, Richard Petty will play a role. He’s been a grand marshal before, but this time it’ll be a group effort as he gives the starting command along with son Kyle and three of brother Maurice’s boys — yep, including Ritchie.

To further nudge the memory bank, the Gipper also returns, donning the hood of Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota, part of promotions for the upcoming movie about Reagan starring Dennis Quaid.

Having said all this, there’s always the chance things will be orderly and on time with everyone leaving the paddock in a good mood. But those odds are rather long.

— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com