annual U.S. stock-car race (stock-car racing) that is the most prestigious event in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) season. The race has been held every February since 1959 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., and it consists of 200 laps around a 2.5 mile (4 km) tri-oval track.

At the turn of the 21st century, NASCAR's popularity grew to unprecedented levels, and the Daytona 500 became one of the best-attended and highest-rated sporting events in the United States. Prominent drivers who have won at Daytona include Richard Petty (Petty, Richard) (whose father, Lee, won the inaugural race in 1959), Cale Yarborough (Yarborough, Cale), Jeff Gordon (Gordon, Jeff), and Dale Earnhardt (Earnhardt, Dale), who died after a crash in the 2001 race.