1959–1969
Prior to the opening of the track, and prior to the inaugural Daytona 500, tentative plans were made to host a 300-mile USAC Championship (Indycar) race on Independence Day weekend of 1959. However, following two separate fatal accidents to drivers Marshall Teague (testing) and George Amick (Daytona 100), speedway officials canceled the race, citing dangerously high speeds, as well as a low turnout. Bill France Sr. announced plans to hold a 100-lap/250-mile NASCAR stock car race instead, scheduled for July 4.[4]
The race was named the Firecracker 250 because the race would be held on the United States' Independence Day. Bill France announced on July 1 that the winner of the race would receive the Marshall Teague Memorial trophy, a trophy honoring and commemorating the life of Teague, who had died in February. The trophy had been presented by Teague's daughter and widow.[5]
The inaugural race was held on July 4, 1959. It was scheduled to start at 11 a.m.[6] to limit the possibility of afternoon interference from thunderstorms common to Florida and to exploit the potential for competitors meeting relatives and friends for an afternoon of fun at the nearby beaches.[7] Before the race, preliminary activities took place, including a Miss Dixie pageant, where twenty aspiring pageant winning hopefuls marched to showcase their bathing suits.[8] With 12,900 spectators in attendance, the race ran its scheduled 250 miles with no caution flags, and with a 57-second lead over runner-up Joe Weatherly, Daytona Beach native Fireball Roberts won in dominating fashion leading 84 of 100 laps.[9] Over the course of the next three years, a couple of NASCAR's top drivers would go on to win the Firecracker 250, including Jack Smith, David Pearson, and a repeat victory in 1962 for Fireball Roberts.[10]
In just three years from the race's inaugural event attendance had grown by more than 10,000 spectators, as tourists flocked to the beaches for the holidays. In 1963, the race was expanded from 100 laps to 160 laps, for a distance of 400 miles and subsequently became known as the Firecracker 400. In the same year, Fireball Roberts drove his 1963 Ford to victory, becoming the first driver to win back-to-back events, barely beating Fred Lorenzen.[10] Roberts was unable to go for three straight wins due to his death on July 2, 1964.[11]
Richard Petty was the man to beat during the sixth annual 400-mile July race, but on lap 103, engine problems cost him a chance at victory. Over the course of the final 56 laps, Bobby Isaac and rookie teammate A. J. Foyt swapped the lead 15 times.[10] Coming out of the fourth turn, Foyt was able to barely edge out Isaac to the stripe; giving Foyt his first career NASCAR victory in only his tenth start.[12] One year later Foyt got his second career win, becoming the second driver to win back-to-back Firecracker races.[13]
Foyt did not try to defend the title of reigning race winner in 1966.[10] Instead, it was the dark horse 1965 Rookie of the Year driver Sam McQuagg winning the race. McQuagg collected his first and only NASCAR victory driving a 1966 Dodge Charger while utilizing a new racing mechanism: the rear 'spoiler'. The air cutting spoiler allowed McQuagg to shatter Foyt's 151.451 mph race average set two years prior.[14] Only two cars finished on the lead lap and the margin of victory to second place driver Darel Dieringer was sixty-six seconds.[10]
In late March 1969 Bill France Sr. invited all surviving Medal of Honor recipients to attend the July 4 race, dubbed the Medal of Honor Firecracker 400. Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee would arrange for the heroes and their families to be flown in via military aircraft.[15] 100 members from 31 states would attend the race with Thomas J. Kelly the president of The Medal of Honor Society as the grand marshal.[16] With success, France Sr. invited them on two more occasions in 1971 and 1973, won by Bobby Isaac and David Pearson respectively.[10][17][18]
1970s
In 1974, the maneuver used by David Pearson to win his third straight Firecracker race would be talked about well after he crossed the stripe. After collecting the white flag Pearson slowed his Wood Brothers 73' Mercury to allow Richard Petty to jump out to a seven-car lead. Following the race, Pearson was quoted saying "I thought Petty might be able to slingshot and draft past me on that last lap and that's why I didn't want to be leading..."[19] Using the draft Pearson was able to close on Petty into the final turn and eventually passed him coming to the tri-oval for the win.[20] Eight seconds behind the Pearson-Petty duel, Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough seemed to have crossed the finish line at the same time. After two hours of deliberation, officials announced a dead heat for third place, the only tie recorded in NASCAR history.[19] During the race, nine different drivers exchanged the lead 49 times, a race record that stood until it was broken with 57 between 25 different drivers in 2011.[21]
After the 1974 Firecracker 400, David Pearson became the first and only driver to win three consecutive races and the first to win four July events.
1980–1997
In 1980, due to a tax dispute with the City of Daytona Beach and Volusia County, Bill France Sr. openly threatened to move the Firecracker 400 to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[24] A few weeks later, however, the parties reconciled, and the plan to move the race was withdrawn.[25]
In 1985, the race became known as the Pepsi Firecracker 400, when PepsiCo became the event's first title sponsor. In 1989, the "Firecracker" moniker was dropped, and the race was known simply as the Pepsi 400 through 2007.
From 1959 to 1987, the race was always scheduled for July 4, regardless of the day of the week. Beginning in 1988, the race was moved to the first Saturday of July (that nearest to July 4). Going forward, the race would only be held on July 4 in years in which it fell on a Saturday. Subsequent to this, the 1992 and 2009 races fell on July 4. Situated in early July, the race traditionally found itself falling at or very near the halfway point of the NASCAR season.
On July 4, 1987, in the wake of Bobby Allison's massive crash at Talladega, the cars were fitted with 390 CFM carburetors.
1998–2019
In July 1997, Daytona International Speedway announced a massive lighting project to be constructed by MUSCO lighting, the same company that installed lights at Charlotte. Plans called for the 1998 Pepsi 400 to be held under-the-lights in primetime. Going forwards, the race would typically be scheduled for Saturday night of July 4 weekend, and created the potential for more comfortable conditions for fans, and a larger primetime television audience. It would be the longest speedway with a night race, and the first restrictor-plate race held at night.
On July 4, 1998, however, the race had to be postponed. Wildfires in Florida consumed the surrounding areas, and the track was converted into a firefighters' staging area. Track officials rescheduled the race for October 17, and the race was successfully held under the lights for the first time, in front of a near-sellout crowd–a first for the event. In 1999, the race returned to the traditional July 4 weekend slot and continues to be scheduled as a night race.
From 1998 to 2002, the race was subtitled the "Pepsi 400 at Daytona" to differentiate it from another race titled the Pepsi 400, held at Michigan during that time frame. In 2008, the long partnership with PepsiCo ended, and the race sponsorship changed to Coca-Cola. For the next ten seasons, the race would be called the Coke Zero 400, highlighting the Coke Zero brand.[26]
Since 2020
In 2020, the Coke Zero 400 was moved from its traditional Independence Day weekend date to late August. It served as the final race of the NASCAR "regular season" before the NASCAR playoffs begin until 2023; NASCAR moved the regular season finale to Darlington in 2024. The race continued to be scheduled as a night race. The Grant Park 165 currently utilizes the July 4 weekend date. After being held on or around July 4 for 60 of the previous 61 years, the move to August was controversial. According to the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, the move was requested in order to spread tourism in the area throughout the summer.[28]
Presidential visits
With the race's fundamental link to Independence Day, U.S. Presidents have been in attendance on two notable occasions.
On July 4, 1984, President Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. President to attend a NASCAR race. The President gave the starting command by phone from aboard Air Force One. Landing at Daytona, the President proceeded to the track and viewed the race with Bill France Jr. During his time at the race, Reagan was interviewed by Ned Jarrett, who in 1978 had begun a career as a radio race broadcaster. The 1984 Firecracker 400 is also legendary since it was the race at which Richard Petty achieved his unparalleled 200th (and final) win. Petty and President Reagan were interviewed together following the race, and the President joined Richard Petty and his family in Victory Lane.
On July 4, 1992, President George H. W. Bush attended the race, which served as a Daytona farewell tribute to Richard Petty during his "Fan Appreciation Tour." Bush, on the 1992 campaign trail, participated in pre-race festivities, gave the starting command, and rode around the track in the pace car during the pace laps. Petty qualified a strong second, and led the first 5 laps of the race, and quickly fell back to the end of the field. He succumbed to heat exhaustion, however and dropped out four laps beyond the halfway point.
On July 1, 2000, the Texas governor and future president George W. Bush attended the race while on the campaign trail, and gave the starting command. Bush was courting the so-called NASCAR dad demographic, as well as the hotly contested
First wins
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 has produced a number of drivers' first career NASCAR Grand National/Cup Series victories. Drivers include A. J. Foyt, Sam McQuagg, Greg Sacks, Jimmy Spencer, John Andretti, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, Justin Haley, William Byron, and Harrison Burton. For McQuagg, Sacks, Haley, and Burton, the win is the only victory in their respective Cup Series careers.
The 400 has also marked the first of multiple points-paying victories at Daytona for a total of seven drivers, including Jeff Gordon (1995), Dale Earnhardt - after 24 previous attempts from 1978 to 1990, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2001), and Jamie McMurray (2007). David Pearson won the 400 four times prior to finally winning the Daytona 500 in 1976, and Dale Earnhardt won the 400 twice before his 1998 Daytona 500 victory.
In 2000, it was Jeff Burton's first restrictor-plate win. In addition, Tony Stewart won the 400 four times but never won the Daytona 500 (his best finish being second in 2004).
