Just about any time a Top 10 list of best NASCAR moments is released, the finish of the 1959 Daytona 500 is included. The debate about the winner of the first 500 was the culmination of Bill France's Speedweeks that had moved from the beach-and-road course to his new Daytona International Speedway.
Before the 500 though, other races were held. The first race on DIS was a 40-lap, 100-mile convertible race. The race was the first of a 15-race schedule in what turned out to be the final season for NASCAR's rumblin' ragtops.
Even the pace car for 1959 Speedweeks was a Pontiac convertible. - Getty
Some of the drivers in the race included:
Larry Frank - Getty
1958 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, Shorty Rollins - Getty
Bob Harkey made his one and only start in the convertible division in a #86 Chevy fielded by Buck Baker. - Getty
A couple of drivers who would factor into the finish of the 500 posed for a pre-season photo. Johnny Beachamp and Little Joe Weatherly showed off a couple of Ford Thunderbirds - one a hardtop, the other a convertible. But Weatherly didn't race the convertible during Speedweeks. Instead, he raced a #48 hardtop Chevrolet. - Getty
NASCAR HOFer Glen Wood won the pole in what else...a Ford. Gene White timed 2nd. Ken Rush and Billy Carden made up the 2nd row. And they're off! The first race in DIS history was underway.
The 2nd car in the outside lane is #43 Richard Petty. Though Lee Petty took home the big prize for the 500, Richard got to race on the superspeedway before his dad. - Getty
The race was super-competitive - particularly between three drivers: Rollins, Petty and #98 Marvin Panch. As the race neared the white flag, Richard shot from 4th place to the lead. But on the final lap, Rollins and Panch motored past him. The trio came to the line in a spectacular finish that would only be trumped that year by the one in the 500 two days later.
From Getty
Bob Harkey started 9th, led a lap and finished 10th in Buck Baker's Chevy. During the race, Harkey spun down the backstretch, kicked up a cloud of sand, but then got things righted to soldier on. Nonetheless, Baker withdrew the car from the 500. As a result, Harkey went home vs. getting to race on Sunday. Carl Tyler raced car #86 in the 500 - but it was a hardtop Ford.
Race report from- Daytona Beach Morning Journal
Rollins legitimate victory was almost limited to a moral victory of just making it the green flag. As the cars were ready to be pushed to the starting line, Shorty and his limited crew were still thrashing to get ready. NASCAR inspector Norris Friel gave him the ultimatum of "get out there or get out of here". - Daytona Beach Morning Journal
| Fin | Driver | Sponsor / Owner | Car |
| 1 | Shorty Rollins | Shorty Rollins | '58 Ford |
| 2 | Marvin Panch | Tom Vernon | '58 Ford |
| 3 | Richard Petty | Petty Engineering | '57 Oldsmobile |
| 4 | Glen Wood | Wood Brothers | '58 Ford |
| 5 | Gene White | Gene White | '57 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Larry Frank | Larry Frank | '57 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Wilbur Rakestraw | B.J. Jones | '57 Ford |
| 8 | Joe Lee Johnson | Joe Lee Johnson | '57 Chevrolet |
| 9 | Jimmy Thompson | Bruce Thompson | '57 Chevrolet |
| 10 | Bob Harkey | Buck Baker | '58 Chevrolet |
| 11 | Joe Eubanks | Don Every | '58 Ford |
| 12 | Ken Rush | Manley Britt | '57 Mercury |
| 13 | Billy Carden | David Brothers | '57 Mercury |
| 14 | Brownie King | Jess Potter | '58 Chevrolet |
| 15 | Ben Benz | Bernard Friedland | '57 Chevrolet |
| 16 | Pete Kelly | Pete Kelly | '57 Chevrolet |
| 17 | George Green | Jess Potter | '58 Chevrolet |
| 18 | Gober Sosebee | Cherokee Garage | '57 Chevrolet |
| 19 | Fred Hoff | Larry Odo | '57 Ford |
| 20 | Paul Bass | Paul Bass | '58 Edsel |
| 21 | Ken Marriott | Frank Hayworth | '58 Ford |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 02/20/17 10:36:07AM
