1974 Daytona International Speedway Events | J. Murrey Atkins Library

: 1974 Daytona 500; The images in this collection document the 1974 Daytona 500 race, which took place on February 17, 1974, at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida. At the start of the 1974 NASCAR season, many races had their distances cut ten percent in response to the energy crisis of that year. The 1974 Daytona 500 was accordingly shortened to 180 laps and the race "started" on Lap 21. This race is often known as the Daytona 450. The 1974 Daytona race was won by Richard Petty for the fifth time. The other top ten competitors were Cale Yarborough, Ramo Stott, Coo Coo Marlin, A.J. Foyt, Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Isaac, Dick Brooks, and Walter Ballard.This race was the most competitive in Daytona history with 59 official lead changes among 15 leaders. Those records have since been broken. The second half of the race was televised live on ABC Sports.