Editing Daytona 500 (section)

==Origins==
[[File:DaytonaInternationalSpeedwayAerial.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Aerial view of Daytona International Speedway]]
The race is the direct successor of shorter races held on the [[Daytona Beach and Road Course|Daytona Beach Road Course]]. This long square was partially on the sand and also on the highway near the beach. Earlier events featured {{convert|200|mi|km|adj=on}} races with stock cars. A {{convert|500|mi|km|0|adj=on}} [[stock car racing|stock car race]] was held at [[Daytona International Speedway]] in [[1959 Daytona 500|1959]]. It was the second 500-mile NASCAR race, following the annual [[Bojangles' Southern 500|Southern 500]], and has been held every year since. By [[1961 Daytona 500|1961]], it began to be referred to as the '''Daytona 500''',<ref name="programs">1959, 1960, and 1961 Daytona 500 Programs</ref> by which it is still commonly known.

Daytona International Speedway is {{convert|2.5|mi|km|0}} long and a 500-mile race<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.autoballa.com/2014/07/157289/rise-and-fall-nascar-indy | title=The Rise And Fall Of NASCAR At Indy | date=Jul 24, 2014 | access-date=16 August 2014 | archive-date=19 August 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082417/http://www.autoballa.com/2014/07/157289/rise-and-fall-nascar-indy | url-status=dead }}</ref> requires 200 laps to complete. However, the race was considered official after halfway (100 laps/250 miles) had been completed from 1959 to 2016. From 2017 to 2019, the race was considered official after the conclusion of Stage 2 (120 laps/300 miles) when stage-racing was introduced. In 2020, they revised the rule in which a race is considered official at either halfway or the conclusion of Stage 2 (whichever comes first, in this case halfway). The race has been shortened four times due to rain (in [[1965 Daytona 500|1965]], [[1966 Daytona 500|1966]], [[2003 Daytona 500|2003]], and [[2009 Daytona 500|2009]]) and once in response to the energy crisis of [[1974 Daytona 500|1974]]. Since the adaptation of the [[green–white–checker finish|green–white–checkered finish]] rule in 2004, the race has gone past 500 miles on ten occasions ([[2005 Daytona 500|2005]], [[2006 Daytona 500|2006]], [[2007 Daytona 500|2007]], [[2010 Daytona 500|2010]], [[2011 Daytona 500|2011]], [[2012 Daytona 500|2012]], [[2015 Daytona 500|2015]], [[2018 Daytona 500|2018]], [[2019 Daytona 500|2019]], [[2020 Daytona 500|2020]] and 2023). It took two attempts to finish the race in 2010, 2011, and 2020. The 2023 running is the longest Daytona 500 contested, lasting 212 laps/530 miles.

[[William Byron (racing driver)|William Byron]] is the two-time defending winner.