The Great American Race

Sunday is the official start of the NASCAR season with the 51st running of the Daytona 500. It's the sport's Super Bowl, despite being the first contest of the season.

Before the two and a half mile track which hosts the event today was built, races were run on the sands between Daytona and Ormand Beach on Florida's east coast.

When Bill France built the Mecca of car racing, few could have predicted his sport would become as popular as it is today.

The first race took 3 days to determine a winner because it was a 3-car photo finish. Problem was, they didn't have a camera at the finish line and until this photo surfaced, the race's result was in doubt. Lee Petty, father of King Richard, was declared the inaugural 500's first champion.

If you think stock car racing is nothing more than rednecks turning left (left turns during racing was invented by the greeks by the way), you are missing out on one of the country's biggest one-day events.