Daytona In July — Race In The Morning, Then Hit The Beach

I get a little sentimental at this time of year, thinking about how some things in NASCAR were indeed better in days gone by. I’m not alone.

For years, NASCAR’s competitors, fans and media celebrated the Independence Day holiday at Daytona International Speedway and the running of the Firecracker 400, as it was known for decades.

It wasn’t because the race was uniquely competitive, although there were some great shows. Rather, it was the very nature of the event that made it special. It was very much unlike the season-opening Daytona 500. That was, and is, a much-hyped, most important and most well-known NASCAR event.

It’s the foundation of Speedweeks and is accompanied by other races and events that once took nearly two weeks to complete. Over those two weeks, the media was constantly busy. With so much news to report and race coverage to file, things could get hectic.

The Firecracker 400 was so vastly different. There was only the single race and all activities were finished in a matter of days. It certainly didn’t have the status of the Daytona 500 and that meant the coverage was not widespread — and to be honest, it didn’t need to be. But for the media that did have to work the summer event, it was undoubtedly one of the most popular.

There are reasons for that.

The Firecracker 400 meant summer days at the beach. It was one of the few races at which many media members brought their families.

For competitors, it was the same. In fact, the Firecracker 400 meant a vacation for the Petty family, year after year. Richard and Lynda would pile all the kids into a car and drive to Daytona for days of sun and fun with a race thrown in.

“It was our thing,” Kyle Petty once said. “It was Daytona every July for the race and dad’s birthday (July 2).”

I had a personal experience with the Petty vacation. One year, a day after the race, I saw Richard get into his family-loaded car in a fast food restaurant parking lot in Cheraw, SC. I decided to follow him to his home in Level Cross, N.C. It wasn’t long before I questioned my decision.

The route north didn’t involve an Interstate and the Petty vehicle did at least 60 mph — for the most part — in 45 mph, two-way zones. Mind you, not always. Petty maintained the legal slow speed as he passed through small towns.

Otherwise, I wasn’t accustomed to this sort of thing and admit I got a bit nervous. But I stuck it out.

When we stopped at an intersection very near the Petty home, I…