Feb. 29, also known as Leap Day, is the rarest date on the calendar. And after a long, four-year wait from 2020 — a time that almost looks unrecognizable from today — the calendars read 2/29 once again.
Unfortunately, there is no racing to enjoy on this special occasion, as Feb. 29 falls on a Thursday in the 2024 calendar. Racing on Leap Day is exceptionally rare, but there are a handful of races in the past half century to have that notoriety. What series were they in, and more importantly, who were the lucky winners?
Races Run on February 29
In over 2,500 NASCAR Cup Series races run since its inception in 1949, only one has the honor of being held on Feb. 29: the 1976 Carolina 500 at Rockingham Speedway.
In a race that took four hours, 24 minutes and eight seconds with an average speed of 113.665 mph, it was Richard Petty that crossed the finish line first. It had been a dominant affair for the No. 43 car, as Petty led 362 of the 492 laps and won by two laps over second-place finisher Darrell Waltrip. The win was the seventh of 11 wins for Petty at Rockingham, and it was win No. 178 in his illustrious chase for 200.
The New York Times even reported on the race, and according to its article, Bobby Allison was transported to a local hospital after sustaining injuries in an eight-car wreck on lap 373 while running in second place. Allison would return to race at Richmond Raceway the following week, where he won the pole and finished third.
There has never been a Craftsman Truck Series race held on Feb. 29, but there have been two Xfinity races: one in 1992 and one in 2020.
The first Xfinity race, the 1992 Goodwrench 200, was also held at Rockingham.
In a star-studded event where Jeff Gordon won the pole and Dale Earnhardt led the most laps, it was Ward Burton who scored his first career Xfinity win by passing Davey Allison with 22 laps to go and holding off Mark Martin to take the checkered flag by just under one second.
The second Xfinity race was the 2020 Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway. The day was dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, as Brandon Jones won the pole and led the first 73 laps before ultimately finishing four laps down in 30th.
Daniel Hemric, Chase Briscoe and Harrison Burton then took turns at the point until Burton controlled the final…
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