Who won the first Daytona 500 race with a photo finish?
Lee Petty, patriarch of a famous racing family whose most renowned member was his son Richard, won the first Daytona 500 on February 22, 1959 defeating Johnny Beauchamp in a highly unusual manner. Petty and Beauchamp were lapping the car of Joe Weatherly at the finish, when officials initially called Beauchamp the winner as the three cars crossed the line. After reviewing photographs and film of the finish for three days, the call was reversed, and Petty won the first Daytona 500. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_500 From the very first running of the Daytona 500, when Lee Petty beat Johnny Beauchamp in a photo-finish, (the first photo-finish ever in a 500-mile race). http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/sports2000/trends/140925.
