The Daytona 500 roars to life on Sunday, kicking off NASCAR’s 76th season at the Daytona International Speedway Sunday. The 2.5-mile oval is the traditional start of the stock car racing season.
Thirty-six races are scheduled for NASCAR this season, including a first-time race at the ⅞ mile Iowa Speedway and a return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The season concludes Nov. 10 in Phoenix.
But first, there’s Sunday at Daytona, where 103-year-old Juanita “Lightnin’” Epton has been selling tickets since 1959, when the first race was run.
“My place is here in this office,” she said, readying for this year’s event. “I was hired to help people to get to the race.”