The 1986 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 16, 1986, before an audience of 125,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway.
The 1986 Daytona 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott.
The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805Â km) NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual fall showdown Dixie Vodka 400 being held at Homestead south of Miami. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, it has been the season-opening race of the Cup series.
Aerial view of Daytona International Speedway
Trevor Bayne, driving the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, won the 2011 Daytona 500.
The start of the 2015 Daytona 500
Prerace ceremonies before the 2008 Daytona 500.