Coke Zero 400

Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca Cola at Daytona

Venue	Daytona International Speedway
Corporate sponsor	The Coca-Cola Company
First race	1959
Distance	400 miles (643.7 km)
Number of laps	160
Previous names	Firecracker 250 (1959-1962) Firecracker 400 (1963-1984) Pepsi Firecracker 400 (1985-1988) Pepsi 400 (1989-2007) Coke Zero 400 (2008-present)

The Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona is a 160 lap, 400 miles (640 km) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on the first Saturday night of July, usually around Independence Day weekend, at Daytona International Speedway. Starting in 2008, an agreement is in place for Coca-Cola to become the official soft drink provider of ISC facilities. Coca-Cola chose to use their Coke Zero brand to title the race.

History

In 1959, the race was originally scheduled to be a USAC Championship (Indy) Car event. However, after a crash-filled event in April, open wheel racing on the oval was permanently canceled. NASCAR quickly stepped in and replaced the schedule with a stock car race.

The race was developed to provide a second major Cup-level racing event for the Daytona International Speedway which would not detract from the legendary status of the Daytona 500. At its creation in 1959, the race was 100 laps, for 250 miles, and owing to the scheduling on the July 4th, was nicknamed the Firecracker 250. In 1963 the race was expanded from 100 laps to 160 laps, for a distance of 400 miles, and became known as the Firecracker 400.

In 1985, the race became known as the Pepsi Firecracker 400, when PepsiCo became the title sponsor. In 1989, the "Firecracker" name was dropped, and the race was known simply as the Pepsi 400 through 2007.

From 1959 to 1987, the race was always scheduled for July 4, regardless of the day of the week. Beginning in 1988, the race was moved to the first Saturday of July (that date nearest July 4). The 2009 race was run on July 4, marking the first time since 1992 that the race was run on July 4.

On July 4, 1987, in the wake of Bobby Allison's massive crash at Talladega, the cars were fitted with 390 CFM carburetors. The change helped slow the cars down several mph. On the final lap, Ken Schrader flipped upside-down in the tri-oval as the field crossed the finish line. It would be the final race at Daytona without restrictor plates.

Night race

For most of its history, the race normally started in the morning (10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. eastern) to avoid hot summer temperatures and the frequent mid-afternoon thunderstorms in Florida. During live ESPN telecasts, the term "Breakfast at Daytona" was used, a gesture to NBC's popular "Breakfast at Wimbledon", taking place the same weekend.

In July 1997, Daytona International Speedway announced a massive lighting project to be done by MUSCO lighting, the same company who installed lights at Charlotte. Plans called for the 1998 Pepsi 400 to be held under the lights in primetime. At the time, it was the longest track with a night race, and the first restrictor plate race held at night.

On July 4, 1998, however, the race had to be postponed. Wildfires in Florida consumed the surrounding areas, and the track was converted into a firefighters' staging area. Track officials rescheduled the race for October that year.

Television

In the 1970s and 1980s, the race was shown tape delayed on ABC's Wide World of Sports on the Saturday following the race. Typically, since July 4 often fell during the week, the broadcast would not air the same day the race was held. If July 4 fell on a Saturday, the race was aired later in the day, taped and edited.

From 1989 through 1997, the race switched to a live flag-to-flag broadcast on ESPN. The 1989 event was noteworthy in that it was the event's first live coverage (actually slightly time shifted), and the first opportunity for ESPN to broadcast an event from Daytona. The switch came one year after the race was planted firmly on Saturday morning. The 1990 race was live flag-to-flag.

When it was scheduled to become a night race in 1998, broadcast rights changed to CBS, which also at that time covered the Daytona 500. However, the 1998 event was postponed until October due to Florida wildfires. CBS partner TNN broadcast the race live instead. For 1999-2000, the race reverted back to live broadcast on CBS in primetime. Between 2001-2006, the race was shared between NBC and Fox (NBC odd years, Fox even years, the opposite of the Daytona 500 coverage).

In 2007, TNT took over television rights under the new contract, and introduced their "Wide Open Coverage" for this race. It is similar to ABC and ESPN's Side-by-Side commercial format for IndyCar broadcasts. The race was broadcast in splitscreen format, with the race footage on the top half of the screen in 16:9 format, and scoring and graphics on the bottom half. Commercials were broadcast in a box in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and various special two-minute advertisements were filmed for the telecast by the respective advertisers.

Presidential visits

With the race's fundamental link to Independence Day, U.S. Presidents have been in attendance on two notable occasions.

On Wednesday July 4, 1984, President Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. President to attend a NASCAR race. The President gave the command to start the race ("Gentlemen, start your engines") by phone from aboard Air Force One. Landing at Daytona, the President proceeded to the track, and viewed the race with Bill France Jr.. During his time at the race, Reagan was interviewed by NASCAR driver Ned Jarrett, who in 1978 had begun a career as a radio race broadcaster. The 1984 Firecracker 400 is also legendary since it was the race at which Richard Petty achieved his unparalleled 200th (and final) win. Petty and President Reagan were interviewed together following the race, and the President joined Richard Petty and his family in Victory Lane.

On July 4, 1992, President George H. W. Bush attended the race, which served as a Daytona farewell tribute to Richard Petty during his "Fan Appreciation Tour." Bush, on the 1992 campaign trail, participated in pre-race festivities, gave the starting command, and rode around the track in the pace car during the pace laps. Petty qualified a strong second, and led the first 5 laps of the race. He succumbed to heat exhaustion, however, and dropped out near the halfway point.

First wins

The Coke Zero 400 has been known to produce a number of drivers' first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories. Drivers include A. J. Foyt, Sam McQuagg, Greg Sacks, Jimmy Spencer, John Andretti and Greg Biffle.

Past winners

Richard Petty's car used for his 1979 Daytona 500 win, on display at Daytona USA in January 2001

Cars race by the "DAYTONA" letters during the 2005 Pepsi 400.

Year	Day	Date	Driver	Car Make	Winner's Prize (USD)	Distance (miles)	Average Speed (mph)
Firecracker 250
1959	Saturday	July 4	Fireball Roberts	Pontiac	$7,050	250	140.581
1960	Monday	July 4	Jack Smith	Pontiac	$11,500	250	146.842
1961	Tuesday	July 4	David Pearson	Pontiac	$8,450	250	154.294
1962	Wednesday	July 4	Fireball Roberts	Pontiac	$9,850	250	153.688
Firecracker 400
1963	Thursday	July 4	Fireball Roberts	Ford	$12,100	400	150.927
1964	Saturday	July 4	A. J. Foyt	Dodge	$13,000	400	151.451
1965	Sunday	July 4	A. J. Foyt	Ford	$8,500	400	150.046
1966	Monday	July 4	Sam McQuagg	Dodge	$13,600	400	153.813
1967	Tuesday	July 4	Cale Yarborough	Ford	$15,725	400	143.583
1968	Thursday	July 4	Cale Yarborough	Mercury	$15,400	400	167.247
1969	Friday	July 4	LeeRoy Yarbrough	Ford	$22,175	400	160.875
1970	Saturday	July 4	Donnie Allison	Ford	$21,025	400	162.235
1971	Sunday	July 4	Bobby Isaac	Dodge	$16,450	400	161.947
1972	Tuesday	July 4	David Pearson	Mercury	$15,650	400	160.821
1973	Wednesday	July 4	David Pearson	Mercury	$16,100	400	158.468
1974	Thursday	July 4	David Pearson	Mercury	$17,350	400	138.310
1975	Friday	July 4	Richard Petty	Dodge	$19,935	400	158.381
1976	Sunday	July 4	Cale Yarborough	Buick	$22,215	400	160.966
1977	Monday	July 4	Richard Petty	Dodge	$23,075	400	142.716
1978	Tuesday	July 4	David Pearson	Mercury	$18,450	400	154.340
1979	Wednesday	July 4	Neil Bonnett	Mercury	$21,705	400	172.890
1980	Friday	July 4	Bobby Allison	Mercury	$24,805	400	173.473
1981	Saturday	July 4	Cale Yarborough	Buick	$24,625	400	142.588
1982	Sunday	July 4	Bobby Allison	Buick	$42,100	400	163.099
1983	Monday	July 4	Buddy Baker	Ford	$32,950	400	167.442
1984	Wednesday	July 4	Richard Petty	Pontiac	$43,755	400	171.204
Pepsi Firecracker 400
1985	Thursday	July 4	Greg Sacks	Chevrolet	$45,350	400	158.730
1986	Friday	July 4	Tim Richmond	Chevrolet	$58,655	400	131.916
1987	Saturday	July 4	Bobby Allison	Buick	$57,375	400	161.074
1988	Saturday	July 2	Bill Elliott	Ford	$63,500	400	163.302
Pepsi 400
1989	Saturday	July 1	Davey Allison	Ford	$65,000	400	132.207
1990	Saturday	July 7	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	$72,850	400	160.894
1991	Saturday	July 6	Bill Elliott	Ford	$75,000	400	159.116
1992	Saturday	July 4	Ernie Irvan	Chevrolet	$86,300	400	170.457
1993	Saturday	July 3	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	$75,940	400	151.755
1994	Saturday	July 2	Jimmy Spencer	Ford	$75,880	400	155.558
1995	Saturday	July 1	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	$96,580	400	166.976
1996	Saturday	July 6	Sterling Marlin	Chevrolet	$106,565	292.5†	161.602
1997	Saturday	July 5	John Andretti	Ford	$109,525	400	157.791
1998	Saturday	October 17†	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	$184,325	400	144.549
1999	Saturday	July 3	Dale Jarrett	Ford	$164,965	400	169.213
2000	Saturday	July 1	Jeff Burton	Ford	$152,450	400	148.576
2001	Saturday	July 7	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Chevrolet	$185,873	400	157.601
2002	Saturday	July 6	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet	$172,975	400	135.952
2003	Saturday	July 5	Greg Biffle	Ford	$187,975	400	166.109
2004	Saturday	July 3	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	$346,703	400	145.117
2005	Saturday	July 2/3	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	$368,261	400	131.016
2006	Saturday	July 1	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	$369,586	400	153.143
2007	Saturday	July 7	Jamie McMurray	Ford	$302,500	400	138.983
Coke Zero 400 presented by Coca-Cola
2008	Saturday	July 5	Kyle Busch	Toyota	$315,950	405*	138.554
2009	Saturday	July 4	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	$349,873	400	142.461

• 1977: Race had a 2-hour rain delay red flag near the halfway point
• 1996: 117 laps / 292.5 miles due to rain
• 1998: Scheduled for July 4; postponed to October 17 due to Florida wildfires.
• 2005: Moving from 8pm to 11pm due to rain. Ended at 2am on Sunday July 3.
• 2008: 162 laps / 405 miles due to Green-White-Checkered finish.

Manufacturer wins

See also

• List of current NASCAR races
• Subway Jalapeno 250 - A NASCAR Nationwide Series race that takes place during the same weekend of the Coke Zero 400
• Brumos Porsche 250 - A Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race that takes place during the same weekend of the Coke Zero 400

References

• http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080208005543&newsLang=en
• http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=46325&FS=GRANDAM-GRANDCUP

External links

• racing-reference.info