The event was won by Cale Yarborough driving a 1968 Mercury. Yarborough drove his #21 to victory in just over 3 hours and 23 minutes after starting the race on the pole. There were 11 caution flags which slowed the race for 60 laps, a track record at the time that remained so until 2005. Yarborough squeaked out the victory by less than a second over LeeRoy Yarbrough. The win was Yarborough's first victory of the season[4] and his first victory in the "Great American Race".

This was also the only Daytona 500 where the grid was set exclusively by qualifying times. The 125-mile qualifying races were not held due to inclement weather.

Mario Andretti, better known for his accomplishments in open-wheel and USAC competition, won his first and only NASCAR Grand National event, pulling away from 1965 winner Fred Lorenzen in the closing laps. He ran in a Holman-Moody Ford.[2] This is the only time a person born outside the United States has ever won the Daytona 500.

More than 94,000 people witnessed a 204-minute race where six cautions slowed the pace for a total of 54 laps. There were 36 lead changes among 9 drivers. Curtis Turner won the pole at a speed of 180.381 miles per hour or 290.295 kilometres per hour. Tiny Lund ran out of gas while trying to win the race. Six drivers failed to make the grid; including Don Biederman and Earl Brooks. Innes Ireland raced his final race ever when the V8 engine of his Dodge exploded outside the stands.

The 1966 Daytona 500, the 8th running of the event, was won by Richard Petty driving a 1966 Plymouth on February 27, 1966. Petty drove his number 43 to victory in just over three hours after starting the race on the pole. There were four caution flags which slowed the race for 22 laps. Petty came from two laps down to win the event after 198 laps were completed.The race was shortened by two laps due to rain. The win was Petty's second victory of the season.

The 1965 Daytona 500, the 7th running of the event, was held on February 14, 1965 at Daytona International Speedway. Fred Lorenzen, driving a 1965 Ford, won the race from fourth position in a two-hour-and-23-minute time span by Darel Dieringer by a full lap. This was Lorenzen's first victory of the season.

NASCAR instituted new rules in October 1964 to enhance safety and decrease speeds for 1965 after the previous year's deaths of Joe Weatherly and Fireball Roberts. The Chrysler Hemi engine was dominated that year by 1964 NASCAR Champion Richard Petty.

Ford Motor Company wanted a new engine with high-rise cylinder heads to compete with the Hemi and threatened to pull out if Bill France Sr. didn't allow it. NASCAR's new rules, however, banned both Hemi engines and high-rise cylinder heads.

The 1964 Daytona 500, was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) event that was held on February 23, 1964, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The race was won by Richard Petty driving a 1964 Plymouth. Petty drove his number 43 to victory in 3 hours and 14 minutes. There were three caution flags that slowed the race for 19 laps. The Chrysler teams debuted their brand-new 426 ci Chrysler Hemi engine in this race; NASCAR ordered the teams who had it to sandbag it during practice and qualifying due to their superiority.[2] During the race itself, Richard Petty, who at the time was known best for his skill on short tracks, led 184 of the 200 laps (a Daytona 500 record that stands to this day) and Chrysler teams took four of the top five spots

The 1963 Daytona 500, the 5th running of the event was held on February 24, 1963, was won by Tiny Lund driving a 1963 Ford. Lund drove his number 21 to victory in three hours and 17 minutes. 

Weather played a role in Tiny Lund winning this race; with temperatures reaching up to 75 degrees.  Lund won by making only four pit stops, but he would not have been able to make the distance on four pit stops had the first ten laps not been run under caution. Had the race not started under caution, Lund would have had to make five pit stops.  He was able to win on four pit stops along because of the slow start time.

The 1962 Daytona 500, was held on February 18, 1962, at Daytona International Speedway

It was won by Fireball Roberts driving a 1962 Pontiac. Roberts drove his famous number 22 to victory in three hours and 10 minutes. The race was run in its entirety without a single caution flag. Roberts dominated the event by leading 144 of the 200 laps. The win was Roberts' second victory of the season.

The 1961 Daytona 500, was held on February 26, 1961, at Daytona International Speedway 

Marvin Panch won the race in the one-year-old 1960 Pontiac built and owned by Smokey Yunick after taking the lead on lap 187. Panch was not originally scheduled to drive, and was only added to Yunick's team after Fireball Robers suggested adding him. Panch drove the number 20 to victory in three hours and 20 minutes.

The 1960 Daytona 500 was held on February 14, 1960, at Daytona International Speedway. The race featured 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt tri-oval, and was won by Junior Johnson

In the largest crash in racing history, 37 cars crashed in Turn 4; the worst injuries sustained were minor cuts and bruises.

The 1959 First Annual 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators. It was the first race held at the 2.5-mile  Daytona International Speedway.

There were no caution periods in the race; making it one of the few "perfect games" in NASCAR history, though it would occur in three of the first four Daytona 500s, as the Daytona 500 also went caution-free in both 1961 and 1962