February

February 1
Bobby Rahal, Bob Garretson, and Brian Redman, drive a Porsche 935 K3 to victory in the "24 Hours of Daytona". First IMSA GTP race. (1981)

February 2
Drag racer Ed "The Ace" McCulloch, named one of NHRA'S 50 Greatest drivers, born on this day. (1942) 

February 3
Hurley Haywood collects his fifth win at "The 24 Hours of Daytona", the most victories of any driver in the event's history. Haywood shared a Porsche 962-C with teammates John Winter, Frank Jelinski, Henri Pescarolo and Bob Wollek. (1991)

Jim Hall wins the first United States Road Racing Championship race, at Daytona, Florida, USA, driving a Cooper Monaco. (1963)

February 4
The Oldsmobile R&S MkIII of Wayne Taylor, Scott Sharpe, and Jim Pace wins the "24 Hours of Daytona". (1996)

In Canadian History:
Rollie MacDonald, Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame member, born in Pictou, NS, Canada. (1944)

February 5
Darrell Waltrip, 3-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion and named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, born in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA. (1947)

Dorsey Schroeder, the 1979 Trans-Am Champion, born in  in Kirkwood, Missouri, USA. (1953)

February 6
The BMW M1C, built for IMSA GTP competition, rolls out of the March factory. (1981)

Paul Gentilozzi, 1994 "24 Hours of Daytona" winner, and founder of the successful Rocketsports Racing team, born in Lansing, Michigan, USA. (1950)

Robert Kubica, winner of the 2008 "Canadian Grand Prix" and the first Polish driver to compete in Formula One, is seriously injured in a crash at the Ronde di Andora rally, in which his right forearm was partially severed, making a return to Formula One nearly impossible. (2011)

February 7
 Bruce McLaren, driving a Cooper T51 / Climax 2.5 L4, won the "Grand Prix of Argentina" at Autodromo Oscar Alfredo Galvez, Buenos Aires, Argentina. (1960)

February 8
Butch Leitzinger, 3 Time "24 Hours of Daytona" winner, and 2002 Rookie of the Year in the Trans-Am Series, born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, USA. (1969)

February 9
Dale Earnhardt, driving the Richard Childress/Chevrolet won the "Busch Clash" at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. (1986)

February 10
Marshall Teague and Herb Thomas, driving Marshall Teague owned 1952 Hudson's, finish 1-2 in the NASCAR Grand National race at Beach & Road Course, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. (1952) 

February 11
Neil Bonnett, named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, lost his life during the first practice session for the "Daytona 500".  According to witnesses, Bonnett lost control of his Chevrolet on the track's high-banked fourth turn, swerving onto the track apron and then up the steep bank before crashing into the wall nearly head on. (1994)

John Surtees, the only man to win Grand Prix World Championships on two and four wheels, born in Tatsfield, Surrey, England. (1934)

February 12
Ralph DePalma drives a Packard to a World Land Speed Record of 149.875 mph. (1919)

Brad Keselowski, 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, born in Rochester Hills, USA (1984)

February 13
Jim Crawford, former Formula One, Indycar, Can-Am driver, and 1982 British Formula One Champion, born in Dunfermline, Scotland (1948)

February 14
Driving a Porsche 911 Carrera, Mark Donohue wins the inaugural IROC finally at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. (1974)

February 15
After 20 years of trying, racing great Dale Earnhardt Sr. finally wins his first "Daytona 500", the NASCAR season opener, dubbed the "Super Bowl of stock car racing." Driving his black No. 3 Chevrolet, Earnhardt took home a then-record, more than $1 million in prize money. (1998)

Graham Hill, two time Formula One World Champion, and only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport (24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship) born in England. (1929)

February 16
25-year-old Jeff Gordon claims his first "Daytona 500" victory, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the NASCAR event. (1997)

Marvin Panch, wins the "Daytona 500" driving a year-old Smokey Yunick Pontiac. (1961)

February 17
Richard Petty wins the "Daytona 500" at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame member Earl Ross finished 11th. (1974)

February 18
Dale Earnhardt Sr., considered one of the greatest drivers in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) history, dies at the age of 49 in a last-lap crash at the 43rd Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Earnhardt was driving his famous black No. 3 Chevrolet and vying for third place when he collided with another car, then crashed into a wall. After being cut from his car, Earnhardt, whose tough, aggressive driving style earned him the nickname "The Intimidator," was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead of head injuries. (2001)

Richard Petty wins the Daytona 500 stock car race after leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison crash into each other on the final lap. (1979) 

February 19
Cale Yarborough wins his fourth Daytona 500. In the history of the 200-lap, 500-mile race, only one driver has topped Yarborough's record—Richard Petty, who took home seven victories. (1984) 

February 20
Bobby Unser, 3-time "Indy 500" winner, born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. (1934)

Roger Penske, owner of the automobile racing team Team Penske, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive-related businesses, born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, USA. (1937)

Scott Brayton, veteran of 14 "Indianapolis 500's", born in Coldwater, Michigan, USA. (1959)

February 21
The National Association for Stock Car Racing, or NASCAR, as it will come to be widely known, is officially incorporated. NASCAR racing will go on to become one of America's most popular spectator sports, as well as a multi-billion-dollar industry. (1948)

February 22
Lee Petty defeats Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish, at the just-opened Daytona International Speedway in Florida, to win the first-ever "Daytona 500". (1959)

Chuck Etchells defeats Ron Capps in the Funny Car finals of the "Atsco Nationals" at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, USA. First all-Camaro Funny Car finals in NHRA history. (1998)

February 23
Five-time Formula One champion, Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina, is kidnapped in Cuba by a group of Fidel Castro's rebels. Fangio was taken from his Havana hotel the day before the Cuban Grand Prix, an event intended to showcase the island nation. He was released unharmed several hours after the race. The kidnapping was intended to bring international embarrassment to Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, whose government Castro would later overthrow. (1958)

February 24
In addition to Juan Manuel Fangio's kidnapping, the Cuba Grand Prix was marred by tragedy when a Cuban driver named Armando Garcia Cifuentes lost control of his car on an oil-slicked part of the street course and plowed into a crowd of onlookers. Seven people were killed and dozens more injured. The crash led to immediate speculation that Castro's followers had sabotaged the course by coating it with oil; however, it was later believed that a broken oil line in a car driven by Argentina's Roberto Mieres was the cause of the slick spot. (1958)

Alain Prost, the four-time Formula One champion, born near Saint-Chamond, France. (1955)  

Tiny Lund, replacing the injured Marvin Panch, drives the Wood's Brothers Ford to victory in the Daytona 500. (1963)

February 25
Davey Allison, 1987 Winston Cup Series "Rookie of the Year", and named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, born in Hollywood, Florida, USA. (1961)     

Francois Cevert, the 1971 "United States Grand Prix" winner, born in Paris, France. (1944) 

February 26
In an effort to raise awareness of environmental issues, the Honda Formula One team unveils its Earth Car, a race car emblazoned with a large image of the planet instead of the typical advertising and sponsorship logos featured on most F1 vehicles. (2007)

February 27
Peter Revson, winner of the 1973 "Canadian Grand Prix", born in New York City, New York, USA. (1939) 

February 28
American racing legend Mario Andretti, and twin brother Aldo, are born in Montona, Italy, (1940) 
In a career that spanned five decades, Mario was known for his versatility as a driver, taking the checkered flag behind the wheel of sports cars, sprint cars, and stock cars on a variety of race courses. His long list of achievements includes a Formula One World Championship, four Champ Car National Championships, three 12 Hours of Sebring victories, and wins at the "Indianapolis 500", the "Daytona 500" and the "Pikes Peak International Hill Climb". 

Sebastien Bourdais, one of the most successful drivers in the history of the Champ Car World Series, having won four successive championships from 2004 to 2007, born in Le Mans, France (1979)

Butch Leitzinger, 3-time winner of the the famed "Rolex 24 at Daytona", born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, USA. (1969)

February 29
Louis Schwitzer, winner of the inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway born on this day in 1880. In front of some 12,000 spectators, Schwitzer, an automotive engineer, won the two-lap, five-mile inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with average speed of 57.4 mph. In 1965, Schwitzer suffered a stroke while riding a horse on his farm. He was paralyzed, and for a time lost his ability to speak English, reverting to Hungarian where he died in 1967.


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