NASCAR Cup Series

60 days until Daytona: 1960 Daytona 500 was the slowest in history

Published Jan. 10, 2017 2:17 p.m. ET

Chase Wilhelm

In celebration of 60 days until the Daytona 500, which takes place Feb. 26 on FOX, we are going to take a look back at the second running of NASCAR’s biggest race.

The 1960 Daytona 500 was won by famed driver and car owner Junior Johnson in the John Mansoni-owned No. 27 Chevrolet.

With just nine laps remaining, Johnson took the lead away from race leader Bobby Johns after he spun his No. 3 1959 Pontiac owned by Jim Stephens.

Johns went on to finish second to Johnson, as Richard Petty, Lee Petty and Johnny Allen rounded out the top-five finishers.

But it wasn’t how the race was won that makes it memorable, it’s actually how long it took Johnson to get to Victory Lane that makes it one for the history books.

It took exactly four hours and 30 seconds to finish the race with an average speed of only 124.72 miles per hour – making it the slowest Daytona 500 race in history.

Surprisingly, the second slowest 500 occurred in 2011 when Trevor Bayne became the youngest winner in race history. That year, the average speed was a few ticks over 130 mph and a little over three hours and 59 minutes to complete.

Never say never as we came close nearly six years ago, but it’s a pretty safe bet -- the 1960 Daytona 500 may always hold the record for being the slowest.