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Richard Petty may be called The King because of his achievements on the track but it is his actions off the track that make him NASCAR royalty in the hearts of the fans.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the 59th annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, his second career victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and first at the “World Center of Racing.”

Saturday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway concluded more than 21 hours after it started.

But did you know that the first summer race at Daytona International Speedway was called the Firecracker 250? The 250-miles race was held on July 4, 1959, and was won by Fireball Roberts. He dominated the caution-free event, leading 84 of 100 laps and finishing ahead of the second-place finisher, Joe Weatherly, by 57 seconds.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Daytona International Speedway.

The changing of the guard. NASCAR fans are getting used to that. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and soon Dale Earnhardt Jr. Summer returns, which means FOX leaves to be replaced by NBC.

NASCAR is and has always been a southern sport. Even with the massive boom in popularity we saw from the early 90s till the late 2000s, NASCAR's primary fan base and roots were always in the short tracks of the Deep South. Bumping, banging, and hard-nosed racing is where rivalries and champions were born. It's what led blue-collar workers to become racers and race fans.

"Yeah, you know, obviously, tires prevail here, but we made the call," Sauter said. "Chase (Briscoe) actually took me to school there. That kid is a hell of a wheelman."

Jeff Gordon leads the series with five victories at the road course, including three consecutively, from 1998 – 2000. Tony Stewart has three trophies but did you know he captured the final win of his Cup career last year at Sonoma, ending an 84-race winless drought?

It is ironic that the two tracks that feature folks turning to the right are in California and New York, where you would think left would be the preferred direction. Sonoma is the perfect venue to feature our hot drivers, with temperatures this week in the 90s, though promises to be in the low 80s come Sunday. It a facility well used, with 340 days of racing events featured annually.