Good evening, this is Chief Science officer, Jennifer Sontag reporting from the bridge of the USS Tiburon slowly orbiting the planet earth. We have come back to earth from a long and arduous tour of the alpha quadrent. I can’t wait to transport down, a few members of the crew and myself are heading to Daytona Beach which is located in the state of Florida. We are headed to Daytona international Speedway for the super bowl of stock car racing, The Daytona 500.
The Daytona 500 is a stock car race that has been around for 57 years and will likely be around for 50 more. It all started back in the fifties with the first racers battling it out on the sand of the beach. It has evolved from a one day race, to a month long race schedule with anything from the 24 hour race to the actual Daytona 500. In the past 50 years the Daytona 500 has seen everything from a fight on the back stretch between Cale Yarbourgh and Donnie Allison to the death of NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt in 2001.
The race has also seen racers in the winner circle who have scored their first and only win on the NASCAR circut, namely Derrick Cope. One of the most emotional winners in the history of the Daytona 500 wereDarrell Waltrip, who couldn’t believe that he won the race and had to get confirmation from the announcer in the winner’s circle. One of my favorite moments in the race’s history is when Dale Earnhardt won his first and only 500 race in 1998.
It’s a great race to watch, and I can’t wait to see who wins on Sunday. Of course I am rooting for Dale Earnhardt Jr., #88.
Thanks for reading, this is Chief Science Officer Jennifer Sontag signing off for now. See you next month.