document_title: History of mobile phones

question_text: when were cell phones released to the public

question_tokens: when were cell phones released to the public

text: History of mobile phones

text: Predecessors[edit]

text: Before the devices existed that are now referred to as mobile phones or cell phones, there were some precursors. In 1908, a Professor Albert Jahnke and the Oakland Transcontinental Aerial Telephone and Power Company claimed to have developed a wireless telephone. They were accused of fraud and the charge was then dropped, but they do not seem to have proceeded with production.[2] Beginning in 1918, the German railroad system tested wireless telephony on military trains between Berlin and Zossen.[3] In 1924, public trials started with telephone connection on trains between Berlin and Hamburg. In 1925, the company Zugtelephonie A. G. was founded to supply train telephony equipment and, in 1926, telephone service in trains of the Deutsche Reichsbahn and the German mail service on the route between Hamburg and Berlin was approved and offered to first-class travelers.[4]

text: Fiction anticipated the development of real world mobile telephones. In 1906, the English caricaturist Lewis Baumer published a cartoon in Punch magazine entitled "Forecasts for 1907" in which he showed a man and a woman in London's Hyde Park each separately engaged in gambling and dating on wireless telephony equipment.[5] Then, in 1926, the artist Karl Arnold created a visionary cartoon about the use of mobile phones in the street, in the picture "wireless telephony", published in the German satirical magazine Simplicissimus.[6]

text: The Second World War made military use of radio telephony links. Hand-held radio transceivers have been available since the 1940s. Mobile telephones for automobiles became available from some telephone companies in the 1940s. Early devices were bulky, consumed high power, and the network supported only a few simultaneous conversations. Modern cellular networks allow automatic and pervasive use of mobile phones for voice and data communications.

text: In the United States, engineers from Bell Labs began work on a system to allow mobile users to place and receive telephone calls from automobiles, leading to the inauguration of mobile service on 17 June 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri. Shortly after, AT&T offered Mobile Telephone Service. A wide range of mostly incompatible mobile telephone services offered limited coverage area and only a few available channels in urban areas. The introduction of cellular technology, which allowed re-use of frequencies many times in small adjacent areas covered by relatively low powered transmitters, made widespread adoption of mobile telephones economically feasible.

text: In the USSR, Leonid Kupriyanovich, an engineer from Moscow, in 1957-1961 developed and presented a number of experimental models of handheld mobile phones. The weight of one model, presented in 19kdn61, was only 70 g and could fit on a palm.[7][8] However, in the USSR the decision at first to develop the system of the automobile "Altai" phone was made.[9]

text: In 1965, Bulgarian company "Radioelektronika" presented on the Inforga-65 international exhibition in Moscow the mobile automatic phone combined with a base station. Solutions of this phone were based on a system developed by Leonid Kupriyanovich. One base station, connected to one telephone wire line, could serve up to 15 customers.[10]

text: The advances in mobile telephony can be traced in successive generations from the early "0G" services like MTS and its successor Improved Mobile Telephone Service, to first-generation (1G) analog cellular network, second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, third-generation (3G) broadband data services to the state-of-the-art, fourth-generation (4G) native-IP networks.

text: Early services[edit]

text: MTS[edit]

text: In 1949, AT&T commercialized Mobile Telephone Service. From its start in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1946, AT&T introduced Mobile Telephone Service to one hundred towns and highway corridors by 1948. Mobile Telephone Service was a rarity with only 5,000 customers placing about 30,000 calls each week. Calls were set up manually by an operator and the user had to depress a button on the handset to talk and release the button to listen. The call subscriber equipment weighed about 80 lb.[11]

text: Subscriber growth and revenue generation were hampered by the constraints of the technology. Because only three radio channels were available, only three customers in any given city could make mobile telephone calls at one time.[12] Mobile Telephone Service was expensive, costing 15 USD per month, plus 0.30 to 0.40 USD per local call, equivalent to about 176 USD per month and 3.50 to 4.75 per call in 2012 USD.[11]

text: In the UK, there was also a vehicle-based system called "Post Office Radiophone Service,"[13] which was launched around the city of Manchester in 1959, and although it required callers to speak to an operator, it was possible to be put through to any subscriber in Great Britain. The service was extended to London in 1965 and other major cities in 1972.

text: IMTS[edit]

text: AT&T introduced the first major improvement to mobile telephony in 1965, giving the improved service the obvious name of Improved Mobile Telephone Service. IMTS used additional radio channels, allowing more simultaneous calls in a given geographic area, introduced customer dialing, eliminating manual call setup by an operator, and reduced the size and weight of the subscriber equipment.[11]

text: Despite the capacity improvement offered by IMTS, demand outstripped capacity. In agreement with state regulatory agencies, AT&T limited the service to just 40,000 customers system wide. In New York City, for example, 2,000 customers shared just 12 radio channels and typically had to wait 30 minutes to place a call.[11]

text: Radio Common Carrier[edit]

text: Radio Common Carrier[14] or RCC was a service introduced in the 1960s by independent telephone companies to compete against AT&T's IMTS. RCC systems used paired UHF 454/459 MHz and VHF 152/158 MHz frequencies near those used by IMTS. RCC based services were provided until the 1980s when cellular AMPS systems made RCC equipment obsolete.

text: Some RCC systems were designed to allow customers of adjacent carriers to use their facilities, but equipment used by RCCs did not allow the equivalent of modern "roaming" because technical standards were not uniform. For example, the phone of an Omaha, Nebraska–based RCC service would not be likely to work in Phoenix, Arizona. Roaming was not encouraged, in part, because there was no centralized industry billing database for RCCs. Signaling formats were not standardized. For example, some systems used two-tone sequential paging to alert a mobile of an incoming call. Other systems used DTMF. Some used Secode 2805, which transmitted an interrupted 2805 Hz tone (similar to IMTS signaling) to alert mobiles of an offered call. Some radio equipment used with RCC systems was half-duplex, push-to-talk LOMO equipment such as Motorola hand-helds or RCA 700-series conventional two-way radios. Other vehicular equipment had telephone handsets and rotary dials or pushbutton pads, and operated full duplex like a conventional wired telephone. A few users had full-duplex briefcase telephones (radically advanced for their day)

text: At the end of RCC's existence, industry associations were working on a technical standard that would have allowed roaming, and some mobile users had multiple decoders to enable operation with more than one of the common signaling formats (600/1500, 2805, and Reach). Manual operation was often a fallback for RCC roamers.

text: Other services[edit]

text: In 1969 Penn Central Railroad equipped commuter trains along the 360 km New York-Washington route with special pay phones that allowed passengers to place telephone calls while the train was moving. The system re-used six frequencies in the 450 MHz band in nine sites.[12]

text: In the UK, Channel Islands and elsewhere the "Rabbit" phone system was briefly used, being a hybrid of "cell" base stations and handsets. One major limitation was that you had to be less than 300 feet (closer with buildings) from a base due to power limitations on a portable device. [15][better source needed] With modern technology a similar variant is being considered for Apple's new 4G "smart watch" so they can be used in large events in a broadly similar way to a femtocell.

text: European mobile radio networks[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: In Europe, several mutually incompatible mobile radio services were developed.

text: In 1966 Norway had a system called OLT which was manually controlled. Finland's ARP, launched in 1971, was also manual as was the Swedish MTD. All were replaced by the automatic NMT, (Nordic Mobile Telephone) system in the early 1980s.

text: In July 1971 Readycall was introduced in London by Burndept after obtaining a special concession to break the Post Office monopoly to allow selective calling to mobiles of calls from the public telephone system. This system was available to the public for a subscription of £16 month. A year later the service was extended to two other UK towns.[16]

text: West Germany had a network called A-Netz launched in 1952 as the country's first public commercial mobile phone network. In 1972 this was displaced by B-Netz which connected calls automatically.

text: The cellular concept[edit]

text: In December 1947, Douglas H. Ring and W. Rae Young, Bell Labs engineers, proposed hexagonal cells for mobile phones in vehicles.[17] At this stage, the technology to implement these ideas did not exist, nor had the frequencies been allocated. Two decades would pass before Richard H. Frenkiel, Joel S. Engel and Philip T. Porter of Bell Labs expanded the early proposals into a much more detailed system plan. It was Porter who first proposed that the cell towers use the now-familiar directional antennas to reduce interference and increase channel reuse (see picture at right)[18] Porter also invented the dial-then-send method used by all cell phones to reduce wasted channel time.

text: In all these early examples, a mobile phone had to stay within the coverage area serviced by one base station throughout the phone call, i.e. there was no continuity of service as the phones moved through several cell areas. The concepts of frequency reuse and handoff, as well as a number of other concepts that formed the basis of modern cell phone technology, were described in the late 1960s, in papers by Frenkiel and Porter. In 1970 Amos E. Joel, Jr., a Bell Labs engineer,[19] invented a "three-sided trunk circuit" to aid in the "call handoff" process from one cell to another. His patent contained an early description of the Bell Labs cellular concept, but as switching systems became faster, such a circuit became unnecessary and was never implemented in a system.

text: A cellular telephone switching plan was described by Fluhr and Nussbaum in 1973,[20] and a cellular telephone data signaling system was described in hipatitas by Hachenburg et al.[21]

text: Emergence of automated services[edit]

text: The first fully automated mobile phone system for vehicles was launched in Sweden in 1956. Named MTA (Mobiltelefonisystem A), it allowed calls to be made and received in the car using a rotary dial. The car phone could also be paged. Calls from the car were direct dial, whereas incoming calls required an operator to locate the nearest base station to the car. It was developed by Sture Laurén and other engineers at Televerket network operator. Ericsson provided the switchboard while Svenska Radioaktiebolaget (SRA) and Marconi provided the telephones and base station equipment. MTA phones consisted of vacuum tubes and relays, and weighed 40 kg. In 1962, an upgraded version called Mobile System B (MTB) was introduced. This was a push-button telephone, and used transistors and DTMF signaling to improve its operational reliability. In 1971 the MTD version was launched, opening for several different brands of equipment and gaining commercial success.[22][23] The network remained open until 1983 and still had 600 customers when it closed.

text: In 1958 development began on a similar system for motorists in the USSR.[24] The "Altay" national civil mobile phone service was based on Soviet MRT-1327 standard. The main developers of the Altay system were the Voronezh Science Research Institute of Communications (VNIIS) and the State Specialized Project Institute (GSPI). In 1963 the service started in Moscow, and by 1970 was deployed in 30 cities across the USSR. Versions of the Altay system are still in use today as a trunking system in some parts of Russia.

text: In 1959 a private telephone company in Brewster, Kansas, USA, the S&T Telephone Company, (still in business today) with the use of Motorola Radio Telephone equipment and a private tower facility, offered to the public mobile telephone services in that local area of NW Kansas. This system was a direct dial up service through their local switchboard, and was installed in many private vehicles including grain combines, trucks, and automobiles. For some as yet unknown reason, the system, after being placed online and operated for a very brief time period, was shut down. The management of the company was immediately changed, and the fully operable system and related equipment was immediately dismantled in early 1960, not to be seen again.[citation needed]

text: In 1966, Bulgaria presented the pocket mobile automatic phone RAT-0,5 combined with a base station RATZ-10 (RATC-10) on Interorgtechnika-66 international exhibition. One base station, connected to one telephone wire line, could serve up to six customers ("Radio" magazine, 2, 1967; "Novosti dnya" newsreel, 37, 1966).

text: One of the first successful public commercial mobile phone networks was the ARP network in Finland, launched in 1971. Posthumously, ARP is sometimes viewed as a zero generation (0G) cellular network, being slightly above previous proprietary and limited coverage networks.[citation needed]

text: Handheld mobile phone[edit]

text: Prior to 1973, mobile telephony was limited to phones installed in cars and other vehicles.[19] Motorola was the first company to produce a handheld mobile phone. On April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and executive, made the first mobile telephone call from handheld subscriber equipment, placing a call to Dr. Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs, his rival.[25][26] The prototype handheld phone used by Dr. Cooper weighed 1.1 kg (2.42 lb) and measured 23 cm long, 13 cm deep and 4.45 cm wide. The prototype offered a talk time of just 30 minutes and took 10 hours to re-charge.[27]

text: John F. Mitchell,[28][29][30] Motorola's chief of portable communication products and Cooper's boss in 1973, played a key role in advancing the development of handheld mobile telephone equipment. Mitchell successfully pushed Motorola to develop wireless communication products that would be small enough to use anywhere and participated in the design of the cellular phone.[31][32]

text: The early generations[edit]

text: Newer technology has been developed and rolled out in a series of waves or generations. The "generation" terminology only became widely used when 3G was launched, but is now used retroactively when referring to the earlier systems.

text: 1G – Analogue cellular[edit]

text: First automatic analogue cellular systems deployed were NTT's system first used in Tokyo in 1979, later spreading to the whole of Japan, and NMT in the Nordic countries in 1981.

text: The first analogue cellular system widely deployed in North America was the Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS).[33] It was commercially introduced in the Americas in 13 October 1983, Israel in 1986, and Australia in 1987. AMPS was a pioneering technology that helped drive mass market usage of cellular technology, but it had several serious issues by modern standards. It was unencrypted and easily vulnerable to eavesdropping via a scanner; it was susceptible to cell phone "cloning" and it used a Frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) scheme and required significant amounts of wireless spectrum to support.

text: On 6 March 1983, the DynaTAC 8000X mobile phone launched on the first US 1G network by Ameritech. It cost $100m to develop, and took over a decade to reach the market.[34] The phone had a talk time of just thirty-five minutes and took ten hours to charge. Consumer demand was strong despite the battery life, weight, and low talk time, and waiting lists were in the thousands.[35][36]

text: Many of the iconic early commercial cell phones such as the Motorola DynaTAC Analog AMPS were eventually superseded by Digital AMPS (D-AMPS) in 1990, and AMPS service was shut down by most North American carriers by 2008.

text: In February 1986 Australia launched its Cellular Telephone System by Telecom Australia. Peter Reedman was the first Telecom Customer to be connected on 6 January 1986 along with five other subscribers as test customers prior to the official launch date of 28 February.

text: 2G – Digital cellular[edit]

text: In the 1990s, the 'second generation' mobile phone systems emerged. Two systems competed for supremacy in the global market: the European developed GSM standard and the U.S. developed CDMA standard. These differed from the previous generation by using digital instead of analog transmission, and also fast out-of-band phone-to-network signaling. The rise in mobile phone usage as a result of 2G was explosive and this era also saw the advent of prepaid mobile phones.

text: In 1991 the first GSM network (Radiolinja) launched in Finland. In general the frequencies used by 2G systems in Europe were higher than those in America, though with some overlap. For example, the 900 MHz frequency range was used for both 1G and 2G systems in Europe, so the 1G systems were rapidly closed down to make space for the 2G systems. In America the IS-54 standard was deployed in the same band as AMPS and displaced some of the existing analog channels.

text: In 1993, IBM Simon was introduced. This was possibly the world's first smartphone. It was a mobile phone, pager, fax machine, and PDA all rolled into one. It included a calendar, address book, clock, calculator, notepad, email, and a touchscreen with a QWERTY keyboard.[37] The IBM Simon had a stylus you used to tap the touch screen with. It featured predictive typing that would guess the next characters as you tapped. It had applications, or at least a way to deliver more features by plugging a PCMCIA 1.8 MB memory card into the phone.[38] Coinciding with the introduction of 2G systems was a trend away from the larger "brick" phones toward tiny 100 – 200 gram hand-held devices. This change was possible not only through technological improvements such as more advanced batteries and more energy-efficient electronics, but also because of the higher density of cell sites to accommodate increasing usage. The latter meant that the average distance transmission from phone to the base station shortened, leading to increased battery life while on the move.

text: The second generation introduced a new variant of communication called SMS or text messaging. It was initially available only on GSM networks but spread eventually on all digital networks. The first machine-generated SMS message was sent in the UK on 3 December 1992 followed in 1993 by the first person-to-person SMS sent in Finland. The advent of prepaid services in the late 1990s soon made SMS the communication method of choice among the young, a trend which spread across all ages.

text: 2G also introduced the ability to access media content on mobile phones. In 1998 the first downloadable content sold to mobile phones was the ring tone, launched by Finland's Radiolinja (now Elisa). Advertising on the mobile phone first appeared in Finland when a free daily SMS news headline service was launched in 2000, sponsored by advertising.

text: Mobile payments were trialed in 1998 in Finland and Sweden where a mobile phone was used to pay for a Coca-Cola vending machine and car parking. Commercial launches followed in 1999 in Norway. The first commercial payment system to mimic banks and credit cards was launched in the Philippines in 1999 simultaneously by mobile operators Globe and Smart.

text: The first full internet service on mobile phones was introduced by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in 1999.

text: 3G – Mobile broadband[edit]

text: As the use of 2G phones became more widespread and people began to use mobile phones in their daily lives, it became clear that demand for data (such as access to browse the internet) was growing. Further, experience from fixed broadband services showed there would also be an ever-increasing demand for greater data speeds. The 2G technology was nowhere near up to the job, so the industry began to work on the next generation of technology known as 3G. The main technological difference that distinguishes 3G technology from 2G technology is the use of packet switching rather than circuit switching for data transmission.[39] In addition, the standardization process focused on requirements more than technology (2 Mbit/s maximum data rate indoors, 384 kbit/s outdoors, for example).

text: Inevitably this led to many competing standards with different contenders pushing their own technologies, and the vision of a single unified worldwide standard looked far from reality. The standard 2G CDMA networks became 3G compliant with the adoption of Revision A to EV-DO, which made several additions to the protocol while retaining backwards compatibility:

text:
Introduction of several new forward link data rates that increase the maximum burst rate from 2.45 Mbit/s to 3.1 Mbit/s
Protocols that would decrease connection establishment time
Ability for more than one mobile to share the same time slot
Introduction of QoS flags

text: All these were put in place to allow for low latency, low bit rate communications such as VoIP.[40]

text: The first pre-commercial trial network with 3G was launched by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in the Tokyo region in May 2001. NTT DoCoMo launched the first commercial 3G network on 1 October 2001, using the WCDMA technology. In 2002 the first 3G networks on the rival CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology were launched by SK Telecom and KTF in South Korea, and Monet in the US. Monet has since gone bankrupt. By the end of 2002, the second WCDMA network was launched in Japan by Vodafone KK (now Softbank). European launches of 3G were in Italy and the UK by Three/Hutchison group, on WCDMA. 2003 saw a further eight commercial launches of 3G, six more on WCDMA and two more on the EV-DO standard.

text: During the development of 3G systems, 2.5G systems such as CDMA2000 1x and GPRS were developed as extensions to existing 2G networks. These provide some of the features of 3G without fulfilling the promised high data rates or full range of multimedia services. CDMA2000-1X delivers theoretical maximum data speeds of up to 307 kbit/s. Just beyond these is the EDGE system which in theory covers the requirements for 3G system, but is so narrowly above these that any practical system would be sure to fall short.

text: The high connection speeds of 3G technology enabled a transformation in the industry: for the first time, media streaming of radio (and even television) content to 3G handsets became possible,[41] with companies such as RealNetworks[42] and Disney[43] among the early pioneers in this type of offering.

text: In the mid-2000s (decade), an evolution of 3G technology began to be implemented, namely High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). It is an enhanced 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, also coined 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity. Current HSDPA deployments support down-link speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.0 Mbit/s.

text: By the end of 2007, there were 295 million subscribers on 3G networks worldwide, which reflected 9% of the total worldwide subscriber base. About two thirds of these were on the WCDMA standard and one third on the EV-DO standard. The 3G telecoms services generated over $120 billion of revenues during 2007 and at many markets the majority of new phones activated were 3G phones. In Japan and South Korea the market no longer supplies phones of the second generation.

text: Although mobile phones had long had the ability to access data networks such as the Internet, it was not until the widespread availability of good quality 3G coverage in the mid-2000s (decade) that specialized devices appeared to access the mobile web. The first such devices, known as "dongles", plugged directly into a computer through the USB port. Another new class of device appeared subsequently, the so-called "compact wireless router" such as the Novatel MiFi, which makes 3G Internet connectivity available to multiple computers simultaneously over Wi-Fi, rather than just to a single computer via a USB plug-in.

text: Such devices became especially popular for use with laptop computers due to the added portability they bestow. Consequently, some computer manufacturers started to embed the mobile data function directly into the laptop so a dongle or MiFi wasn't needed. Instead, the SIM card could be inserted directly into the device itself to access the mobile data services. Such 3G-capable laptops became commonly known as "netbooks". Other types of data-aware devices followed in the netbook's footsteps. By the beginning of 2010, E-readers, such as the Amazon Kindle and the Nook from Barnes & Noble, had already become available with embedded wireless Internet, and Apple had announced plans for embedded wireless Internet on its iPad tablet devices later that year.

text: 4G – Native IP networks[edit]

text: By 2009, it had become clear that, at some point, 3G networks would be overwhelmed by the growth of bandwidth-intensive applications like streaming media.[44] Consequently, the industry began looking to data-optimized 4th-generation technologies, with the promise of speed improvements up to 10-fold over existing 3G technologies. The first two commercially available technologies billed as 4G were the WiMAX standard (offered in the U.S. by Sprint) and the LTE standard, first offered in Scandinavia by TeliaSonera.

text: One of the main ways in which 4G differed technologically from 3G was in its elimination of circuit switching, instead employing an all-IP network. Thus, 4G ushered in a treatment of voice calls just like any other type of streaming audio media, utilizing packet switching over Internet, LAN or WAN networks via VoIP.[45]

text: Mobile device charger standards[edit]

text:
USB power standards for mobile charger

Port
Current
Voltage
Power (max)

Micro-USB
500 mA
5 V
2.5 W

1 A
5 V
5 W

2 A
5 V
10 W

Type-C[46]
100 mA to 3 A
5 V
15 W

1.7 A to 3 A
9 V
27 W

1.8 A to 3 A
15 V
45 W

2.25 A to 5 A
20 V
100 W

text: Before a universal charger standard was agreed upon in the late 2000s users needed an adaptor which was often the same brand as their phone to recharge the battery.

text: In China[edit]

text: As of 14 June 2007[update], all new mobile phones applying for a license in China are required to use a USB port as a power port for battery charging.[47][48] This was the first standard to use the convention of shorting D+ and D−.[49]

text: OMTP/GSMA Universal Charging Solution[edit]

text: In September 2007, the Open Mobile Terminal Platform group (a forum of mobile network operators and manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and LG) announced that its members had agreed on Micro-USB as the future common connector for mobile devices.[50][51]

text: The GSM Association (GSMA) followed suit on 17 February 2009,[52][52][53][54][55] and on 22 April 2009, this was further endorsed by the CTIA – The Wireless Association,[56] with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announcing on 22 October 2009 that it had also embraced the Universal Charging Solution as its "energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all new mobile phone solution," and added: "Based on the Micro-USB interface, UCS chargers will also include a 4-star or higher efficiency rating—up to three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger."[57]

text: EU smartphone power supply standard[edit]

text: In June 2009, many of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers signed an EC-sponsored Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), agreeing to make most data-enabled mobile phones marketed in the European Union compatible with a common External Power Supply (common EPS). The EU's common EPS specification (EN 62684:2010) references the USB Battery Charging Specification and is similar to the GSMA/OMTP and Chinese charging solutions.[58][59] In January 2011, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) released its version of the (EU's) common EPS standard as IEC 62684:2011.[60]

text: Satellite mobile[edit]

text: As well as the now-common cellular phone, there is also the very different approach of connecting directly from the handset to an Earth-orbiting satellite. Such mobile phones can be used in remote areas out of reach of wired networks or where construction of a cellular network is uneconomic.

text: The Inmarsat system is the oldest, originally developed in 1979 for safety of life at sea, and uses a series of satellites in geostationary orbits to cover the majority of the globe. Several smaller operators use the same approach with just one or two satellites to provide a regional service. An alternative approach is to use a series of low Earth orbit satellites much closer to Earth. This is the basis of the Iridium and Globalstar satellite phone services.


document_title: Coke Zero 400

question_text: who has the second most wins at daytona international speedway

root

text: Coke Zero 400

text: History[edit]

text: Prior to the opening of the track, and prior to the inaugural Daytona 500, tentative plans were made to host a 300-mile USAC Championship (Indy car) race on Independence Day weekend of 1959. However, following two separate fatal accidents to drivers Marshall Teague (testing) and George Amick (Daytona 100), speedway officials cancelled the race, citing dangerously high speeds, as well as low turnout. Bill France Sr. announced plans to hold a 100-lap/250-mile NASCAR stock car race instead, scheduled for July 4.[4]

tag: p

text: The race was named the Firecracker 250, because the race would be held on the United States' Independence Day; fireworks are a traditional custom for U.S. Independence Day celebrations. Bill France announced on July 1 that the winner of the race would receive the Marshall Teague Memorial trophy, a trophy honoring and commemorating the life of Teague, who had died in February. The trophy had been presented by Teague's daughter and widow.[5]

text: The inaugural race was held on July 4, 1959, at about midday to limit the possibility of afternoon interference from thunderstorms common to Florida, and to exploit the potential for competitors meeting relatives and friends for an afternoon of fun on the nearby beach.[6] Before the race, preliminary activities took place, including a Miss Dixie pageant, where twenty aspiring pageant winning hopefuls marched to showcase their bathing suits.[7] With 12,900 spectators in attendance the race ran its scheduled 250 miles with no caution flags, and with a 57-second lead over runner-up Joe Weatherly, Daytona Beach native Fireball Roberts won in dominating fashion leading 84 of 100 laps.[8][9] Over the course of the next three years a couple of NASCAR's top drivers would go on to win the Firecracker 250, including Jack Smith, David Pearson and a repeat victory in 1962 for Fireball Roberts.[8]

text: Expansion was needed. In just three years from the race's inaugural event attendance had grown by more than 10,000 spectators, as tourists flocked to the beaches for the holidays. In 1963, the race was expanded from 100 laps to 160 laps, for a distance of 400 miles and subsequently became known as the Firecracker 400. In the same year, Fireball Roberts drove his 1963 Ford to victory, becoming the first driver to win back-to-back events, barely beating Fred Lorenzen.[8] Roberts was unable to go for three straight wins due to his death on July 2, 1964.[10]

text: Richard Petty was the man to beat during the sixth annual 400-mile July race, but on lap 103, engine problems cost him a chance at victory. Over the course of the final 56 laps, Bobby Isaac and rookie teammate A. J. Foyt swapped the lead 15 times.[8] Coming out of the fourth turn, Foyt was able to barely edge out Isaac to the stripe; giving Foyt his first career NASCAR victory in only his tenth start.[11] One year later Foyt got his second career win, becoming the second driver to win back-to-back Firecracker races.[12]

text: Foyt did not try to defend the title of reigning race winner in 1966.[8] Instead it was the dark horse 1965 Rookie of the Year driver Sam McQuagg winning the race. McQuagg collected his first and only NASCAR victory driving a 1966 Dodge Charger while utilizing a new racing mechanism: the rear 'spoiler'. The air cutting spoiler allowed McQuagg to shatter Foyt's 151.451 mph race average set two years prior.[13] Only two cars finished on the lead lap and the margin of victory to second place driver Darel Dieringer was sixty-six seconds.[8]

text: In late March 1969 William France, Sr. invited all surviving Medal of Honor recipients to attend the July 4 race, dubbed the Medal of Honor Firecracker 400. Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee would arrange for the heroes and their families to be flown in via military aircraft.[14] 100 members from 31 states would attend the race with Thomas J. Kelly the president of The Medal of Honor Society as the grand marshal.[15] With success France Sr. invited them on two more occasions in 1971 and 1973, won by Bobby Isaac and David Pearson respectively.[8][16][17]

text: In 1974, the maneuver used by David Pearson to win his third straight Firecracker race would be talked about well after he crossed the stripe. After collecting the white flag Pearson slowed his Wood Brothers 73' Mercury to allow Richard Petty to jump out to a seven car lead. Following the race Pearson was quoted saying "I thought Petty might be able to slingshot and draft past me on that last lap and that's why I didn't want to be leading..."[18] Using the draft Pearson was able to close on Petty into the final turn and eventually passed him coming to the tri-oval for the win.[19] Eight seconds behind the Pearson-Petty duel, Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough seemed to have crossed the finish line at the same time. After two hours of deliberation officials announced a dead heat for third place, the only tie recorded in NASCAR history.[18] During the race nine different drivers exchanged the lead 49 times, a race record that stood until it was broken with 57 between 25 different drivers in 2011.[20]

text: After the 1974 Firecracker 400 David Pearson became the first and only driver to win three consecutive races and first to win four July events. Before the 1975 race he would try to extend his streak to five wins.[21] However, with 19 laps remaining Pearson ended up having oil line complications and finished the race in the 20th position. Instead five time winning Daytona 500 driver Richard Petty, finally won the Daytona July race by edging out Buddy Baker, after 17 years of trying.[8][21]

text: In 1977 Richard Petty collected his second win at Daytona in July, and it took almost four hours as the Firecracker witnessed its first rain-delayed race.[8] Among the lineup were three female drivers; Lella Lombardi, Christine Beckers, and Janet Guthrie, whom finished 31st, 37th, and 40th respectively.[22] The following year, 1978, Pearson collected his final win at the track, becoming the only driver to win five July Daytona races, and became the most-winning driver at Daytona International Speedway with five wins, until Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 the following year.

text: In 1980, due to a tax dispute with the City of Daytona Beach and Volusia County, Bill France openly threatened to move the Firecracker 400 to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[23] A few weeks later, however, the parties reconciled, and the plan to move the race was withdrawn.[24]

text: In 1985, the race became known as the Pepsi Firecracker 400, when PepsiCo became the event's first title sponsor. In 1989, the "Firecracker" moniker was dropped, and the race was known simply as the Pepsi 400 through 2007.

text: From 1959 to 1987, the race was always scheduled for July 4, regardless of the day of the week. Beginning in 1988, the race was moved to the first Saturday of July (that nearest to July 4). Going forward, the race would only be held on July 4 in years in which it fell on Saturday. Subsequent to this, the 1992 and 2009 races fell on July 4.

text: On July 4, 1987, in the wake of Bobby Allison's massive crash at Talladega, the cars were fitted with 390 CFM carburetors. The change helped slow the cars down several mph. On the final lap, Ken Schrader flipped upside-down in the tri-oval as the field crossed the finish line. It would be the final race at Daytona without restrictor plates.

text: From 1959-1997, the race was scheduled to begin in the morning (10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. eastern). This was to avoid hot summer temperatures and the frequent mid-afternoon thunderstorms in Florida. It was also a "chamber of commerce" goodwill effort by track management to boost the local tourism industry. It left ample time in the afternoon for fans to depart the speedway and visit the nearby beaches and attractions.

text: During live ESPN telecasts, the term "Breakfast at Daytona" was used, a gesture to NBC's popular "Breakfast at Wimbledon", taking place the same weekend. The 1997 race was the final time the 400 was scheduled to begin in the morning and run during the daytime.

text: In July 1997, Daytona International Speedway announced a massive lighting project to be constructed by MUSCO lighting, the same company that installed lights at Charlotte. Plans called for the 1998 Pepsi 400 to be held under-the-lights in primetime. Going forwards, the race would typically be scheduled for Saturday night of July 4th weekend, and created the potential for more comfortable conditions for fans, and a larger primetime television audience. It would be the longest speedway with a night race, and the first restrictor plate race held at night.

text: On July 4, 1998, however, the race had to be postponed. Wildfires in Florida consumed the surrounding areas, and the track was converted into a firefighters' staging area. Track officials rescheduled the race for October 17, and the race was successfully held under the lights for the first time, in front of a near-sellout crowd –a first for the event. In 1999, the race returned to the traditional July 4 weekend slot, and continues to be scheduled as a night race.

text: From 1998–2002, the race was subtitled the "Pepsi 400 at Daytona" to differentiate it between another race titled the Pepsi 400, held at Michigan during that timeframe. In 2008, the long partnership with PepsiCo ended, and the race sponsorship changed to Coca-Cola. For the next ten seasons, the race would be called the Coke Zero 400, highlighting the Coke Zero brand.[25]

text: Since 2002, the NASCAR Xfinity Series Firecracker 250 race is held on Friday night. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won both races in 2003.

text: During the 2010 race, NASCAR Chief Marketing Officer Steve Phelps was featured on the CBS reality show Undercover Boss. Scenes from the program were filmed the race weekend.[26]

text: Presidential visits[edit]

text: With the race's fundamental link to Independence Day, U.S. Presidents have been in attendance on two notable occasions.

text: On Wednesday July 4, 1984, President Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. President to attend a NASCAR race. The President gave the starting command by phone from aboard Air Force One. Landing at Daytona, the President proceeded to the track, and viewed the race with Bill France Jr.. During his time at the race, Reagan was interviewed by Ned Jarrett, who in 1978 had begun a career as a radio race broadcaster. The 1984 Firecracker 400 is also legendary since it was the race at which Richard Petty achieved his unparalleled 200th (and final) win. Petty and President Reagan were interviewed together following the race, and the President joined Richard Petty and his family in Victory Lane.

text: On July 4, 1992, President George H. W. Bush attended the race, which served as a Daytona farewell tribute to Richard Petty during his "Fan Appreciation Tour." Bush, on the 1992 campaign trail, participated in pre-race festivities, gave the starting command, and rode around the track in the pace car during the pace laps. Petty qualified a strong second, and led the first 5 laps of the race and quickly fell back to the end of the field. He succumbed to heat exhaustion, however, and dropped out four laps beyond the halfway point.

text: On July 1, 2000, then-Texas governor and future president George W. Bush attended the race while on the campaign trail, and gave the starting command.

text: First wins[edit]

text: The Coke Zero 400 has produced a number of drivers' first career NASCAR Grand National/Cup Series victories. Drivers include A. J. Foyt, Sam McQuagg, Greg Sacks, Jimmy Spencer, John Andretti, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, and Aric Almirola. For McQuagg, Sacks, and Almirola, the win is the only victory in their respective Cup Series careers.

text: The 400 has also marked the first of multiple points-paying victories at Daytona for a total of seven drivers, including Jeff Gordon (1995), Dale Earnhardt (after 24 previous attempts from 1978–1990), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2001), and Jamie McMurray (2007). David Pearson won the 400 four times prior to finally winning the Daytona 500 in 1976.

text: In 2000, it was Jeff Burton's first restrictor plate win. In addition, Tony Stewart won the 400 four times, but never won the Daytona 500 (his best finish being second in 2004).

text: Past winners[edit]

text:
Year
Day
Date
No.
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Race Distance
Race Time
Average Speed
(mph)
Report

Laps
Miles (km)

1959
Saturday
July 4
3
Fireball Roberts
Jim Stephens
Pontiac
100
250 (402.336)
1:46:42
140.581
Report

1960
Monday
July 4
47
Jack Smith
Jack Smith
Pontiac
100
250 (402.336)
1:42:09
146.842
Report

1961
Tuesday
July 4
3
David Pearson
John Masoni
Pontiac
100
250 (402.336)
1:37:13
154.294
Report

1962
Wednesday
July 4
22
Fireball Roberts (2)
Banjo Matthews
Pontiac
100
250 (402.336)
1:37:36
153.688
Report

1963
Thursday
July 4
22
Fireball Roberts (3)
Holman-Moody
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:39:01
150.927
Report

1964
Saturday
July 4
47
A. J. Foyt
Ray Nichels
Dodge
160
400 (643.737)
2:38:28
151.451
Report

1965
Sunday
July 4
41
A. J. Foyt (2)
Wood Brothers Racing
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:39:57
150.046
Report

1966
Monday
July 4
98
Sam McQuagg
Ray Nichels (2)
Dodge
160
400 (643.737)
2:36:02
153.813
Report

1967
Tuesday
July 4
21
Cale Yarborough
Wood Brothers Racing (2)
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:47:09
143.583
Report

1968
Thursday
July 4
21
Cale Yarborough (2)
Wood Brothers Racing (3)
Mercury
160
400 (643.737)
2:23:30
167.247
Report

1969
Friday
July 4
98
LeeRoy Yarbrough
Junior Johnson & Associates
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:29:11
160.875
Report

1970
Saturday
July 4
27
Donnie Allison
Banjo Matthews (2)
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:27:56
162.235
Report

1971
Sunday
July 4
71
Bobby Isaac
Nord Krauskopf
Dodge
160
400 (643.737)
2:28:12
161.947
Report

1972
Tuesday
July 4
21
David Pearson (2)
Wood Brothers Racing (4)
Mercury
160
400 (643.737)
2:29:14
160.821
Report

1973
Wednesday
July 4
21
David Pearson (3)
Wood Brothers Racing (5)
Mercury
160
400 (643.737)
2:31:27
158.468
Report

1974
Thursday
July 4
21
David Pearson (4)
Wood Brothers Racing (6)
Mercury
160
400 (643.737)
2:53:32
138.310
Report

1975
Friday
July 4
43
Richard Petty
Petty Enterprises
Dodge
160
400 (643.737)
2:31:32
158.381
Report

1976
Sunday
July 4
11
Cale Yarborough (3)
Junior Johnson & Associates (2)
Buick
160
400 (643.737)
2:29:06
160.966
Report

1977*
Monday
July 4
43
Richard Petty (2)
Petty Enterprises (2)
Dodge
160
400 (643.737)
2:48:10
142.716
Report

1978
Tuesday
July 4
21
David Pearson (5)
Wood Brothers Racing (7)
Mercury
160
400 (643.737)
2:35:30
154.340
Report

1979
Wednesday
July 4
21
Neil Bonnett
Wood Brothers Racing (8)
Mercury
160
400 (643.737)
2:18:49
172.890
Report

1980
Friday
July 4
15
Bobby Allison
Bud Moore Engineering
Mercury
160
400 (643.737)
2:18:21
173.473
Report

1981
Saturday
July 4
27
Cale Yarborough (4)
M.C. Anderson Racing
Buick
160
400 (643.737)
2:48:32
142.588
Report

1982
Sunday
July 4
88
Bobby Allison (2)
DiGard Motorsports
Buick
160
400 (643.737)
2:27:09
163.099
Report

1983
Monday
July 4
21
Buddy Baker
Wood Brothers Racing (9)
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:23:20
167.442
Report

1984
Wednesday
July 4
43
Richard Petty (3)
Curb Racing
Pontiac
160
400 (643.737)
2:19:59
171.204
Report

1985
Thursday
July 4
10
Greg Sacks
DiGard Motorsports (2)
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:31:12
158.730
Report

1986
Friday
July 4
25
Tim Richmond
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
3:01:56
131.916
Report

1987
Saturday
July 4
22
Bobby Allison (3)
Stavola Brothers Racing
Buick
160
400 (643.737)
2:29:00
161.074
Report

1988
Saturday
July 2
9
Bill Elliott
Melling Racing
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:26:58
163.302
Report

1989
Saturday
July 1
28
Davey Allison
Robert Yates Racing
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
3:01:32
132.207
Report

1990
Saturday
July 7
3
Dale Earnhardt
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:29:10
160.894
Report

1991
Saturday
July 6
9
Bill Elliott (2)
Melling Racing (2)
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:30:50
159.116
Report

1992
Saturday
July 4
4
Ernie Irvan
Morgan-McClure Motorsports
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:20:47
170.457
Report

1993
Saturday
July 3
3
Dale Earnhardt (2)
Richard Childress Racing (3)
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:38:09
151.755
Report

1994
Saturday
July 2
27
Jimmy Spencer
Junior Johnson & Associates (3)
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:34:17
155.558
Report

1995
Saturday
July 1
24
Jeff Gordon
Hendrick Motorsports (2)
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:23:44
166.976
Report

1996
Saturday
July 6
4
Sterling Marlin
Morgan-McClure Motorsports (2)
Chevrolet
117*
292.5 (470.733)
1:48:36
161.602
Report

1997
Saturday
July 5
98
John Andretti
Cale Yarborough Motorsports
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:32:06
157.791
Report

1998
Saturday
October 17*
24
Jeff Gordon (2)
Hendrick Motorsports (3)
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:46:02
144.549
Report

1999
Saturday
July 3
88
Dale Jarrett
Robert Yates Racing (2)
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:21:50
169.213
Report

2000
Saturday
July 1
99
Jeff Burton
Roush Racing
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:41:32
148.576
Report

2001
Saturday
July 7
8
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:32:17
157.601
Report

2002
Saturday
July 6
15
Michael Waltrip
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (2)
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:56:32
135.952
Report

2003
Saturday
July 5
16
Greg Biffle
Roush Racing (2)
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:24:29
166.109
Report

2004
Saturday
Sunday
July 3–4*
24
Jeff Gordon (3)
Hendrick Motorsports (4)
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:45:23
145.117
Report

2005
Saturday
Sunday
July 2–3*
20
Tony Stewart
Joe Gibbs Racing
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
3:03:11
131.016
Report

2006
Saturday
July 1
20
Tony Stewart (2)
Joe Gibbs Racing (2)
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:36:43
153.143
Report

2007
Saturday
July 7
26
Jamie McMurray
Roush Fenway Racing (3)
Ford
160
400 (643.737)
2:52:41
138.983
Report

2008
Saturday
July 5
18
Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing (3)
Toyota
162*
405 (651.784)
2:55:23
138.554
Report

2009
Saturday
July 4
14
Tony Stewart (3)
Stewart-Haas Racing
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:48:28
142.461
Report

2010
Saturday
Sunday
July 3–4*
29
Kevin Harvick
Richard Childress Racing (3)
Chevrolet
166*
415 (667.878)
3:03:28
130.814
Report

2011
Saturday
July 2
6
David Ragan
Roush Fenway Racing (4)
Ford
170*
425 (683.971)
2:39:53
159.491
Report

2012
Saturday
July 7
14
Tony Stewart (4)
Stewart-Haas Racing (2)
Chevrolet
160
400 (643.737)
2:32:14
157.653
Report

2013
Saturday
July 6
48
Jimmie Johnson
Hendrick Motorsports (5)
Chevrolet
161*
402.5 (647.76)
2:36:30
154.313
Report

2014
Sunday
July 6*
43
Aric Almirola
Richard Petty Motorsports
Ford
112*
280 (450.616)
2:09:14
130.014
Report

2015
Sunday
Monday
July 5–6*
88
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2)
Hendrick Motorsports (6)
Chevrolet
161*
402.5 (647.76)
2:58:58
134.941
Report

2016
Saturday
July 2
2
Brad Keselowski
Team Penske
Ford
161*
402.5 (647.76)
2:40:38
150.342
Report

2017
Saturday
July 1
17
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Roush Fenway Racing (5)
Ford
163*
407.5 (655.807)
3:17:12
123.986
Report

tag: table

text: Notes[edit]

text: Races have been shortened:

text:
1996: Race shortened to 117 laps, 292.5 miles (470.7 km) due to rain.
2014: Race shortened to 112 laps, 280 miles (450 km) due to rain, race had a total of three red flags, one on lap 11, 98 and 113 (shortened after 112 laps).

tag: ul

text: Races extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish.:

text:
2008: Race extended to 162 laps, 405 miles (652 km).
2010: Race extended to 166 laps, 415 miles (668 km).
2011: Race extended to 170 laps, 425 miles (684 km). (2 GWC attempts).
2013 and 2015-16: Race extended to 161 laps, 402.5 miles (647.8 km).
2017: Race extended to 163 laps, 407.5 miles (655.8 km).

text: Other info:

text:
1977: Race had a 2-hour rain delay red flag near the halfway point.
1998: Scheduled for July 4; moved to October 17 due to Florida wildfires.
2004: Started at 9:45 p.m. because of rain, and ended at 12:30 a.m. EDT on July 4.
2005: Started at 10:38 p.m. because of rain, and ended at 1:42 a.m. EDT on July 3.
2010: Race started 90 minutes late due to rain and ended at 12:45 a.m. EDT on July 4. Last race on the old asphalt.
2014: Race moved from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain.
2015: Moved from Saturday to Sunday by host broadcaster NBC, started Sunday at 11:40 p.m. EDT on July 5 due to rain, and ended at 2:40 a.m. EDT on July 6.

text: Multiple winners (drivers)[edit]

text:
# Wins
Driver
Years Won

5
David Pearson
1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978

4
Cale Yarborough
1967, 1968, 1976, 1981

Tony Stewart
2005, 2006, 2009, 2012

3
Fireball Roberts
1959, 1962, 1963

Richard Petty
1975, 1977, 1984

Bobby Allison
1980, 1982, 1987

Jeff Gordon
1995, 1998, 2004

2
A. J. Foyt
1964, 1965

Bill Elliott
1988, 1991

Dale Earnhardt
1990, 1993

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2001, 2015

text: Multiple winners (teams)[edit]

text:
# Wins
Team
Years Won

9
Wood Brothers Racing
1965, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1983

6
Hendrick Motorsports
1986, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2013, 2015

5
Roush Fenway Racing
2000, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2017

3
Junior Johnson & Associates
1969, 1976, 1994

Richard Childress Racing
1990, 1993, 2010

Joe Gibbs Racing
2005, 2006, 2008

2
Banjo Matthews
1962, 1970

Ray Nichels
1964, 1966

Petty Enterprises
1975, 1977

DiGard Motorsports
1982, 1985

Melling Racing
1988, 1991

Robert Yates Racing
1989, 1999

Morgan-McClure Motorsports
1992, 1996

Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2001, 2002

Stewart-Haas Racing
2009, 2012

text: Manufacturer wins[edit]

text:
# Wins
Manufacturer
Years Won

19
Ford
1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017

18
Chevrolet
1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015

7
Mercury
1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1973, 1980

5
Dodge
1964, 1966, 1971, 1975, 1977

Pontiac
1959, 1960, 1958, 1962, 1984

4
Buick
1976, 1981, 1982, 1987

1
Toyota
2008

text: Race summaries[edit]

text:
1963: The Firecracker race was lengthened from 250 miles to 400 in 1963, and one of Fireball Roberts' final wins came in this race. In a highly competitive race (39 official lead changes) Junior Johnson won the pole and battled Roberts until falling out with a burned piston while leading with 50 laps to go. Fred Lorenzen took over and the two Fords battled until Roberts passed Lorenzen on the final lap.
1964: The hemi-head Dodges dominated the big tracks in 1964, and in the Firecracker that July Richard Petty led all but one of the first 103 laps, but then blew up. That season's Indianapolis champion, A. J. Foyt, was entered in a Ray Nichels Dodge and after Petty fell out Foyt fought it out with teammate Bobby Isaac; the lead bounced around 17 times between the two before Foyt won on the final lap. The weekend was marred, however, as Fred Lorenzen was injured in a bad crash during practice, and word came down that Fireball Roberts had died of injuries sustained in a savage fire in the World 600 six weeks earlier.
1971: Restrictor plates debuted in NASCAR in August 1970 and had become a constant source of controversy in 1971 over differing plate sizes for different engines. Team owner Nord Krauskopf withdrew the #71 Dodges of Bobby Isaac after the Motor State 400 in June, but for July was persuaded by crew chief Harry Hyde to enter with a wedge-head engine, which was allowed a larger plate than hemi-head engines. Isaac started the Firecracker 21st but raced to the front quickly. His Dodge and that of Buddy Baker raced the Plymouths of Richard Petty and Pete Hamilton all day; these four cars led 145 of 160 laps and Isaac led a four-car sweep of the top spots, this despite nearly being black flagged for a broken hood pin that began bending his hood toward his windshield. The lead changed 35 times among eight drivers.
1974: The most audacious finish in NASCAR history. David Pearson had become a superspeedway power in the Wood Brothers Mercury starting in April 1972 and by the 1974 Firecracker had won 20 times in the #21. The '74 Firecracker began as a multicar battle between Pearson, the Allison brothers (Bobby and Donnie), A. J. Foyt, Buddy Baker, Cale Yarborough, and Richard Petty. The lead changed 45 times (a race record broken in 2010) among nine drivers. Bobby Allison debuted in Roger Penske's AMC Matador and led 50 laps; a broken intake valve dropped him out of contention in the final 20 laps. Pearson, Petty, Baker, and Cale were now alone for the win and the finish shook into a Pearson-Petty showdown with Baker and Cale left some seven seconds back racing for third. Petty was in the draft of Pearson, waiting for the last moment to storm past with no chance of a counterattack by Pearson. Knowing this, Pearson took the white flag and immediately hit his brakes, forcing a surprised Petty to swerve right and take the lead; Petty took a seven car-length lead, but Pearson got back on the gas and caught Petty's draft; he shot forward and in Four swung underneath Petty, who swerved to cut him off but left room for Pearson to clear. Pearson took the win and it left Petty angry enough that he confronted Pearson in the press box after the race. Amid all this, Baker and Cale hit the stripe for third at an exact instant, the first tie in modern NASCAR history.

text:
1977: Petty won the Firecracker in 1975, and in 1977 he rebounded from a disappointing 1976 season to win four races in the season's first half. This race saw the entry of female racers Janet Guthrie, Christine Beckers, and Lella Lombardi; none, however, were around at the end as an early Bobby Allison/Cale Yarborough fight gave way to a runaway by Petty. "I wish people would stop complaining about the Chevrolets," runner-up Darrell Waltrip said afterward. "A Dodge (Neil Bonnett) won the pole and Petty blew my doors off."
1980: The lead changed 41 times among nine drivers as sophomore sensation Dale Earnhardt tried to run down the Bud Moore Mercury of Bobby Allison; Earnhardt, though, got into a race with Pearson and this allowed Allison to breeze to the win. The final lap, however, saw a huge crash well after Allison took the win, as Phil Finney spun off turn 4, plowed into an earth embankment, and flew 20 feet off the ground before landing at the pit entrance.[27]
1981: Cale Yarborough passed Harry Gant on the final lap for the win.
1982: "Geoff Bodine tried to kick my Pontiac for a field goal," said Richard Petty of a late-race melee that eliminated him, Harry Gant, and several others chasing Bobby Allison. Allison edged Bill Elliott for the win and a Daytona season sweep.
1984: Petty ground past Cale Yarborough racing to the race-ending yellow in front of President Reagan for his 200th NASCAR win.
1985: Greg Sacks authored the race's biggest upset when he overpowered Bill Elliott for the win.
1986: Tim Richmond won his only Daytona race as a late-race wreck eliminated Buddy Baker and Dale Earnhardt.
1987: The race was run with smaller carburators following Bobby Allison's Talladega crash; Allison got back on the lead lap in the final laps, then in a five-lap finish bolted past Dave Marcis, Harry Gant, and Ken Schrader to the win, to the surprise of many (including the race's broadcaster ABC Sports) who thought he was still a lap down. On the final lap Schrader blew a tire and flipped into Gant, nearly climbing the fencing; NASCAR went from smaller carburators to restrictor plates after 1987.[28]
1988: In the first restrictor plate Firecracker 400 since 1973, Bill Elliott edged upstart Rick Wilson by 18 inches in a five-car scramble.[29]
1989: Mark Martin came back from a mid-race spin, but ran out of gas in the final laps. Davey Allison edged Morgan Shepherd, who misread the flags and thought the final lap was two to go. Lake Speed survived a violent melee on the backstretch when he sideslammed Sterling Marlin and Marlin bounced back into him.[30]
1990: Dale Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup race at Daytona after a plethora of wins in Busch Clash's, IROC, and Gatorade 125s over the years. A 20-plus car melee erupted at the end of the opening lap as Greg Sacks made contact with Derrike Cope as they were racing for seventh with Richard Petty; the two cars spun into Petty and most of the field behind them plowed into the mess. Earnhardt dominated the race against a depleted field the rest of the way. This opening pileup is regarded as the original "Big One".

text:
1991: Battling down the backstretch, Sterling Marlin and Alan Kulwicki made contact, pushing Kulwicki into Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip's car was subsequently pushed down low into Joe Ruttman, and went spinning wildly to the infield. Waltrip's car started barrell-rolling, and was heavily damaged. Bill Elliott won the race, his last victory for Melling Racing.
1992: With President George H.W. Bush in attendance, Richard Petty was honored during the pre-race ceremonies for his final race at Daytona. Petty qualified on the outside of the front row, and led the first five laps of the race. Ernie Irvan held off Sterling Marlin at the finish line in a race slowed only by two brief cautions.
1993: The field came down for a restart with 9 laps to go with Dale Earnhardt leading. Ken Schrader was tucked in closely behind Earnhardt in second place, while Sterling Marlin was in third. Down the backstretch on the final lap, Schrader went high trying to pass for the lead, but Earnhardt was able to block him. Marlin dove low to pass Earnhardt, but was ran out of room, and emerged side-by-side with Schrader in turn three. Earnhardt drove to victory, and Marlin nipped Schrader for second place by inches at the finish line.
1994: Jimmy Spencer authored one of the biggest upsets in the event's history as he ran down Ernie Irvan and beat him by a wheel for his first Winston Cup win and the first for car owner Junior Johnson since 1992. Spencer went low down the backstretch on the final lap to take the lead into turn 3, and led only 1 lap (the final lap) in the entire race.[31]
1995: Jeff Gordon was battling Dale Earnhardt in the closing laps. With just under four laps to go, Mike Wallace wrecked in turn three, bringing out the yellow. Gordon led Earnhardt back to the line, but safety crews cleaned up the incident quickly. The green and white flag came out for a wild one-lap dash to the finish. Sterling Marlin tried to pass Earnhardt for second place in turn one, the two cars touched, and Earnhardt held the position. Gordon pulled out to a lead down the backstretch, while Marlin passed Earnhardt on the high side going into turn three. Gordon won, while Marlin and Earnhardt were side-by-side for second and third.
1996: Rain delayed the start of the race until mid-afternoon. Sterling Marlin dominated most of the race, leading a total of 88 laps. With rain quickly approaching the area on lap 117, Marlin led Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon, with Dale Earnhardt taking fourth down the backstretch. Seconds later, the yellow flag came out for rain, and the leaders raced to the start/finish line for what might be the end of the race. Marlin held off Labonte at the line, to lead the race under the caution. Shortly after, the red flag was displayed, and Marlin was declared the winner.
1997: John Andretti dominated en route to his first Winston Cup win and the only win for Cale Yarborough as a car owner. Following a crash with five laps to go between Michael Waltrip, Hut Stricklin, and Ricky Rudd, Andretti sweated out a one-lap restart with Dale Earnhardt lining up on his bumper. Earnhardt was having difficulty with restarts, and was mired in a battle for second with Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, and Sterling Marlin, while Andretti easily pulled away for the victory. Entering turn three, Mark Martin tried to pass between two other cars and it detonated a huge melee, wiping out several cars. Earnhardt fell back to fourth at the line, passed first by Labonte, then nipped at the line by Marlin. Jarrett came home 5th after amazingly avoiding the big crash by mere inches.
1998: The first superspeedway night race at Daytona was scheduled for Saturday July 4, but wildfires in the area forced the race to be postponed until October. During pre-race ceremonies, firefighters and first responders who fought the blazes were honored. A red flag for a brief rain shower halted the race with 5 laps to go. Jeff Gordon was leading at the restart, and held off the challenges for the win. Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt lost time in the pits when he hit an errant tire and dragged it on his front bumper trying to exit the pit lane.
1999: Dale Jarrett led the field in the closing laps, but was running low on fuel. With less than four laps to go, Dale Earnhardt charged into second, and set his sights on the leader. As the field came down for three laps to go, a spin involving Jeremy Mayfield, Elliott Sadler, and Jimmy Spencer brought out the yellow, and the field raced back to the caution. Jarrett held off Earnhardt at the line to hold the lead the next time by. Running low on fuel, Jarrett coasted around the apron behind the pace car for the final two laps, and secured the victory.
2000: Jeff Burton was leading Daytona 500 winner Dale Jarrett in the closing laps when Jimmy Spencer spun on the backstretch with six laps to go. The caution bunched the field for a restart with four laps to go. Burton blocked every attempt Jarrett made to take the lead, while Dale Earnhardt was ganged up on by Ford drivers, and was shuffled from 3rd to 8th. Burton won his first of two restrictor plate races, and Ford swept the top five positions for the first time in 400 history.
2001: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. dominated the race, leading for 116 laps, and won the first race to be held at Daytona since his father's death at the Daytona 500. He and Michael Waltrip finished in reverse order of the Daytona 500 and the entire DEI team celebrated their emotional victory to honor the deceased Dale Earnhardt. Controversy also marred the race: before the final restart NASCAR had promised Tony Stewart a bonus money prize if he had a better finish than 3rd place. Stewart decided to go for the win and bonus money but with 5 laps left he slid his car completely below the yellow line to avoid crashing with Jeremy Mayfield. Instantly NASCAR penalized Stewart when he came back by. Stewart ignored the order and despite finishing sixth was penalized to being 26th, and last car on the lead lap. In response, Stewart went to confront the NASCAR director Gary Nelson. On the way he slapped a reporter and threw his tape recorder away. For his actions Stewart was fined a total of $15,000 and put on indefinite probation for the season.
2002: On lap 137, Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton got together on the apron approaching turn 1, triggering a 14-car pileup. Michael Waltrip dominated the end of the race, even after being separated from his teammate and drafting partner Dale Earnhardt Jr. A late race caution secured the victory a couple laps early for Waltrip, but controversy erupted when NASCAR chose not to red flag the race and ensure a green flag finish. Displeased fans around the track pelted the course with cans and other debris. After tragedy overshadowed Waltrip's previous win, this time Waltrip was able to enjoy the celebrations of victory at Daytona.
2003: The race is famous for one of the longest green flag runs ever. There were only two brief yellows in the first half for a total of ten laps. The final 81 laps (the entire second half) were run under green, setting up a finish where fuel strategy was going to be key to deciding the winner. Rookie Greg Biffle won the event for his first Cup Series victory. His win was an upset after Bobby Labonte ran out of gas in the final laps, likewise, Kevin Harvick led the most laps at 54, but also failed to win.[31]
2004: Jeff Gordon in his Pepsi sponsored car won the 2004 event because his student driver/buddy/teammate Jimmie Johnson pushed Gordon in the final laps towards the lead when going on the high side. Jeff Gordon thanked Johnson in victory lane and said that had Johnson not given him the push he would have lost. Jeff Gordon's win of the Pepsi 400 was one of the first wins for the Hendrick Pepsi sponsor in the Pepsi sponsored event era and to this day Gordon is still loyal to despite Coke taking over the soda sponsors of NASCAR; therefore the 2004 Pepsi 400 win was a very famous finish for the Hendrick team. A variation of the race's final laps was featured in the prologue of the video game NASCAR 06: Total Team Control.[32]

text:
2005: Rain delayed the start until about 10:42 p.m. ET when the race started under the safety car for the first 11 laps. Tony Stewart took the victory, his first point-paying win at Daytona. After he took the checkered flag, he climbed the catch fence (mimicking a tradition made popular by Hélio Castroneves at the Indy 500), and actually climbed into the flagstand to retrieve the checkered flag.Race finished at 1:40 AM ET
2006: The race pole position was won by Boris Said and after finding himself in the top ten the entire race, Boris Said contended to win the race. But in the final three laps when Boris was about to win the big event, Tony Stewart with help from Kyle Busch was pushed past Boris to the lead and Tony Stewart won the race for a second consecutive time when a caution came out in the final lap. Boris Said in his career-best performance in the NSCS ended up 4th and emotionally said after the race that the 2006 Pepsi 400 was the best part of his career. Tony Stewart climbed the catch fence like the previous year to remind the world of his win at Indianapolis the year before but said he was so crowded from the fans that roared for him that he never wanted to do it again although he still did in his future Firecracker 400 wins.
2007: In the last use of the Gen-4 car at Daytona or any restrictor plate race, Jamie McMurray beat Kyle Busch to the finish line by inches.
2008: Kyle Busch led 31 laps and won his first Daytona event and the first 400 race at Daytona sponsored by Coke Zero. The race was largely dominated by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. who combined to lead 97 of the 160 laps. Tony Stewart climbed out of his car at lap 27 due to illness and was replaced by J.J. Yeley. A series of late race cautions shuffled the running order for the final restart which saw Carl Edwards mount a charge to the outside of Kyle Busch. The cars appeared dead even as a multi car crash brought out the final yellow. NASCAR used scoring loops and video replay to decide that Kyle was in front of Carl at the moment of caution.
2009: On the final lap, going into the tri-oval, Kyle Busch was hooked head on into the wall by Tony Stewart. Busch's car was then hit by Kasey Kahne at an estimated 180 mph, sending the rear of the car airborne. After crossing the start finish line, Busch suffered a third hit from teammate Joey Logano. Busch walked away from the car uninjured but contends to this day that Stewart, a former teammate of Busch, intentionally wrecked him. However, in victory lane Tony Stewart was saddened about his finish and apologized for the contact; he said and has told to this day that although he got the post-race benefits, he did not and still does not like his victory because he, wrecking Busch to win was humiliating and embarrassing to him and his SHR team. Had Busch not aggressively raced Stewart hard on the final lap, Busch would have lost fewer points by finishing second or third, and the points eventually lost cost him a Chase position at the end of the regular season.

text:
2010: The 400 was delayed nearly two hours by rain and saw numerous crashes, including a 20-car melee in turn 3 in which Mark Martin had to be helped out of his burning car on pit road. Kyle Busch was leading when he lapped Juan Pablo Montoya on the backstretch and Montoya hooked Busch head-on into the wall, a virtual carbon copy of the last-lap wreck from the year before. Kevin Harvick took the win as Richard Childress Racing's Chevrolets raced together in the top three for much of the race's final quarter. Sam Hornish, Jr. spent most of the race in the top five, and was in contention for his first-career Cup victory until being tagged in the rear quarter panel by Busch. The lead changed 47 times, a new race record. This was the final race at Daytona before a repaving project, which started the day after the race.
2011: With the two-car tandem draft in effect, and the newly repaved track surface, drivers sought out drafting partners for the race and the lead changed a race-record 56 times. Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne was knocked out early, and David Ragan with assistance from RFR teammate Matt Kenseth grabbed his first career Sprint Cup victory, redeeming himself for the restart lane violation that cost him the 500 in February.
2012: Roush Fenway Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle combined to lead 124 laps, but a 15-car wreck in the closing laps set up a late race restart. On the first attempt at a Green-White Checkered flag, contact between Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle detonated an 8-car melee. Tony Stewart (who started 42nd due to a post-qualifying penalty) passed Kenseth off turn two on the final lap, and came home a surprise winner.[33][34]
2013: Kyle Busch won the pole position, for his first pole spot at Daytona, but Jimmie Johnson dominated the field, leading 94 of 161 laps en route to his first Coke Zero 400 win. This rendered Johnson the first driver to sweep the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 in the same season since Bobby Allison in 1982. In victory lane, Johnson was emotional; he said his idols Bobby and Davey Allison were what brought him into desire to become a NASCAR driver and he was so happy to accomplish Bobby's record also. In the final laps it looked like Tony Stewart or Kevin Harvick would get by Johnson, but Johnson motored away on the restart. There were also multiple crashes throughout the race, including a scary one with 11 laps to go that saw Denny Hamlin catch air in the tri-oval after being hit by A. J. Allmendinger, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, David Reutimann and Dave Blaney. There were also two crashes on the last lap – a four car wreck in turn two, and a six car wreck in the tri-oval, the race extended due to a Green-white-checker finish.
2014: Aric Almirola grabbed the win after rain first postponed the 400-mile event from its scheduled Saturday night running to Sunday afternoon, then ended the race at 113 laps. He battled Kurt Busch on Lap 98 ahead of a 26-car crash on the backstretch where Kyle Busch ended up on his roof in the apron of turn 3. Almirola won driving Richard Petty's No. 43 racecar, the first win for the No. 43 since the 1999 Virginia 500 and first at Daytona since 1984. Austin Dillon, pole-sitter for the 500 in February, finished fifth, while Danica Patrick finished eighth despite a slow pitstop under green and after barely escaping the Lap 98 crash and receiving damage in a 16-car pileup on Lap 21. Only six cars managed to finish the race without damage, but a total of seventeen cars nonetheless finished on the lead lap.
2015: Because of a conflict with Macy's fireworks shows that NBC has broadcast rights, the race was moved to Sunday, The race was aired on NBC Sports after 8 years on TNT, The start of the race was delayed to 11:42 p.m. ET following a rain delay of over three and a half hours, making it the latest the race has started in the history of the race. Due to rain washing out qualifying, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. started on the pole based on practice 1 speeds.[35] Earnhardt, Jr. dominated the race, leading 96 laps en route to his second victory of the year. However, the win itself was overshadowed by a violent last lap crash at the checkered flag involving 25 cars, which saw Austin Dillon flip over and fly into the tri-oval catchfence in a way eerily similar to the last-lap wreck by Kyle Larson in the February 2013 Xfinity race that injured thirty-three, and a wreck by Geoff Bodine in the same spot in the inaugural Truck Series race there in 2000. The resulting impact ripped out Dillon's engine, broke a catch fence support, and thirteen fans were injured by flying debris.[36] Eight of the fans declined treatment, the other five were treated and released with four at the infield care center, and one at a local hospital. There were 22 lead changes amongst 12 drivers, and the race ended at 2:38 a.m. Monday morning.
2016: The race returned to its scheduled Saturday night date, on July 2, 2016, The start of the race was at 8:14 p.m. EDT, Brad Keselowski grabbed his first win at Daytona, and there were 26 lead changes among 13 different drivers, a multi-car wreck occurred on lap 90 involving 22 cars.

text: Statistics[edit]

text: Consecutive victories[edit]

text:
3 consecutive victories

David Pearson (1972, 1973, 1974)

2 consecutive victories

Fireball Roberts (1962, 1963)
A. J. Foyt (1964, 1965)
Cale Yarborough (1967, 1968)
Tony Stewart (2005, 2006)

text: Coke Zero 400 & Daytona 500[edit]

text: Many drivers who have won the Daytona 500 have also won the Coke Zero 400 at some point in their career. In addition, almost every multiple-time Daytona 500 winner has won at least one Coke Zero 400 in the career, with the exception of Matt Kenseth who has won the Daytona 500 in 2009 and 2012, but never the July race. In the reverse direction, Tony Stewart has won the Coke Zero 400 four times, but never the Daytona 500 (his best 500 finish being second, behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2004). Among the most notable, David Pearson won the 400 four times prior to finally winning the Daytona 500 in 1976.

text: The drivers who have won the Coke Zero 400 and the Daytona 500 are as follows (Bold indicates winning both in the same season):

text:
Driver
Daytona 500 win(s)
Coke Zero 400 win(s)

Richard Petty
1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981
1975, 1977, 1984

Cale Yarborough
1968, 1977, 1983, 1984
1967, 1968, 1976, 1981

Bobby Allison
1978, 1982, 1988
1980, 1982, 1987

Jeff Gordon
1997, 1999, 2005
1995, 1998, 2004

Dale Jarrett
1993, 1996, 2000
1999

Bill Elliott
1985, 1987
1988, 1991

Sterling Marlin
1994, 1995
1996

Michael Waltrip
2001, 2003
2002

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
2004, 2014
2001, 2015

Jimmie Johnson
2006, 2013
2013

David Pearson
1976
1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978

Fireball Roberts
1962
1962, 1963

A. J. Foyt
1972
1964, 1965

Dale Earnhardt
1998
1990, 1993

LeeRoy Yarbrough
1969
1969

Buddy Baker
1980
1983

Ernie Irvan
1991
1992

Davey Allison
1992
1989

Kevin Harvick
2007
2010

Jamie McMurray
2010
2007

text: In 1982, Bobby Allison swept the Busch Clash, Daytona 500 and Firecracker 400 in the same season.

text: Broadcasting[edit]

text: In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the race was shown tape delayed on ABC's Wide World of Sports on the Saturday following the race. Typically, since July 4 often fell during the week, the broadcast would not air the same day the race was held. If July 4 fell on a Saturday, the race was aired later in the day, taped and edited.

text: Tape-delay coverage[edit]

text:
Year
Network
Lap-by-lap
Color commentator(s)

1961
ABC
Bill Flemming
Chris Economaki

1962
ABC
Bill Flemming
Chris Economaki

1963
ABC
Bill Flemming
Chris Economaki

1965
ABC
Bill Flemming
Chris Economaki

1967
ABC
Jim McKay
Fred Lorenzen
Chris Economaki (pitside)

1969
ABC
Jim McKay
Chris Economaki

1970
ABC
Jim McKay
Chris Economaki

1971
ABC
Jim McKay
Chris Economaki

1972
ABC
Keith Jackson
Chris Economaki

1973
ABC
Keith Jackson
Jackie Stewart
Chris Economaki (pitside)

1974
ABC
Keith Jackson
Jackie Stewart
Chris Economaki (pitside)

1975
ABC
Keith Jackson

1976
ABC
Keith Jackson

1977
ABC
Keith Jackson

1978
ABC
Jim McKay
Chris Economaki (pitside)

1979
ABC
Bill Flemming
Sam Posey

1980
ABC
Jim McKay
Sam Posey

1981
ABC
Keith Jackson
Jackie Stewart

1982
ABC
Keith Jackson
Chris Economaki

1983
ABC
Keith Jackson

1984
ABC
Jim Lampley
Sam Posey
Larry Nuber (pitside)

1985
ABC
Al Trautwig
Sam Posey

1986
ABC
Al Trautwig
Sam Posey

1987
ABC
Keith Jackson
Donnie Allison

1988
ABC
Paul Page
Johnny Rutherford

text: Live flag-to-flag coverage[edit]

text: From 1989 through 1997, the race switched to a live flag-to-flag broadcast on ESPN. The 1989 event was noteworthy in that it was the event's first live coverage (actually slightly time shifted), and the first opportunity for ESPN to broadcast an event from Daytona. The switch came one year after the race was planted firmly on Saturday morning. The 1990 race was live flag-to-flag.

text: For the 1995 Pepsi 400 and Southern 500, ESPN ran what was a bit of prelude to DirecTV's Hotpass. ESPN showed the race, while ESPN2 showed onboard cameras and radio with some of the teams.

text: When it was scheduled to become a night race in 1998, broadcast rights changed to CBS, which also at that time covered the Daytona 500. However, the 1998 event was postponed until October due to Florida wildfires. CBS partner TNN broadcast the race live instead. For 1999–2000, the race reverted to live broadcast on CBS in primetime. The 2000 race was the last NASCAR race to be broadcast by CBS. Between 2001 and 2006, the race was shared between NBC and Fox (NBC odd years, Fox even years, the opposite of the Daytona 500 coverage).

text: In 2007, TNT took over television rights under the new contract, and introduced their "Wide Open Coverage" for this race. It is similar to ABC and ESPN's Side-by-Side commercial format for IndyCar broadcasts. The race was broadcast in splitscreen format, with the race footage on the top half of the screen in 16:9 format, and scoring and graphics on the bottom half. Commercials were broadcast in a box in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and various special two-minute advertisements were filmed for the telecast by the respective advertisers. In 2010, the race was broadcast in 3-D on NASCAR.com and DirecTV. In 2013, the race was carried by TNT and simulcast on truTV. Beginning in 2015, the exclusive broadcast rights moved to NASCAR on NBC and NBC Sports in a ten-year deal to broadcast the final 20 races of the season (1 of 20), this race was broadcast on NBC with side-by-side during the second half of the race when a caution was not out.

text:
Year
Network
Lap-by-lap
Color commentator(s)
Ratings[37]
Viewers[37]

1989
ESPN
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett

1990
ESPN
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett

1991
ESPN
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett

1992
ESPN
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett

1993
ESPN
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett

1994
ESPN
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett

1995
ESPN
ESPN2
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett

1996
ESPN
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett
2.6[38]
1.8 million HH

1997
ESPN
Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
4.0[39]
2.9 million HH

1998
TNN*
Eli Gold
Buddy Baker
Dick Berggren
4.7/8[40]
3.4 million HH

1999
CBS[41]
Mike Joy
Ned Jarrett
Buddy Baker
5.4/12

2000
CBS
Mike Joy
Ned Jarrett
Buddy Baker
5.2/12

2001
NBC
Allen Bestwick
Benny Parsons
Wally Dallenbach
6.1/13
10.221 million

2002
Fox
Mike Joy
Darrell Waltrip
Larry McReynolds
5.2/12
8.551 million

2003
NBC
Allen Bestwick
Benny Parsons
Wally Dallenbach
6.0/13
9.691 million

2004
Fox
Mike Joy
Darrell Waltrip
Larry McReynolds
5.2/12
8.725 million

2005
NBC
Bill Weber
Benny Parsons
Wally Dallenbach
5.5/13
8.308 million

2006
Fox
Mike Joy
Darrell Waltrip
Larry McReynolds
5.1/11
8.248 million

2007
TNT
Bill Weber
Wally Dallenbach
Kyle Petty
3.8
6.162 million

2008
TNT
Bill Weber
Wally Dallenbach
Kyle Petty
3.8
6.390 million

2009
TNT
Ralph Sheheen
Wally Dallenbach
Kyle Petty
3.1
5.277 million

2010
TNT
Adam Alexander
Wally Dallenbach
Kyle Petty
3.6
6.127 million

2011
TNT
Adam Alexander
Wally Dallenbach
Kyle Petty
3.4
6.029 million

2012
TNT
truTV
Adam Alexander
Wally Dallenbach
Kyle Petty
3.8[42]
6.184 million

2013
TNT
Adam Alexander
Wally Dallenbach
Kyle Petty
3.5
5.7 million

2014
TNT
Adam Alexander
Wally Dallenbach
Kyle Petty
2.4[43]
4.0 million

2015
NBC
Rick Allen
Jeff Burton
Steve Letarte
2.7[44]
4.0 million

2016
NBC
Rick Allen
Jeff Burton
Steve Letarte
5.1/11
8.248

2017
NBC
Rick Allen
Jeff Burton
Steve Letarte

text: 1998: Originally scheduled for CBS (7/4/1998)


document_title: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film)

question_text: who is the princess in prince of persia

question_tokens: who is the princess in prince of persia

text: Plot[edit]

text: Setting

text: The film seems to be set in ancient Persia, as the film starts with a  map portending to show the expanse of the Persian Empire 2500 years ago. The film set design seems to be based on Islamic Persia. Islamic architecture with intricate use of geometric shapes and domes are shown. The cities in the film all appear to have minarets. The Allied Kingdom of Alamut, shown in the movie wasn't established until 9th century(after Islamic Conquest of Persia).[3] The Alamut castle was built by the Justanid ruler, Wahsudan b. Marzuban, a follower of zaydi Islam, around 865 AD.[4] It was seized by Hassan-i Sabbah, who was the leader of the Nizārī Ismā‘īlītes and the founder of the secret order known as Assassins.

text: Storyline

text: Dastan, a street urchin in Persia, is adopted by King Sharaman after showing courage. Fifteen years later, the king's brother Nizam relays evidence to the princes—Dastan, along with the king's biological sons Tus and Garsiv—that the holy city of Alamut is forging weapons for Persia's enemies. Tus directs the Persian army to capture Alamut. Dastan and his friends breach the city and open a gate for the siege. During the attack, Dastan defeats a royal guard and takes from him a sacred dagger.

text: Alamut falls to the Persians, but Princess Tamina denies that the city has any weapon forges. Tus asks her to marry him to unite the two nations, and she only accepts after seeing the dagger in Dastan's possession. At their celebratory banquet, Tus has Dastan give their father an embroidered robe. The robe is poisoned, fatally burning King Sharaman. Garsiv accuses Dastan of the king's murder, but Dastan escapes with Tamina. Tus is appointed king and sets a bounty on Dastan's head.

text: While in hiding, Tamina attempts to kill Dastan and steal the dagger, and in the struggle Dastan discovers the dagger enables the wielder to travel back in time. Dastan concludes that Tus invaded Alamut for the dagger, and decides to confront his brother at the funeral of the king in Avrat. On the way, the two are captured by merchant-bandits led by Sheik Amar who seeks the reward money, but they manage to escape. After arriving in Avrat, Dastan tries to convince his uncle Nizam of his innocence. Seeing burns on Nizam's hands, Dastam realizes that Nizam orchestrated the king's murder. Furthermore, Nizam has set up an ambush for Dastan along the Persian streets, but after a conflict with Garsiv, Dastan escapes. Nizam sends a group of covert warriors, the Hassansins, to kill Dastan and find the dagger.

text: During a sandstorm, Tamina tells Dastan that long ago, the gods unleashed a great sandstorm to destroy humanity but were moved by a young girl's offer to sacrifice herself in humanity's place and trapped the Sands of Time in a large sandglass. Tamina is the latest guardian of the dagger, given to the young girl by the gods, which can pierce the sandglass and potentially destroy the world but also enable the dagger's wielder to travel further back in time than the one minute's worth of sand the dagger holds. Dastan realizes that Nizam intends to travel back to his childhood, prevent himself from saving Sharaman from a lion attack, and grow up to be king of Persia in Sharaman's place. Amar captures the two again, but Dastan saves Amar's men from a Hassansin attack using the dagger. Amar is convinced to escort them to a sanctuary near Hindu Kush, where Tamina will seal the dagger within the stone it first came from. At the sanctuary, they are found by Garsiv, whom Dastan convinces of his innocence, but the Hassansins ambush them, killing Garsiv and stealing the dagger.

text: Dastan's group travels back to Alamut to retrieve the dagger from Nizam and warn Tus of Nizam. Amar's right-hand man Seso dies retrieving the dagger for Dastan, who demonstrates the dagger's powers to Tus to convince him of the truth. Afterwards, Nizam interrupts them, kills Tus, and takes the dagger back. Tamina saves Dastan from being killed and the two head for the secret underground tunnels beneath the city that lead to the sandglass. When they reach Nizam, he stabs the sandglass and throws them both off a cliff. Tamina sacrifices herself, releasing Dastan's hand and falling to her death to allow him to fight Nizam.

text: When Dastan removes the dagger from the sandglass, time rewinds to the moment he found the dagger. Dastan finds Tus and Garsiv and exposes Nizam's treachery. Nizam attempts to kill Dastan, but is subdued and killed by Tus. Tus apologizes to Tamina for the siege and proposes to strengthen the two nations' bond by marrying her to Dastan. Dastan returns the dagger to Tamina as an engagement gift and tells her he looks forward to their future together.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Jake Gyllenhaal as Dastan
William Foster as young Dastan
Gemma Arterton as Tamina, Princess of Alamut
Ben Kingsley as Nizam, King Sharaman's brother
Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar
Richard Coyle as Prince Tus
Toby Kebbell as Prince Garsiv
Ronald Pickup as King Sharaman, The King of Persia and father to Dastan, Tus, and Garsiv.
Reece Ritchie as Bis, Dastan's servant
Steve Toussaint as Seso
Darwin Shaw as Asoka
Gísli Örn Garðarsson as Hassansin Leader

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: In March 2004, the production company Jerry Bruckheimer Films sought to acquire feature film rights to the 2003 video game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time with the film to be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Under John August as executive producer, the series' creator Jordan Mechner was hired to write the script. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy served as a touchstone in how a theme park ride was converted into a film franchise. According to Mechner, "Rather than do a straight beat-for-beat adaptation of the new videogame, we're taking some cool elements from the game and using them to craft a new story."[5] Mechner previously considered producing an animated film based on the games, but could not resist Disney and Bruckheimer's offer.[6] In February 2006, Disney hired screenwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff to write a new script for Prince of Persia.[7]

text: Early in 2007, Disney announced Prince of Persia  as one of its tentpole films and by June had scheduled a release date for July 10, 2009, before having a final script or any actors attached.[8] By November 2007, Disney entered negotiations with Mike Newell to direct the film based on a script by Mechner and Nachmanoff, though the studio held off production until the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike was resolved.[9] Newell was fond of Bruckheimer's films,[10] and loved the "exciting and immensely romantic" script, which reminded him of Lost Horizon. His assistant played the video games and gave the director key details.[11] Mechner, in writing the script, re-conceived the storyline to shift the perspective from the interactive one experienced by video gamers to the non-interactive experience by film audiences. The screenwriter left out elements of the Prince of Persia video games Warrior Within and The Two Thrones and did not anticipate including these elements in the film's possible sequels.[6]

text: When filming began, the film's release date was postponed to May 28, 2010, with the studio seeking enough time for the post-production process in designing the film's special effects. The profit margin on the Pirates of the Caribbean films was compromised by overspending as special effects teams rushed to complete the films for their release dates.[12] Variety also ascribed the postponement to avoiding the potential 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike so the studio could ensure that the film leads to a "mega-franchise" similar to its successful Pirates of the Caribbean series.[13] Other reasons for the release date change were that the film was originally scheduled a week before Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Disney needed more time to co-ordinate its marketing campaign.[14] Gyllenhaal claims he "over-prepared"[15] for the role, gaining five or six pounds of muscle.[15] The actor says, "I never knew how much they were going to ask me to do, so I just made sure I'd be hopefully able to do anything."[15] Gemma Arterton was announced to play the role of protagonist Tamina,[14] and Arterton reported she practiced horse back riding in Madrid before filming.[16] Ben Kingsley was to portray the film's antagonist, Nizam.[17] Alfred Molina was to portray a character named Sheik Amar, who becomes a mentor to the prince.[18] Toby Kebbell was to play Prince Garsiv, Dastan's brother and head of the Persian army.[19] Richard Coyle was cast as the eldest brother Crown prince Tus and William Foster was cast as young Dastan based on his experience in parkour. The leading characters of the film all speak with recognisable English accents.

text: Filming[edit]

text: In March 2008, director Newell selected Morocco as a shooting location for Prince of Persia and also planned to film in Pinewood Studios. Production was scheduled to begin in mid-June 2008.[20] By May 2008, actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton were cast into the lead roles. With a new script by Jordan Mechner, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, and Boaz Yakin, filming began in July 2008 in Morocco as well as London.[14] Eight weeks were spent in Morocco before the first unit moved to Pinewood.[15] Unlike other Disney films being made at the time, filming was not done in three dimensions, nor was the film converted into 3-D during post production.[21]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text:
Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimeSoundtrack album by Harry Gregson-WilliamsReleased
May 17, 2010Genre
Film scoreLength
66:26Label
Walt DisneyProducer
Hans Zimmer

text: Alanis Morissette composed the theme song for the film, named "I Remain".[22] The score was written by composer Harry Gregson-Williams.

text: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time SoundtrackNo.TitleLength1."The Prince of Persia"5:202."Raid on Alamut"6:323."Tamina Unveiled"2:344."The King and His Sons"2:595."Dastan and Tamina Escape"4:316."Journey Through the Desert"2:557."Ostrich Race"0:598."Running from Sheikh Amar [sic]"3:279."Trusting Nizam"4:3710."Visions of Death"1:4611."So, You're Going to Help Me?"2:2012."The Oasis Ambush"1:5413."Hassansin Attack"2:5914."Return to Alamut"3:0515."No Ordinary Dagger"4:3916."The Passages"3:0917."The Sands of Time"3:5818."Destiny"3:3819."I Remain" (performed by Alanis Morissette, written by Alanis Morissette and Mike Elizondo)4:57Total length:66:26

text: Release[edit]

text: Disney's marketing strategy included a step by step release of the film. Prince of Persia was released first in Europe, with its world premiere held in Westfield, London, UK on May 9 then premiered on May 19, 2010 in Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, and on May 20 in Germany.[23] It was released on May 21 in the United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria, Poland, and Turkey. It was released in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines on May 27. The film was not released in the United States until May 28 to try to profit from the potentially higher audience on Memorial Day weekend. It was also released in Ghana, India, Romania and Nigeria on May 28.

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The poster made its debut as a background prop in a 2009 Bruckheimer production, Confessions of a Shopaholic, similar to how Warner Bros. incorporated poster for various developed but never filmed projects based on their comic characters in I Am Legend.[24] The week of Confessions of a Shopaholic’s release, Disney signed a merchandising deal with Lego for the film.[25]

text: Disney released merchandise such as action figures, Lego sets, costumes and a replica Dagger of Time. It also released a graphic novel called Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm, which will act as a prequel to the film. Also, a video game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal titled Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and was released alongside the film; however, the game's story is unrelated to the film, and instead takes place between the first two games in the Sands of Time trilogy.[citation needed]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released a single-disc DVD, a single-disc Blu-ray Disc, and a 3-disc Blu-ray combo-pack in the US on September 14, 2010.[26][27] The DVD landed in the number one spot on the US DVD sales chart, with 664,041 units sold within the first week and 1,623,361 units in total (equal to $33,941,976) as of March 13, 2011.[28]

text: In the UK, it opened at number one on the DVD and Blu-ray charts during its first week.[29] In Germany, too, the DVD landed No. 1 on the country's DVD chart.[30]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time holds a 36% rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 5/10.[31] The critical consensus is: "It doesn't offer much in the way of substance, but Prince of Persia is a suitably entertaining swashbuckler—and a substantial improvement over most video game adaptations."[31] Another review aggregate, Metacritic, which calculates an average rating based on reviews from mainstream critics, gave a score of 50/100.[32] Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four and wrote, "The two leads are not inspired. Jake Gyllenhaal could make the cover of a muscle mag, but he plays Dastan as if harboring Spider-Man's doubts and insecurities."[33] Film critic David Roark of Relevant Magazine, on the other hand, gave the film a positive review and wrote: "Newell has unquestionably accomplished what he set out to do, which is ridiculous, silly and forgettable, but amusing nonetheless."[34]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film which—according to Disney and Bruckheimer—was supposed to be "the new Pirates of the Caribbean", debuted #3 at the U.S. box office behind Shrek Forever After and Sex and the City 2 with $30.1 million in its first 3-day weekend of release. It is the third highest opening for a video game adaptation, behind Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Pokémon: The First Movie. During Memorial Day, it surpassed Sex and the City 2 to gross $37,813,075 for the 4-day weekend and finish in second place.

text: Internationally, the film grossed an estimated $18 million in its first weekend (before its US release), when it opened in 19 major European countries.[35] Prince of Persia debuted at #1 in these countries, except the United Kingdom where it lost the top spot to StreetDance 3D. A week later the film was released in the rest of the world and it grossed an estimated $61.6 million in total from 47 countries and $30.1 million in North America,[36] becoming the leader of the worldwide box office with $91,695,259, while reaching the #1 spot in 41 of the 47 countries.[37]

text: The film has ultimately earned $90,759,676 in the United States and Canada and $244,394,967 in other countries, for a total worldwide gross of $335,154,643. The film overtook previous record holder, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider as the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, before it was surpassed by Warcraft in 2016.