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1959 Daytona 500 Results

Fin. Pos. Str. Car Pos. Car No. Driver Laps Money Car
1 15 42 Lee Petty 200 $19,050 Oldsmobile
2 21 73 Johnny Beauchamp 200 $7,650 Ford T-Bird
3 17 18 Charley Griffith 199 $4,600 Pontiac
4 11 6 Cotton Owens 199 $2,525 Pontiac
5 7 48 Joe Weatherly 199 $1,875 Chevrolet
6 39 7 Jim Reed 196 $1,075 Chevrolet
7 41 47 Jack Smith 196 $2,625 Chevrolet
8 5 59 Tom Pistone 195 $1,825 Ford T-Bird
9 43 15 Tim Flock 193 $800 Ford T-Bird
10 31 1 Speedy Thompson 193 $600 Chevrolet
11 59 8 Johnny Allen 192 $400 Ford
12 35 38 Raul Cilloniz 192 $500 Ford T-Bird
13 43 41 Curtis Turner 189 $425 Ford T-Bird
14 33 11 Junior Johnson 189 $250 Ford
15 25 29 Dick Freeman 188 $250 Chevrolet
16 16 77 Joe Lee Johnson 187 $975 Chevrolet
17 4 98 Marvin Panch 185 $775 Ford
18 10 25 Gene White 185 $600 Chevrolet
19 57 9 Roy Tyner 184 $200 Chevrolet
20 18 2 Jimmy Thompson 182 $500 Chevrolet
21 49 19 Herman Beam 182 $165 Chevrolet
22 22 92 Wilbur Rakestraw 181 $250 Ford
23 53 17 Jim McGuirk 181 $150 Pontiac
24 12 76 Larry Frank 178 $250 Ford
25 48 10 Elmo Langley 175 $175 Ford
26 19 4 Rex White 174 $100 Chevrolet
27 30 55 Ben Benz 169 $200 Chevrolet
28 27 71 Dick Joslin 167 $100 Dodge
29 24 14 Ken Rush 163 $200 Mercury
30 55 80 Bobby Rose 162 $100 Chevrolet
31 50 69 Harold Smith 159 $110 Studebaker
32 44 66 Dick Foley 157 $150 Chevrolet
33 28 32 Brownie King 152 $150 Chevrolet
34 8 21 Glen Wood 149 $100 Ford
35 47 83 Bob Pronger 143 $125 Ford
36 26 39 Billy Garden 140 $100 Mercury
37 23 81 Bernie Hentges 138 $100 DeSoto
38 2 99 Shorty Rollins 115 $100 Ford
39 22 82 Joe Eubanks 95 $100 Ford
40 13 88 Tiny Lund 92 $100 Chevrolet
41 1 49 Bob Welborn 75 $325 Chevrolet
42 54 87 Buck Baker 75 $100 Chevrolet
43 37 53 Ken Johnson 67 $100 Ford
44 58 74 L.D. Austin 65 $100 Chevrolet
45 46 3 Fireball Roberts 56 $650 Pontiac
46 40 45 Paul Bass 52 $100 Edsel
47 29 72 Bobby Johns 46 $100 Chevrolet
48 9 37 Eduardo Dibos 44 $100 Ford T-Bird
49 36 50 Gober Sosebee 44 $100 Chevrolet
50 20 89 Bob Said 42 $100 Chevrolet
51 51 95 Bob Duell 38 $100 Ford
52 32 36 Pete Kelly 34 $100 Chevrolet
53 45 24 Bob Potter 33 $150 Chevrolet
54 52 86 Carl Tyler 29 $100 Ford
55 34 33 George Green 21 $100 Chevrolet
56 3 64 Fritz Wilson 15 $100 Ford T-Bird
57 6 43 Richard Petty 8 $100 Oldsmobile
58 38 79 Larry Odo 3 $100 Ford
59 56 75 Ken Marriott 1 $100 Ford
Time of Race: 3 hours, 41 minutes, 22 seconds
Average Speed: 135.521 mph
Fastest Qualifier: Cotton Owens, 143.198 mph
Margin of Victory: 2 Feet
Caution Flags: None
Lead Changes: 34 lead changes among 7 drivers. Lap Leaders: Bob Welborn 1, Tom Pistone 2-3, Welborn 4-7, Pistone 8, Welborn 9-10, Joe Weatherly 11-13, Pistone 14-16, Weatherly 17-18, Welborn 19-20, Pistone 21, Weatherly 22, Fireball Roberts 23-43, Johnny Beauchamp 44-49, Pistone 50-57, Jack Smith 58-65, Pistone 66, Smith 67, Pistone 68-86, Smith 87-102, Pistone 103-106, Beauchamp 107-116, Smith 117-148, Beauchamp 149, Lee Petty 150-154, Beauchamp 155-161, Petty 162-182, Beauchamp 183-184, Petty 185-187, Beauchamp 188, Petty 189, Beauchamp 190-191, Petty 192-195, Beauchamp 196, Petty 197-200.
Total Laps Led: Jack Smith 57, Tom Pistone 39, Lee Petty 38, Johnny Beauchamp 30, Fireball Roberts 21, Bob Welborn 9, Joe Weatherly 6.

Daytona 500 photography © Motorsports Images and Archives, unless otherwise stated.