The 1967 Daytona 500, the fifth race of the 49-race NASCAR Grand National season, was held on February 26 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. A record crowd of 94,250 fans packed the 2.5-mile superspeedway for the 200-lap (500-mile) event featuring a 50-car field.
Curtis Turner, driving the innovative No. 13 Smokey Yunick Chevrolet, captured the pole with a record speed of 180.831 mph—the first official lap over 180 mph at Daytona. The twin 100-mile qualifying races were won by LeeRoy Yarbrough and Fred Lorenzen.
Six cautions slowed the action for 54 laps on a cold day in Daytona. Mario Andretti, the two-time USAC champion making his NASCAR debut in the No. 11 Holman-Moody Ford, took the lead for good on lap 168 and dominated the final stages, leading 112 laps total. He won under caution over his teammate Fred Lorenzen.
Andretti earned $48,900 for the victory—his first and only Grand National win—with an average speed of 146.926 mph. James Hylton finished third, Tiny Lund fourth, and Jerry Grant fifth. There were 36 lead changes among nine drivers.
This historic win made Andretti the first (and still only) foreign-born driver to win the Daytona 500. The race highlighted the growing crossover appeal between open-wheel and stock car racing during NASCAR’s evolving era.
