In the years since, we’ve seen plenty of presidential candidates — and on a few occasions, a sitting president — come to Daytona on race day hoping some of that NASCAR-man-of-the-people glow ...

Perhaps literally. Ronald Reagan first made Daytona a notable campaign stop in July 1984, when he attended the Firecracker ...

The first big tweak to the Firecracker 250 turned it into the Firecracker 400 (which, by the way, a lot of graying locals still call it). Fireball Roberts also won the first Firecracker 400 ...

George H.W. Bush attended the 1992 Pepsi 400, now the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The first presidential visit to Daytona was Ronald ...

now the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The first presidential visit to Daytona was Ronald Reagan at the 1984 Firecracker 400, which Richard Petty won for his 200th NASCAR Cup Series victory. Coverage of the ...