The race is the direct successor of a race that was held on Daytona Beach itself; however, the Daytona 500 proper has been held at the Daytona International Speedway since its inaugural run.

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Lee Petty, founder of a famous racing family whose most renowned member was his son Richard, won the first Daytona 500 on February 22, 1959. Richard won the race a record seven times.

On February 22, 1959, the Daytona International Speedway opened to host the first Daytona 500. The posted awards for the "500-mile International Sweepstakes" totaled $67,760. A field of 59 cars competed before a crowd of more than 41,000 fans. It took three days to determine that Lee Petty was the winner of the "close call" finish over Johnny Beauchamp.

The history of automotive competition can be traced back to 1903, when two gentlemen placed a friendly wager on who had the fastest horseless carriage. Until 1935, the wide and hard-packed sands of Daytona Beach provided the venue for years of speed trials, called Land Speed Record Runs. In 1936 stock car racing began on the beach. The original 3.2-mile course had a north turn located just south of town; half the course was on the beach, and half was on paved public roadway. A local mechanic, Bill France, entered the inaugural race and finished fifth. Stock car racing halted during World War II, and resumed in 1946 when France began promoting stock car and motorcycle races on the beach. He initiated organizational meetings in late 1947 for NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, which was founded in early 1948.

As the Daytona Beach area developed and grew in population, the motor races, which were also attracting larger audiences, moved to the quieter southern part of the beach, and eventually grew too big for that area. Since race fan and promoter, France built the Daytona International Speedway for approximately $3 million; it has been in continuous operation since 1959. The speedway is the largest sporting arena in the Southeast, and is on property that covers approximately 480 acres, including the track site, offices, parking area, and the 44-acre Lake Lloyd. There are more than 165,000 grandstand seats.

Stock cars use the 2.5-mile tri-oval course and sports cars, motorcycles, and go-karts use the 3.56-mile road circuit. The Speedway currently presents ten separate racing weekends annually, including stock cars, sports cars, motorcycles, go-karts and trucks. Its schedule, which includes two solid months of testing, is more varied than any other racing facility in the world; thus, the Speedway is known as the "World Center of Racing."