A special silver anniversary for great race

Books, magazines and polls have consistently ranked it among the most important races in NASCAR history. Surely, the 1984 Firecracker 400 stands out as one of the most memorable Daytona summer races.

Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 marks the 25th anniversary of Richard Petty's 200th and final victory. There won't be a sitting president in attendance as there was in 1984, but the occasion is being marked in several ways.

Petty, who turns 72 today, will make appearances at the Daytona 500 Experience attraction and Fan Zone on Friday and Saturday. He'll pace the field before the race in a replica of his winning Pontiac.

There's a $43 ticket, a Petty exhibit at the 500 attraction and winning Petty cars on display in the Fan Zone.

"It's the last time I won a race driving, so naturally that's going to be in your memory the most," Petty said.

President Reagan gave the command to start engines from Air Force One and watched from a suite with NASCAR president Bill France Jr. That a sitting president would attend a NASCAR race was monumental because it lent credibility to a sport steeped in Southern stereotypes.

There was a heck of a finish, too. After a spinout made it apparent the race would be decided on the 158th of 160 laps, Cale Yarborough and Petty traded the lead before Petty nosed ahead coming out of Turn 4 and beat him to the caution by a fender's length.

Reagan stayed for a picnic in the garage area with drivers, crew members and their families. Imagine that happening today.

"We had a picnic with the president of the United States on July 4, so it was a great, great day for us," Petty said. "I think it was a great day for racing."

Whispers continue to this day that the King got his final win with a large engine and that NASCAR looked the other way to add magnitude to Reagan's visit. Buddy Parrott, Petty's crew at the time, maintains the car was legal.

"It was a perfect engine," Parrott said. "It was our time."