The history of NASCAR racing on Veterans Day

Racing on Veterans Day isn’t a common sight in NASCAR.

In the 75-year history of the sport, 15 national series races have been held on Veterans Day.

The NASCAR Cup Series has hosted 10 of those, while the Xfinity Series has hosted three and the Craftsman Truck Series has had two.

The first Veterans Day race was in 1951. Tim Flock won a 100-lap race at Lakewood Speedway, a 1-mile dirt track in Atlanta, Ga., while Bill Norton won at Carrell Speedway, a half-mile dirt track in Gardena, Cali.

The last three Veterans Day races for the NASCAR Cup Series have been held at Phoenix Raceway with the most recent occurring in 2018.

History of Veterans Day

Veterans Day, initially known as Armistice Day, was first observed as a federal holiday in the United States on Nov. 11, 1938.

The date Nov. 11 has significance as the day Germany and the Allied Nations’ armistice went into effect, ending World War I.

From 1971 to 1977, the holiday was moved to the fourth Monday in October. President Gerald Ford signed law in 1975 moving the holiday back to Nov. 11, starting in 1978.

NASCAR racing on Veterans Day by race, track, winner

Cup
11/11/51: Atlanta Tim Flock
11/11/51: Gardena Bill Norton
11/11/56: Hickory Speedy Thompson
11/11/56: Lancaster Marvin Panch
11/11/62: Tampa Richard Petty
11/11/84: Atlanta Dale Earnhardt
11/11/01: Homestead Bill Elliott
11/11/07: Phoenix Jimmie Johnson
11/11/12: Phoenix Kevin Harvick
11/11/18: Phoenix Kyle Busch

Xfinity
11/11/00: Homestead Jeff Gordon
11/11/06: Phoenix Matt Kenseth
11/11/17: Phoenix William Byron

Trucks
11/11/05: Phoenix Todd Bodine
11/11/16: Phoenix Daniel Suarez