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🏁On February 17, 1974 the 16th annual Daytona 500 was run at the Daytona International Raceway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was won by Richard Petty (for the 5th time) after 3 hours and 11 minutes of racing. The win also gave Petty his 2nd straight Daytona victory, making him the first driver ever to do it. During the start of the 1974 NASCAR season, many races had their distance cut 10% in response to the energy crisis of the year. As a result, the 1974 Daytona 500 was shortened to 180