Clay Today will test your knowledge weekly and provide interesting facts on various topics. Odd Daytona 500 facts. Although winning the Daytona 500 elevates a driver’s legacy to legendary status, some also boast other unique backgrounds. Bet you didn’t know 2018 winner Austin Dillon was also the starting second baseman for one of the 16 team finalists at the 2002 Little League World Series … Although A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti are better known for driving open-wheeled cars – Foyt for winning the Indianapolis 500 four times and Andretti for winning Indy once and the Formula One Championship once, few realize they won the Daytona 500. Both also won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans ... Benny Parsons won the 1975 Daytona 500 - not bad for a guy who was driving a taxicab in Detroit a few years earlier … Glenn “Fireball” Roberts was from Daytona Beach and won the big race in 1962. Oddly enough, he died from complications resulting from a fiery crash at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1964, but that’s not how he earned his nickname. He got it as a hard-throwing pitcher playing for the Zellwood Mud Hens American Legion baseball team near Apopka.