Column By: REID SPENCER / NASCAR – DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Only twice has a car sporting No. 12 won the DAYTONA 500, and both occasions were especially noteworthy.
In 1988, 50-year-old Bobby Allison took the checkered flag in the No. 12 Stavola Brothers Racing Buick, with son Davey Allison trailing him to the finish line by two car-lengths—the only 1-2 finish by a father and son in the history of the Great American Race.
In 2008, Ryan Newman won the 50th running of the event in No. 12 Team Penske Dodge with a welcome push from teammate and runner-up Kurt Busch on the final lap. Newman described the assist from Busch as “the push from heaven.”