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What: “Daytona 500: An Official History”

Author: Bob Zeller

Publisher: David Bull Publishing, Phoenix

Price: $39.95

The 2002 Daytona 500 isn’t in the book, but that’s the only thing missing from the year-by-year history of the Great American Race, stock car racing’s Super Bowl.

Bob Zeller, a former Long Beach newspaperman, chronicles every race, beginning with the 1959 inaugural which took three days before Lee Petty was declared the winner over Johnny Beauchamp, who left Daytona International Speedway thinking he was the winner.

There was no photo-finish camera at the race and the decision was reached by a collection of newspaper and newsreel footage that showed Petty’s Oldsmobile inches in front.

All of the photographs in the 192-page coffee table-sized book came from archives of the International Speedway Corp., owner of the Speedway.

Zeller meticulously rummaged through newspaper files to prepare his text for each race.

Of special interest are the legendary races, such as Petty’s controversial victory in 1959, David Pearson limping across the finish line at 30 mph to edge Richard Petty in 1976, the fourth-turn fisticuffs between Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers, Donnie and Bobby, in 1981, Dale Earnhardt’s heartbreaking loss to Derrike Cope in 1990 and his emotional victory in 1998, and 2001 when Michael Waltrip won on the day NASCAR President Mike Helton had to say, “We’ve lost Dale Earnhardt.”

It’s all there, wonderfully written.