Fan's remarkable Daytona 500 streak set to end this year

Jack Hege is among one of the few, if maybe only person, who has attended every Daytona 500.

Think about that. Hege, of Lexington, N.C., was there in 1959 when Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 _ although the finish was so close that Petty was not declared the winner until three days later.

Hege was there for all seven of Richard Petty's wins. He was there when Fireball Roberts won that race from the pole in 1962, the first driver to do so. He was there in 1975 when Benny Parsons led only four laps but won the race. Hege was there when Dale Earnhardt won his only Daytona 500. Hege was there when Bobby Allison beat his son Davey in 1988 for the Daytona 500 win. And on and on. If it happened in the Daytona 500, Hege saw it.

For 51 years, they ran a Daytona 500 and Jack Hege was in the stands watching. Think about that. Just think about having the ability and opportunity to do something 51 consecutive years like that.

Hege nearly saw his streak end last year when he had tickets for the race but couldn't find anyone to provide a ride. After his plight was publicized, he found some folks needing tickets and willing to drive him down to Florida to attend the race.

Last year, when the ticket renewal form came in the mail for his five seats ($150 each in the DePalma Grandstand) Hege did not fill it out. He did nothing with it, recalling the difficulty he had in getting to the race last year.

So just a month before the Daytona 500 begins, Hege does not have a ticket. Sure, he says, he'd love to go to the race and would be willing to buy a ticket but he would need a ride down. Even then, he would need help. HIs knees are bad -- he may have an operation soon -- so he can't walk far distances, which you often have to do at a track. So even if he got a ticket, he's not sure if he could go.

Thus, on Feb. 14, as of now, Jack Hege plans not to be in Daytona for the first time since Dwight Eisenhower was President, but will drive the 8-10 miles to a friend's house and watch the race on TV. His friend has a big screen TV, he tells me.

"There has to be an end some time,'' Hege said of his incredible streak. "I hate to end it. I can't see that I can go.''

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