Juanita "Lightnin" Epton

Juanita “Lightnin’” Epton, a beloved life-long Daytona International Speedway employee who was the last surviving original employee hired by the France family upon NASCAR’s founding, passed away on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at the age of 103.

Lightnin’ was born Juanita Smith on July 15, 1920, and grew up in Grenada, Mississippi. She eventually moved to North Carolina, where she married the love of her life, Joe Epton, who bestowed the familiar moniker “Lightnin’” upon his bride. As Lightnin’ recounted, “He always said he never knew when or where I might strike, I am full of mischief.”

The pair was married in 1944 and shared 61 years together before Joe’s passing in 2005. Lightnin’ was also preceded in death by her son Joe Jr. in 2008, her son-in-law Don Maxwell in 2017, and her grandson-in-law Casey Edwin Roush in 2024. Her daughter Joan Epton Maxwell followed her in passing on May 17, 2024.

Lightnin’ and Joe were part of the early foundation of NASCAR after befriending the late Bill and Anne France in 1945 at the fairgrounds in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Based in North Carolina, the Eptons worked races at tracks in the Carolinas and on the sand in Daytona Beach – Joe as the first official scorer of NASCAR and Lightnin’ selling tickets, among myriad responsibilities – until the Frances asked them to move permanently to Florida in 1958 to help open Daytona International Speedway.

She began selling tickets full-time for Daytona International Speedway on May 1, 1958, leading into the inaugural DAYTONA 500 held on February 22, 1959. Lightnin’ went on to work in the ticket office for every DAYTONA 500, and all other races, at the Speedway until the day before she passed.

Lightnin’ loved her role in the ticket office at Daytona International Speedway, and would prefer to be there than in the grandstands watching the races she sold tickets for. It wasn’t until 2018 that she first watched a few laps of the DAYTONA 500 from the viewpoint of fans before leaving her seat to return to what she knew best – the ticket office.

She once told a local reporter, “When I come to work, they expect me to be doing my job, and I couldn’t do it sitting in the grandstands watching. As much as I’d like to see the race, my place is here. I love what I do. It’s why I’m still doing it. Whenever I leave, it will be with the satisfaction that I did my job as well as I could.”

And that she did. Lightnin’ meant as much to visitors and customers of the track as they did to her, and they quickly became known as her friends. Fans, drivers, and team members would ask for her by name when arriving at the Daytona International Speedway ticket office, which was renamed in her honor as the Lightnin’ Epton Ticket Office in 2022.

Lightnin’s lasting impact on visitors to Daytona Beach was further exemplified as she was posthumously honored on Tuesday, May 21, with the 2024 Most Valuable Partner Award by the Florida Sports Foundation, which highlights a local partner and shows appreciation for their hard work in supporting sports tourism.

Lightnin’ is survived by her granddaughter Casey Epton Roush; great-granddaughter Hailey Jo Roush; daughter-in-law Peggy Epton; grandchildren Don Maxwell II (Colleen), Beth Fortin (Richard) and Donna Maxwell (Ronald); many loving great-grandchildren; her close friends Jim France (Sharon), Lesa France Kennedy (Bill), Brian France (Amy), and Ben Kennedy (Chelsea) who considered her family; and countless DIS ticket office colleagues and friends of NASCAR who loved her.

Funeral services will take place on Thursday, May 30, at 10 a.m. at Central Baptist Church at 152 Fairview Ave. in Daytona Beach, with a private interment to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Lightnin’s name to Central Baptist Church, Living Legends of Auto Racing, or The NASCAR Foundation.