In February 1948, fans gathered on Daytona Beach to watch stock cars tear up the sand in the first-ever NASCAR race. Today, the Daytona 500 is one of the largest events in motorsports. But it also usually includes a couple of wild “Florida Man” stories. And 2026 was no exception.

Daytona Boardwalk knife attack shocks family

Sullivan Clarke was walking along the Daytona Beach Boardwalk and chatting on his cellphone at 10 p.m. on Valentine’s Day when a man ran up to him and sliced his neck open with a knife.

The 13-year-old tourist had spent the day at the track with his family. His parents were walking behind him and witnessed the attack. Jerod Clarke remembered. “Who would ever expect someone would attack a 13-year-old boy ? As soon as we realized, I (saw) his neck gashed open and (saw it) all the way down to the meat.” Luckily, Sullivan glanced up at a ride at the last moment, and the attacker missed his windpipe and jugular. Doctors say one millimeter deeper, and he’d be dead.

Authorities took 44-year-old Jermaine Lynn Long into custody. He reportedly had a friendly chat with a nearby worker before rushing Clarke. The family does not know the suspect and can’t think of a motive. Long is being held without bail and has refused to cooperate with authorities.

Florida Man takes racing fan to a violent new level

On the same day, Volusia Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested 45-year-old Adrian Morales across the street from the Daytona International Speedway. He’d left increasingly aggressive messages for a NASCAR executive. The latest was a video of Morales firing an AR-15 rifle and promising the NASCAR official, “This is what’s in store.” He used profanity and added that he has nothing to hide.

When the sheriff’s department learned that Morales was in the Icon One Daytona apartments across the street from the track—on race weekend—it was worried about him doing something even more dangerous. Deputies took him into custody and recovered ammunition and the gun used in his video stashed in his vehicle. He’s also being held with no bond.

Despite the pair of unsettling incidents on Saturday, Sunday’s Daytona 500 race went smoothly.