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Jack Hege of Lexington sat near Tom Cruise at the front of the drivers meeting before last year's Daytona 500 and was introduced to the competitors, as NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway honored his streak of having never missed a Daytona 500.

With a month to go before this year's race, Hege's streak might be over after 51 years.

Likely one of the few people — and maybe the only person — to have witnessed every Daytona 500, the 82-year-old Hege said Wednesday he did not buy tickets for this year's race and expects to watch it at a friend's house on TV.

"There has to be an end sometime," Hege said. "I hate to end it. I can't see that I can go."

Hege said he'd be willing to buy a ticket if he could get a ride to Daytona to continue his streak.

Hege has seen it all at the Daytona 500. He was there when Lee Petty won the inaugural race in 1959, a race so close Petty wasn't declared the winner until three days later. Hege was there in 1979 when Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers fought after a last-lap crash for the lead, giving Richard Petty the win.

Hege was there when Dale Earnhardt won his only Daytona 500 in 1998 and when Earnhardt died in a last-lap crash in 2001.

Hege decided not to renew his five tickets after struggling to find anyone to purchase them last year before his plight became public. He was afraid of going through that again.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com