DAYTONA BEACH — What do you give a loyal employee of six-plus decades? How ’bout a loyal employee of six-plus decades who turned 102 years old a month ago?

NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway skipped flowers, cake and even a bonus Thursday and presented Juanita “Lightnin’ ” Epton with something that should last forever: They renamed the Speedway’s ticketing operation as the Lightnin’ Epton Ticket Office.

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Thankfully, they gave her some time off to attend the ceremony. That’s right, she still works at the Speedway, as she has since it was under construction the year before its 1959 opening.

“I just don’t know what to say,” Epton said Thursday. “This place and these people mean so very much to me, I can hardly express my emotions at this honor. I truly feel so grateful to be standing here today, seeing my name become a part of this speedway. It feels so surreal.”

Epton was preceded as a NASCAR employee by her late husband Joe, who became NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.’s first chief of timing and scoring in 1947 and held that role until 1985. When Juanita went to work for “Big Bill” selling tickets for the first Speedweeks, she worked alongside Bill’s wife, Anne B. France.

“The France family has meant so much to me over the years,” she said. “I remember Bill Sr. told me years ago that as long as I wanted to work I could — and I’ve taken him up on that offer.”

And then some!

Why is NASCAR/Daytona ticket worker called Lightnin'?

“We wanted to do something special to honor Lightnin,’ to show her how important she is and has been to so many people,” said Speedway president Frank Kelleher. “She has seen this Speedway from its birth to what it’s become today.

"She has been so inspirational to so many through the years, and the backbone of the ticketing operation. She really deserves this, and we are incredibly proud to be with her today.”

Oh, the nickname? It came from husband Joe. He hung it on her shortly after marriage, claiming he never knew when or where she’d strike.

Meanwhile, Lightnin’ will be busy these next couple of days, as the Speedway prepares to host Friday night’s Xfinity Series race (Wawa 250) and Saturday night’s Cup Series event (Coke Zero Sugar 400). 

Going forward, if needed, she’ll be easy to find. She’ll be somewhere behind a big new sign bearing her name.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Daytona Speedway worker, 102, honored, name on ticket office