Terminal NASCAR fan fulfills dream of going to the Daytona 500, then passes away in infield

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Three days, maybe a week. Three weeks ago, that's how much time doctors gave Mitch Zannette to live. Three days, maybe a week. What can you do in that time? How do you say goodbye to everyone and everything you've ever known? How do you close off a lifetime? Three days, maybe a week. If you know what you want out of life, it's enough time to write your own last chapter. So last week, Mitch Zannette checked himself out of hospice and headed to Florida to see the Daytona 500. He made it to the track. Went to the beach. Met Miss Sprint Cup. Drank some beers. And on Thursday, three days before the race, he died in the infield at Daytona International Speedway. He was 50.