Top 100 Local Stories of 2014

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Regan Smith got the bump-drafting help he needed from Trevor Bayne and beat Brad Keselowski to the finish line by .013 seconds to win February's season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Photos for Headline Surfer® / Victor Oladipo underwent corrective surgery for a facial fracture. in October 2014, forcing him to wear a protective mask upon his return to the court.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo was ruled out "indefinitely" after suffering a facial fracture during practice Oct. 23, 2014, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced.

Oladipo, 22, who was evaluated that afternoon after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face during a practice drill, underwent a corrective surgical procedure.

Oladipo made his return from injury on Nov. 14, wearing a facial protection mask as he made his season debut against the Milwaukee Bucks. In 25 minutes off the bench, he recorded 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in a 101–85 win.

Headline Surfer® photo /

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Bob Garrigues was a leading businessman in New Smyrna Beach for decades, before he passed away on July 18, 2014, at the age of 82.

Born and raised in the Baltimore, Maryland area, Bob served in the Army during the Korean Conflict then graduated from Towson State University. He started a staff leasing company in the 1990s but spent most of his career in insurance.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Bikers have come to Daytona Beach for decades hoping to see someone riding in on that one-of-a-kind motorcycle truly stands out in the crowd. The head turner.

And there's no better representation than that of the red, white & blue: The Captain America chopper from the 1969 counter-culture hippie biker movie, "Easy Rider," starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Kyle Busch edged Timothy Peters at the line by a race-record .016 seconds to win the 2014 NextEra Energy Resources 250 truck race at Daytona International Speedway during February's Speedweeks, leading up to the Daytona 500.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Some 400 swimmers were stung by jellyfish over the weekend of Aug 23-24 at the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona and extending south to Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach.

Fortunately, lifeguards had plenty of vinegar on hand to treat the stings. The stings occurred both Saturday and Sunday according to the Volusia County Lifeguard Corps, which flew purple and yellow "pest" flags to warn swimmers about the presence of jellyfish in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Jellyfish deliver an uncomfortable sting through tiny venomous barbs on their tentacles. The sting often causes burning, itching and swelling around the site of the injury, according to the Mayo Clinic medical website.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The continuing violence that has gripped this city for the better part of a decade now continued on a hot Friday night in July with a woman plunging a large steak knife into the upper chest of a friend in her bedroom.

Cops who responded to a 9-1-1 call at a residence at 847 North St in the heart of this tourism city that is home to Daytona International Speedway and the "World's Most Famous Beach®" found the deceased 60-year-old woman with the mortal wound clearly visible. She apparently pulled the knife out of her own chest and then died, homicide detectives said of the July 11 killing.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla -- It's a new era in space flight with the Dec. 5 launch of the Orion spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft launched successfully atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at 7:05 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here in Central Florida.