Daytona 500 Sunday, February 6, 2022
DAYTONA 500 STATS HIGHLIGHTS
64th Daytona 500
Daytona 500: 200 Laps – 500 Miles / Stages: 65 / 130 / 200 (65/65/70)
Daytona Duel: 60 Laps – 150 Miles
Daytona 500 champions:
Denny Hamlin 3 (2016, ’19 & ’20)
Kurt Busch 1 (2017) – 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion
Austin Dillon 1 (2018)
Kevin Harvick 1 (2007) – 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion
Joey Logano 1 (2015) – 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion
Michael McDowell 1 (2021)
NASCAR Cup Series champions winless in Daytona 500:
Kyle Busch 16 Daytona 500s – Best finish: 2nd (2019)
Chase Elliott 6 Daytona 500s – Best finish: 2nd (2021)
Brad Keselowski 12 Daytona 500s – Best finish: 3rd (2014)
Kyle Larson 8 Daytona 500s – Best finish: 7th (2016 & ’19)
Martin Truex Jr. 17 Daytona 500s – Best finish: 2nd (2016)
Chase Elliott (2nd & 8th) and Ryan Preece (6th & 4th) only drivers to finish top 10 in both Daytona races last season
Denny Hamlin (1st & 1st), Austin Dillon (3rd & 5th) only drivers to finish top 5 in 2021 Daytona 500 Stage 1 & 2
Denny Hamlin: 105 Laps led at Daytona last season (98 in 500 & 7 in 400) – 42 Laps more than 2nd-most Joey Logano (63)
68 Different winners in 149 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona races
40 Different winners in 63 Daytona 500s
12 Won multiple Daytona 500s
6 Won 3 or more Daytona 500s including Denny Hamlin (2016, ’19 & ‘20)
Richard Petty leads all with 7 Daytona 500 wins
17 NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers won Daytona 500
16 Champions won Daytona 500
Cale Yarborough only driver to win 3 straight Daytona races – Longest Daytona winning streak
Last to win back-to-back Daytona races: Jimmie Johnson 2/13 & 7/13 (Ryan Blaney won 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400)
Most consecutive Daytona 500 top 3 finishes: 4 – Benny Parsons (1975-’78) & Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2012-’15)
6 Finished top 5 in 4 straight Daytona 500s – Most recent: Denny Hamlin (2018-’21)
*No driver finished top 5 in 5 straight Daytona 500s
Most consecutive Daytona 500 top 10 finishes: 10 – Dale Earnhardt (1987-’96)
Kyle Busch: 59 Career wins – 0 for 16 in Daytona 500 (Most career wins without a Daytona 500 win)
Denny Hamlin only repeat winner last 15 Daytona races (3 Wins) – 12 Others 1 win each
Denny Hamlin only repeat winner last 12 Daytona 500s (3 Wins) – 9 Others 1 win each
Denny Hamlin won 3 of last 6 Daytona 500s with 2 different crew chiefs –
Mike Wheeler (2016) & Chris Gabehart (2019 & ‘20)
4 Won Daytona 500 for multiple car owners – B. Allison, Earnhardt Jr., Jarrett & Yarborough
4 Won Daytona 500 in multiple car makes – B. Allison, Jarrett, Petty & Yarborough
Richard Petty won in 4 different car makes – Buick, Dodge, Oldsmobile & Plymouth
4 Won consecutive Daytona 500s
Daytona 500 winner went on to win championship 9 times – Last 2 by Jimmie Johnson (2006 & ’13)
Richard Petty won Daytona 500 & championship in same season 4 times
Daytona 500 won by defending NASCAR Cup Series champion 5 times – Last: Dale Jarrett 1999 Champ & 2000 Winner
Denny Hamlin won the 2 closest Daytona 500s (2016 & 2020)
1-hundredth of a second over Martin Truex Jr. in 2016
14-hundredths of a second over Ryan Blaney in 2020
Daytona 500 won from pole 9 times – Last: Dale Jarrett 2000
No Daytona 500 winner from pole last 21 Daytona 500s
13 Daytona 500 pole winners did not lead a lap in race
Only 3 won pole, Duel & Daytona 500 in same year – Last: Bill Elliott 1985
Duel winner won Daytona 500 9 times – Last: Matt Kenseth 2012
Duel race #2 winner won only 3 Daytona 500s – Yarborough ’77, Earnhardt ’98 & Kenseth ‘12
5 Won Daytona Sportsman/Xfinity Series & Daytona 500 in same year – Last: Kevin Harvick 2007
Chevrolet leads all with 29 Daytona 500 poles including last 9
Hendrick Motorsports won 6 of last 7 Daytona 500 poles with 4 different drivers
Toyota has no Daytona 500 poles – First season 2007
3 Won 3 straight Daytona 500 poles – Last: Ken Schrader 1988, ’89 & ’90
5 Won consecutive Daytona 500 poles – Alex Bowman won last pole
2 Did not defend Daytona 500 win from previous year – Richard Petty (‘64 Winner) & Bobby Allison (‘88 Winner)
Daytona 500 win was first career victory for 8 drivers including Michael McDowell in 2021
22 Won first career NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona
First 2 career wins came at Daytona for A.J. Foyt & Sterling Marlin
First 3 career wins came at Daytona for Michael Waltrip
1 Postponed Daytona 500 – 2012 (Matt Kenseth winner)
1 Two-Day Daytona 500 –
First 20 laps run 2/16/20 & rest of race run 2/17/20 (Winner Denny Hamlin)
5 Daytona 500s ran shorter than 500 miles – 4 Rain shortened
Daytona 500 ended in Overtime 10 times including 3 of last 4
Denny Hamlin led at 500-mile mark 3 of last 4 Daytona 500s – 2 Wins (2019 & ‘20)
Leader at 500 miles failed to win 4 Daytona 500s
13 Daytona 500s settled by last lap pass – 4 of last 6 settled by last lap pass
5 Led lap 1 in their first Daytona 500 – Last: Chase Elliott 2016
9 Rookie contenders sat on front row in Daytona 500
6 Rookie of the Year contenders won pole for Daytona 500
Daytona 500 was first career pole for 10
Car owners swept Daytona 500 front row 11 times – 7 Times in last 12 seasons
Hendrick Motorsports swept Daytona 500 front row 7 times
14 Rookie of the Year winners won Daytona 500
Worst official starting position to win Daytona 500: 39th – Matt Kenseth 2009 (Started from rear in backup car)
Austin Dillon won 2018 Daytona 500 starting from rear in backup car
Denny Hamlin won 2020 Daytona 500 starting from rear after failing pre-race inspection multiple times
Chevrolet leads all with 24 Daytona 500 wins
Ford has 16 Daytona 500 wins
Toyota has 3 Daytona 500 wins – 2016, ’19 & ‘20 Denny Hamlin (First race: 2007)
First Daytona 500 win for 11 of last 16 winners
4 Different pole winners last 6 Daytona 500s – Alex Bowman 2, Chase Elliott 2, William Byron 1 & Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1
Teammates swept top finishing positions 8 times in Daytona 500
Hendrick Motorsports (1997) & Joe Gibbs Racing (2019) swept top 3 finishing positions in Daytona 500
Youngest Daytona 500 pole winners – Chase Elliott 2016 (20-Years-old) & William Byron 2019 (21-Years-old)
Oldest Daytona 500 pole winner – Mark Martin 2010 (51-Years-old)
Oldest to race in Daytona 500: Mark Thompson 2018 (66-Years-old)
Dave Marcis 60-Years-old 2002 & Derrike Cope 62-Years-old 2021
2nd & 3rd youngest NASCAR Cup Series winning drivers came at Daytona
Trevor Bayne (20-0-1) 2011 Daytona 500 & Justin Haley (20-2-9) Daytona 7/19
Bubba Wallace finished 2nd in 2018 Daytona 500 – Wendell Scott finished 13th in 1966 Daytona 500
3 Women drivers in Daytona 500 – Janet Guthrie, Danica Patrick & Shawna Robinson
Denny Hamlin only driver to win a Stage & Daytona 500 in same year – 2020 Stage 2
Denny Hamlin won Stage 1 & 2 in 2021 Daytona 500 – 98 Laps led & finished 5th
Daytona 500 pole winner failed to finish 23 of 63 races (37%)
Pole winner finished outside top 5 last 20 Daytona 500s
Alex Bowman: 5 Daytona 500s – 4 Straight Daytona 500 front-row starts
Alex Bowman: 4 Daytona 500 front-row starts (4 Straight) – 5 Drivers started on front row 5 times
William Byron & Alex Bowman youngest Daytona 500 front-row (2019) – Combined age: 46-Years-old
16 Daytona 500 winners started front-row – 9 From pole
26 Daytona 500 winners started from first 2 rows
44 Daytona 500 winners started top 10
5 Daytona 500 winners started 32nd or worse
Michael McDowell only Daytona 500 winner from 17th starting position (2021)
Winner from previous year failed to finish Daytona 500 the next year 22 of 63 times (35%)
Fastest Daytona 500: 177.602mph – Buddy Baker (1980)
Youngest winner: Trevor Bayne 20 (2011)
2nd youngest winner: Joey Logano 24 (2015)
3rd youngest winner: Jeff Gordon 25 (1997)
Oldest winner: Bobby Allison 50 (1988)
Drivers in 36-40 age group won 21 Daytona 500s (33%)
14 Daytona 500s ended under caution
5 Backup cars won Daytona 500 – Last: Austin Dillon 2018
3 Repaired crashed cars won Daytona 500 – Bobby Allison 1978, Dale Jarrett 2000 & Trevor Bayne 2011
Final lead change with 13 laps or less to go in last 7 Daytona 500s – 4 of last 6 settled by last lap pass
3 of last 5 Daytona 500 winners led only final lap – Kurt Busch 2017, Austin Dillon 2018 & Michael McDowell 2021
Leader of most laps won only 4 of last 21 Daytona 500s
Denny Hamlin led most laps 4 of last 10 Daytona 500s – 2 Wins
Fewest laps led by Daytona 500 winner: 1 – Kurt Busch (2017), Austin Dillon (2018) & Michael McDowell (2021)
8 Daytona 500 winners led 5 or fewer laps
Most Daytona 500 laps led: 184 – Richard Petty 1964
Most Daytona 500 laps led by non-winner: 170 – Fireball Roberts 1961
Denny Hamlin led most laps 4 Daytona 500s – Tied for most all-time (Richard Petty)
12 Drivers led most laps in a Daytona 500, but never won any Daytona 500:
Donnie Allison, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Kyle Petty,
Joe Ruttman, Ken Schrader, Jack Smith, Tony Stewart & Rusty Wallace
Most consecutive laps led: 149 – Richard Petty (1964)
10 Led first lap & won Daytona 500
Denny Hamlin led most consecutive laps 2020 Daytona 500 (42) & 2021 Daytona 500 (40)
Most starts before first Daytona 500 win: Dale Earnhardt won in 20th try (1998)
Lee Petty 1959 & Trevor Bayne 2011 only drivers to win Daytona 500 in first try
No driver won Daytona 500 in first career race
Dave Marcis raced in most Daytona 500s – 33 Daytona 500s
Terry Labonte 0 for 32, Mark Martin 0 for 29 & Ricky Rudd 0 for 29 in Daytona 500
Mid-race leader won 2 of last 29 Daytona 500s – Denny Hamlin 2016 & Denny Hamlin 2020
Dale Inman leads all crew chiefs with 5 Daytona 500 wins
Petty Enterprises leads all with 9 Daytona 500 wins
Hendrick Motorsports: 8 Daytona 500 wins – 2nd to Petty Enterprises
Hendrick Motorsports won 8 Daytona 500s with 5 different drivers
Joe Gibbs Racing won 4 Daytona 500s with 2 different drivers (Denny Hamlin 3 & Dale Jarrett 1)
Joe Gibbs Racing debut 1992 Daytona 500 & first win 1993 Daytona 500
Richard Childress Racing: 3 Daytona 500 wins (Dale Earnhardt 1998, Kevin Harvick 2007 & Austin Dillon 2018)
Michael Waltrip won first career race in 463rd try – 2001 Daytona 500
Michael McDowell won first career race in 358th try – 2021 Daytona 500
Dale Earnhardt ended 59-race winless streak 1998 Daytona 500
Only win of season for 15 Daytona 500 winners
In last 30 Daytona 500s, 17 crashes involved 10 or more drivers – Biggest crash: 21 involved (2019)
21 Involved in lap 191 crash 2019 Daytona 500 – Most ever
19 Involved in lap 184 crash 2020 Daytona 500 – Tied 2nd-most ever (2001)
Biggest Daytona NASCAR Cup Series crash: 26 Involved (7/6/14)
Biggest Daytona crash: 37 Involved (2/13/60) – Modified-Sportsman race
Longest span between Daytona 500 wins: 10 years (Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2004 & ’14 winner)
2 Won Daytona 500 & Indianapolis 500 – A.J. Foyt & Mario Andretti
4 Won Rolex 24 at Daytona & Daytona 500 – Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon & Jamie McMurray
22 Foreign-born drivers competed in Daytona 500
3 Father-Son Daytona 500 winners – Allison, Earnhardt & Petty
Michael McDowell: 2021 Daytona 500 champion – 66-1 Odds
2021 Fastest Open drivers: Ryan Preece (7th) & David Ragan (13th)
2021 Failed to qualify for Daytona 500: Ty Dillon, Noah Gragson, Timmy Hill & Garrett Smithley
Ty Dillon failed to qualify for 2021 Daytona 500 – Finished 6th in Duel
73 Seasons – 35 NASCAR Cup Series champions
Champions Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson & Martin Truex Jr. winless in Daytona 500
28 Different car numbers won Daytona 500
Car number 3 won 2 Daytona 500s – 1998 Dale Earnhardt & 2018 Austin Dillon
Car number 11 won 5 Daytona 500s – 1967 Mario Andretti, ’77 Cale Yarborough, 2016, ’19 & ‘20 Denny Hamlin
Car number 42 won only 1 Daytona 500 – 1959 Lee Petty
Hendrick Motorsports won 6 of last 7 Daytona poles when qualifying was run (2019 & ‘20 Coke Zero Sugar 400 pole canceled)
2019 Hendrick Motorsports top 4 fastest in Daytona 500 front-row qualifying
Hendrick Motorsports: 5 Straight Daytona 500 poles 2015-‘19 – Longest all-time Daytona 500 streak