Car Number Histories: No. 13

ATLANTA -- The only driver to win a race in the No. 13 was a future three-time Indianapolis 500 winner making his NASCAR debut at Daytona.

Johnny Rutherford won a Daytona 500 qualifying race in 1963, then finished ninth in the Daytona 500.

A total of four Indy 500 winners -- Rutherford, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Bobby Unser, who have combined for a total of 11 Indy 500 victories -- have driven the No. 13, even though the numeral was considered bad luck at Indy and has been used there just twice since 1911.

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That's not the case in stock car racing, where the No. 13 was used right from the start, although rarely in a full-time situation. In fact, Robby Gordon and Jerry Nadeau are the only drivers to compete in more than 10 races in one season since 1958.

Pat Kirkwood was the first to drive the No. 13, finishing 29th at Langhorne in 1949. The numeral was used again by Pop McGinnis starting in 1952.

McGinnis finished seventh at West Palm Beach that season, then ran 12 races in 1953, with a best of fifth at Charlotte and Columbus. Emory Lewis was sixth at Martinsville in his two starts.

Joel Million drove a No. 13 Oldsmobile nine times in 1954, including a ninth-place finish in the Southern 500. Lewis returned to post a seventh at the Daytona beach course and eighth at Wilson in five attempts.

Dick Rathmann began the 1955 season with a 13th-place run at High Point, before completing the season in the No. 3.

Jesse James Taylor ran three races in 1956, including a 14th at Charlotte. Peck Peckham then drove a car bearing the numeral 20 times over the next two seasons, finishing 11th at Charlotte in 1957 and 13th at Bradford in 1958.

Andy Hampton and Earl Balmer shared the No. 13 in 1959. Hampton was 26th at Nashville while Balmer finished 24th in the Southern 500.

Harold Smith drove a Plymouth to a 49th-place finish in the 1960 Daytona 500.

Starting in 1963, Smokey Yunick began fielding No. 13 Chevrolets. Rutherford was one of Yunick's drivers that season, along with A.J. Foyt, Buck Baker, Bobby Isaac and Banjo Matthews. Baker was 10th in the Southern 500, Foyt finished 11th in the Firecracker 400, while Issac and Matthews competed in the two Charlotte races.

In 1964, Bud Harless chose the No. 13 for one race instead of his usual No. 40, finishing 41st at Darlington.

Two years later, Andretti finished 37th in the 1966 Southern 500 while Curtis Turner won a pole at Atlanta and wound up fourth in the Fourth of July classic at Daytona.

Turner returned to the No. 13 the next season, winning the pole for the Daytona 500 and finishing 25th in the race.

In 1969, Unser was 42nd in the Daytona 500, while Charlie Glotzbach finished fourth at Atlanta in his only start in the No. 13. Joe Leonard ran only one NASCAR race, finishing 31st in the 1969 Firecracker 400 while Swede Savage was 19th at Atlanta.

Don Puskarich began a long association with the numeral starting in 1975. Over the next eight seasons, he ran a total of 16 races, never breaking into the top 10. Jeff Halverson also drove the No. 13 in 1979 and Jack Ingram was ninth at Charlotte in 1981.

A number of drivers had spot duty in the numeral over the next decade, including Earle Canavan, Kevin Terris, Dick May, Doug Wheeler, Johnny Coy Jr., Eddie Bierschwale, Oma Kimbrough, Randy LaJoie, Gary Balough, Mike Skinner, Bob Schacht and Stan Fox.

The numeral was then shelved from 1992 until 1998, when a total of five drivers shared the ride. Jerry Nadeau ran 14 races, followed by Wallen Dallenbach Jr., Tom Hubert, Dennis Setzer and Ted Musgrave. Musgrave's best finish was a fifth at Phoenix in seven starts.

Five different drivers used the No. 13 the next season: Derrike Cope, Ted Christopher, Buckshot Jones, Mike Bliss and Todd Bodine. In 14 races, they failed to crack the top 10.

Robby Gordon made 17 starts in 2000, with his best finishes coming on the two road courses -- a fourth at Watkins Glen and a ninth at Sonoma. P.J. Jones also had two starts that season.

Hermie Sadler made three appearances in the No. 13 in 2001, the last time the numeral has made a race.