Newman can erase 25-year Daytona sweep drought

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In 1982, Bobby Allison won both the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola -- then known as the Firecracker 400.

Twenty-five years have passed since that Daytona International Speedway sweep, and no one has again accomplished the feat. It's the longest span without a sweep of any track on the current Sprint Cup Series schedule.

In fact, only a few Daytona 500 winners have come close to a sweep since Allison:

• Four Daytona 500 winners since 1982 have finished second in what is now known as the Coke Zero 400: Bill Elliott in 1985, Sterling Marlin in 1995, Dale Jarrett in 2000 and Michael Waltrip in 2001.
• Eight Daytona 500 winners since 1982 have failed to crack the top 20 in the July race.
• Three finished outside the top 30 -- including the last two Daytona 500 champions.

Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, winners of the Daytona 500 in 2006 and 2007, each finished outside the top 30 in the July race at Daytona.

Johnson finished 32nd, Harvick 34th. Check out their statistical line from each race:

Ryan Newman will attempt to end the 25-year sweep-less streak, and his statistics at Daytona in the past three-plus years suggest a Newman sweep is at least a possibility. He ranks in the top 10 in most key Loop Data categories at Daytona:

Despite finishing outside the top 10 in five of his last seven Daytona races, Newman has run strong in each of them. All seven of his Driver Ratings have been above 85.0, and three have been above 100.0. Below is Newman's race-by-race statistical log: