31 drivers, from Petty to Harvick, have won the 500

LEE PETTY (1959)

Lee Petty didn't take up stock-car racing until he was well into his 30s, but he proved to be exceptionally talented once he climbed behind the wheel. The sport's first three-time champion, Petty won 54 races over a 16-year span, including the first race he entered.

The North Carolina native swapped the lead of the first Daytona 500 over the last 30 laps with Johnny Beauchamp, as each driver tried to conserve his engine and tires. Petty took command with three laps remaining but Beauchamp made one final desperation move at the line. Not expecting a photo finish, NASCAR officials originally handed the win to Beauchamp -- but after three days of checking photos and movies, Bill France determined that Petty was the actual winner.

Two years later, Petty and Beauchamp would be involved in a serious accident during a Daytona 500 qualifying race, effectively ending Petty's racing career within three years. However, Petty's legacy continued with the founding of Petty Enterprises, pioneering the notion of turning racing from a hobby into a business venture. Petty died in 2000, just days after his great-grandson Adam Petty made his Cup debut at Texas.

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JUNIOR JOHNSON (1960)

If there can be a prototypical early era NASCAR driver, Junior Johnson would fit the bill. Johnson's fame as a North Carolina mountain bootlegger-turned race driver was chronicled in a famous Esquire essay by Tom Wolfe. He won 50 races beginning in 1955, including 13 in 1965 -- when he started barely more than half the races on the schedule.

Florida native Bobby Johns seemed to have the 1960 Daytona 500 sewn up until a freak gust of wind shattered his windshield and sent Johns' car spinning down the backstretch with two laps remaining. Johnson, who had led much of the race to that point by using a new technique called drafting, was in position to take advantage of Johns' misfortune.

After retiring from driving in 1966, Johnson was a successful team owner, fielding cars for the likes of Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip. He was also instrumental in getting R.J. Reynolds to sponsor NASCAR's premier series in the 1970s. He currently owns a country ham and pork skin business in his native Wilkes County.

MARVIN PANCH (1961)

Forced to take the wheel of his own car when his driver didn't show up one night in 1949, Panch became one of the top West Coast drivers during the '50s. He showed up at Darlington in 1953 and ran well in limited appearances over the next three seasons, earning him a Ford factory ride and leading to 17 career victories.

But Panch was without a ride for the 1961 Daytona 500 until Smokey Yunick offered him one of Fireball Roberts' old Pontiacs. Roberts had a huge lead with 12 laps remaining when the starter on his car broke loose and damaged the oil pan. Yunick's faith in Panch was rewarded when he inherited the lead and held off Joe Weatherly for the win.

Panch's last victory came in the 1966 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1987 and resides in Port Orange, Fla.

FIREBALL ROBERTS (1962)

Edward Glenn Roberts Jr. got his nickname from his prowess on the baseball diamond, but he gained his greatest fame on the track. He won his first race in 1950 at the age of 21. Starting in 1956, Roberts went on to win at least one race in each of the next nine seasons. The Florida native was particularly adept at the new Daytona superspeedway, winning a race in each of the first three years the track had been opened.

But the big prize -- the Daytona 500 -- had eluded him, despite leading a total of 210 laps to that point. However, Roberts' fortune finally changed in the 1962 edition. Even though his crew miscalculated his fuel mileage early in the race, Roberts was able to roar past Richard Petty on Lap 131 and from that point on, was never headed. Roberts, counting down the final laps and hoping nothing would break, won by 27 seconds.

Roberts switched to Holman-Moody's Ford team starting in 1963 and won five more times, including the 1963 Southern 500, giving him 33 for his career. But just seven laps into the 1964 World 600 in Charlotte, Roberts was severely burned in a fiery accident with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson. He died of pneumonia 37 days later.

TINY LUND (1963)

DeWayne Louis Lund was anything but tiny. The Harlan, Iowa, native stood 6-foot-4 and weighed 270 pounds. Growing up, he raced motorcycles, midgets and sprint cars, finally settling on modifieds. After serving a hitch in Korea with the Army, Lund's stock-car debut was anything but successful, as he flipped in his debut and suffered a broken arm.

Winless and without a ride heading into the 1963 season, Lund happened to be the right person at the right place when Marvin Panch's Maserati crashed and caught fire during practice for the 24-hour race. Lund and several others were able to free him from the burning car -- and from his hospital bed, Panch asked the Wood Brothers to choose Lund as his replacement for the Daytona 500. Conserving gas at the end, Lund was able to stretch his mileage and coast across the finish line for the win, having run the entire race on one set of tires.

Lund, who was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism for his role in saving Panch's life, went on to win four Grand American championships. He was fatality injured in an accident during the 1975 Talladega 500. In 1994, Lund was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

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In the year of "The Fight," Richard Petty took home the trophy.

RICHARD PETTY (1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981)

Given the opportunity to be chief mechanic for his father's race team, Richard Petty decided he'd rather drive, only to be told by his dad to wait until he was 21. Patience proved to be a virtue, as The King went on to win 200 races -- including 27 victories during the 1967 season -- seven NASCAR championships and is considered the greatest NASCAR driver ever.

Nowhere was Petty's legendary status on display than in the Daytona 500. He dominated the 1964 race, then came from two laps down to win two years later and become the first driver to repeat as 500 champion. He then won three times over a four-year span -- and came within 50 yards of adding victory No. 6 in 1976. In 1979, Petty was the beneficiary of the last-lap crash that took out Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough. And a gas-only strategy in 1981 resulted in Petty's seventh 500 win.

Daytona was also the scene of Petty's 200th and final Cup victory, as he held off Cale Yarborough by a fender in the 1984 Firecracker 400 with President Ronald Reagan in attendance. Petty retired as a driver at the end of the 1992 season, and was awarded the Medal of Freedom that same year. He ran the day-to-day operations of Petty Enterprises until son Kyle took over.

FRED LORENZEN (1965)

Golden-haired Fred Lorenzen started out in drag racing but quickly realized how lucrative stock-car racing could be. A two-time USAC champion, Lorenzen grabbed a Holman-Moody Ford ride in 1961 and outdrove veteran Curtis Turner to win at Darlington. He was the first driver to earn more than $100,000 in a season, by scoring 23 top-10 finishes in 29 starts during the 1963 season. In 1964, Lorenzen won eight of the 16 races in which he entered, including five consecutive.

Lorenzen and Marvin Panch were racing for the lead on Lap 129 of the 1965 Daytona 500 as rain began to fall. The two made contact, but while Panch spun out of contention, Lorenzen was able to keep his battered car running until the race was red-flagged four laps later, handing him the victory.

Lorenzen would go on to win races at all five of the superspeedways then on the NASCAR calendar -- winning three consecutive Atlanta 500s at one point -- and retired in 1972 with 26 career victories. He then became a realtor and most recently began trading stocks as a means to supplement his retirement.

MARIO ANDRETTI (1967)

Born in Italy, Mario Andretti and his family moved to Nazareth, Pa., in 1955. He and his twin brother Aldo found a half-mile dirt track there, bought an old Hudson Hornet with money from their uncle and raced without their parent's permission. Mario won 21 races over a two-year stretch, then went on to excel in midgets and sprint cars before making his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1965, earning rookie of the year honors.

Andretti made his NASCAR debut in 1966 but the following year, he landed a ride with the Holman-Moody team, which had won the race the previous season. Despite having limited experience with drafting, Andretti was fast enough to pull away from everyone except teammate Fred Lorenzen, leading 112 laps on his way to the win. Andretti would make only seven more NASCAR starts, never finishing in the top 10.

After his Daytona 500 victory, Andretti went on to win the 1969 Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One championship, making him the only driver to accomplish that feat. His victory in the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix is the last by an American. He won four Indy-car titles before retiring in 1994, becoming a successful businessman with several ventures, including a winery and racing school. He was named Driver of the Century by The Associated Press and Racer Magazine.

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Yarborough won back-to-back races in 1983 and 1984, becoming the first driver to qualify at Daytona at better than 200 mph.

CALE YARBOROUGH (1968, 1977, 1983, 1984)

South Carolina native Cale Yarborough grew up on a tobacco farm in the shadows of Darlington Raceway and supposedly snuck in to watch the first Southern 500 in 1950. Six years later, he tried to enter the race by lying about his age, but was caught and disqualified. He finally made his NASCAR debut the next season, finishing 42nd in a Bob Weatherly Pontiac.

Of his 83 career wins, four came on NASCAR's biggest stage. Yarborough outdrafted LeeRoy Yarbrough -- no relation -- in the closing stages of the 1968 Daytona 500 to win for the Wood Brothers. In 1977, his Junior Johnson-owned entry dominated the entire race weekend. And Yarborough won back-to-back races in 1983 and 1984, becoming the first driver to qualify at Daytona at better than 200 mph.

Ironically, Yarborough won five races at Darlington, all in the Southern 500. He is the only driver to win three consecutive Cup championships, achieving that in 1976, 1977 and 1978. He retired from driving in 1988 and went on to own a race team. Yarborough was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame one year later.

LEEROY YARBROUGH (1969)

Lonnie Yarbrough found racing as a way to escape the mean streets of Jacksonville, Fla. At 12, he built his first car and at 19, won the first race he entered at Jacksonville Speedway. He won 83 modified features over a span of three seasons before making his NASCAR debut at Atlanta in 1960. His first of 14 career victories came at Savannah four years later. His talents caught the eye of Junior Johnson's Ford-factory effort.

Losing the 1968 race to Cale Yarborough, Yarbrough rebounded one year later by using a similar strategy to beat Charlie Glotzbach. Trailing by more than 10 seconds with 10 laps to go, Yarbrough was able to work his way through slower traffic and make a daring last-lap pass to win the 1969 Daytona 500.

Yarbrough would go on to win seven races in 1969, including sweeps at Daytona and Darlington. But when manufacturer support dried up, Yarbrough found himself without a full-time ride. He made fewer than 50 starts over the next three seasons and failed to qualify for the 1973 Daytona 500. He was hospitalized in a long-term care facility shortly thereafter and died in 1984 of head injuries he suffered after a fall.

PETE HAMILTON (1970)

Massachusetts native Pete Hamilton was a star on the Northeast short tracks, winning the 1967 Sportsman championship before heading south. He made his NASCAR debut in 1968 and was named rookie of the year. The next season, Hamilton won 12 of 26 Grand American races, catching the eye of Richard Petty.

Added as Petty's teammate in the powerful Plymouth Superbird, Hamilton found himself carrying the team's banner when Petty blew an engine early in the 1970 Daytona 500. Hamilton and David Pearson both made stops with 14 laps to go, changing two tires each. But when Richard Brooks brought out the caution one lap later, Hamilton came back down pit road for the other two. That was enough to chase down Pearson over the final green-flag run.

Hamilton proved to be a superspeedway master, sweeping both Talladega races in 1970 and winning his Daytona 500 qualifying race in 1971. However, a neck injury he suffered a few years earlier forced Hamilton to retire from full-time racing. He made his last Cup start in 1973, then became a successful car builder.

A.J. FOYT (1972)

Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. was born into a racing family. His father was a Houston mechanic and built young A.J. a scaled-down midget car. By the time he was old enough to drive a real car, Foyt proved to be more than equal to the task. Equally adept in open-wheel, sports cars and stock cars, Foyt won seven Indy-car championships and three USAC stock car championships.

Foyt made his NASCAR debut in 1963 and won seven times, despite running no more than a handful of races each season. Until 1992, Foyt was a regular competitor at Daytona, winning the Firecracker 400 in 1964 and 1965. In 1972, driving the Wood Brothers Mercury, Foyt led 167 laps and lapped the field en route to his only Daytona 500 win.

Foyt became the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1977 and made 35 consecutive starts until his retirement in 1993, completing more than 4,900 laps at Indy. He finished his Indy-car career with a record 67 victories, including 10 in a 14-race season in 1964. In addition, Foyt won the 1967 24 Hours of LeMans, co-driving with Dan Gurney. Until recently, he owned a Cup team -- and continues to field cars in the Indy Racing League. Foyt was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000.

BENNY PARSONS (1975)

A native of western North Carolina, Benny Parsons was working at his father's service station in Detroit one day in 1963 when a race team stopped by. They invited him to join them -- and when the regular driver failed to show up, he volunteered to drive. He was named ARCA rookie of the year in 1965 and won championships in 1968 and 1969 before landing a full-time NASCAR ride in 1970. Despite winning only one race, Parsons parlayed 21 top-10 finishes into the 1973 championship.

Running a steady, consistent pace, Parsons was a second behind David Pearson in the closing laps of the 1975 Daytona 500. With two laps to go, Pearson tried to pass slower traffic but hooked bumpers with Cale Yarborough, sending him spinning out of contention. Parsons wound up all by himself on the lead lap and won despite leading only four laps all day.

Parsons was the first driver to qualify at over 200 mph when he ran 200.175 mph at the 1982 Winston 500 at Talladega. He finished his career with 21 wins, retiring in 1988. Having worked in television while still racing, Parsons made a smooth transition to the broadcast booth and was well-respected for his work as an analyst, winning an Ace Award in 1989 and an Emmy in 1996. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006 and died on Jan. 16, 2007.

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David Pearson limped across the line after crashing with Richard Petty in 1976.

DAVID PEARSON (1976)

David Pearson was hooked on racing from the moment he took home $12 in purse money from his first race in 1952. The Spartanburg, S.C., native broke into NASCAR in 1960 and immediately claimed rookie of the year honors. Pearson only ran full seasons three times, winning the championship in each of those years -- 1966, 1968 and 1969. In 1973, Pearson won an amazing 11 races in only 18 starts.

But until the 1976 Daytona 500, Pearson had never won NASCAR's premier event. And with one lap to go, it appeared that fate might intervene again. Trailing Richard Petty, Pearson made his move down the backstretch, only to see Petty attempt to regain the lead again coming out of Turn 4. The two touched, slammed into the wall and came to rest in the infield, just a few hundred yards from the finish line. While Petty was frantically trying to restart his battered car, Pearson was able to limp across the stripe.

The Silver Fox was voted NASCAR's most popular driver in 1979 and 1980. When he retired in 1986, his 105 victories was second only to Petty's 200. In 1990, Pearson was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was named Sports Illustrated's Driver of the Century.

BOBBY ALLISON (1978, 1982, 1988)

Bobby Allison grew up in Hialeah, Fla., racing at the local speedway as a senior in high school until his father ordered him to quit. Undaunted, he and his brother Donnie later moved to Alabama, where there were more tracks and better purses. As a member of the Alabama Gang, Allison won multiple national championships in modifieds before making his NASCAR debut in 1965. In 1971, he won 11 races. The following year, he won 10.

However, Allison's success at Daytona didn't come until late in his career. Following a pair of winless seasons, Allison crashed during the qualifying race and was forced to start 33rd in the 1978 Daytona 500. However, he was running second to Buddy Baker when Baker's engine let go with five laps remaining, handing the win to Allison. Bobby repeated in 1982, then beat son Davey to the line in 1988 to become the oldest driver to win the Daytona 500.

Allison scored 25 top-10s in a 30-race schedule -- including six wins -- to edge Darrell Waltrip for the 1983 championship. His accident in the 1987 Winston 500 at Talladega forced NASCAR to mandate restrictor plates to bring speeds under 200 mph on superspeedways. In June of 1988, Allison was severely injured in a crash at Pocono, ending his driving career with 84 victories, according to NASCAR. He was elected to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.

BUDDY BAKER (1980)

Elzie Wylie Baker Jr. was born into the sport, as his father Buck was a two-time NASCAR champion. The South Carolina native made his NASCAR debut in one of his father's cars at Columbia in 1959. Baker was fast -- he ran the first 200 mph lap on a closed course in 1970 and earned 38 career poles. And he ran up front, particularly at Daytona, where he's still third all-time in laps led, behind Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

But the knock on Buddy Baker was always that he couldn't finish what he started. In 1971 and 1973, Baker had the lead with less than 20 laps to go but it was Petty who reached Victory Lane both times. His bad luck at Daytona reached its zenith in 1978, when leading by more than a lap, he suffered two cut tires, then blew an engine with five laps to go. However, Baker finally received a measure of revenge in 1980 when he led 143 laps on his way to winning the fastest Daytona 500 ever run -- at an average speed of 177.602 mph.

Baker finished with 19 career wins in 699 starts over a 33-year career, most of those in a limited schedule. He worked as a television analyst following his retirement, and currently works as a driver coach for Roger Penske's operation and runs the Buck Baker Racing School. He was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1997.

BILL ELLIOTT (1985, 1987)

Awesome Bill Elliott from Dawsonville, Ga., made his NASCAR debut in 1976 with a small family-run operation. His father George owned the car and brother Ernie built the engines. After five years of competing without sponsorship, the team was about to shut down when Harry Melling gave the family enough money to run 13 races in 1981. The gamble paid off, as Elliott recorded a pole and seven top-10 finishes.

After four consecutive top-10 finishes in the Daytona 500, Elliott was too much for the competition in 1985. Elliott set a blistering pace that resulted in blown engines for his closest competition. He was nearly as dominant two years later, but had to outlast a fuel mileage gamble by Geoffrey Bodine to post his second Daytona 500 victory.

Elliott earned the nickname "Million Dollar Bill" after winning the $1 million Winston bonus in 1985 -- winning at Daytona, Talladega and Darlington in the same season. He went on to win 11 races that year and finish second behind Darrell Waltrip for the championship. Elliott captured the 1988 championship and holds the single-lap track record -- probably for all-time -- at Daytona and Talladega. Planning on running a part-time schedule for the Wood Brothers in 2008, Elliott has 44 career wins, the last coming at Rockingham in 2003.

GEOFFREY BODINE (1986)

Geoffrey Bodine rarely had trouble finding a place to race, since his family owned Chemung Speedway in his New York hometown. The oldest of the three racing brothers, Geoffrey raced micro-midgets at age 5 and was a top modified driver in the Northeast, winning 55 races in 1978. The next season, Bodine made his Cup debut at Daytona, leading six laps before an engine expired. He was rookie of the year in 1982.

Bodine seemed destined to be nothing more than a runner-up in the 1986 Daytona 500. Having finished second to Dale Earnhardt twice earlier in the week, it seemed only a matter of time when Earnhardt would make his move in the closing laps. But with eight laps remaining, Earnhardt's car sputtered and headed for the pits, out of fuel. On the way back to the track, the engine in the No. 3 Chevrolet let loose, allowing Bodine to conserve enough fuel to make it to the finish line for the win.

Bodine would go on to win 18 races and amass more than $16 million in winnings before retiring in 2004. His win at North Wilkesboro in 1994 will probably wind up being the last time a driver laps the entire field en route to victory, since the caution flag rules have changed since then. Bodine is also credited with the introduction of the full-face helmet and power steering. He currently designs and builds bobsleds for the U.S. Olympic team.

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Darrell Waltrip redefined celebration dances when he won the race in 1989.

DARRELL WALTRIP (1989)

Kentucky native Darrell Waltrip found early success -- and controversy -- at Nashville Speedway USA, where he won two track championships. He was aggressive on the track and outspoken off it, a personality that earned him the nickname "Jaws" from Cale Yarborough. Early in his career, fans held up signs that said "Anybody But Waltrip," but he gradually won a large following with his wit and humor.

Waltrip won 26 races for DiGard and another 43 for Junior Johnson, resulting in three championships, but he seemed destined never to win the Daytona 500, particularly after coming within 14 laps of the finish before his engine let go in 1988. However, the next year, Waltrip dodged a multi-car accident and had just enough fuel left to coast across the finish line, setting off an impromptu dance and helmet spike in Victory Lane.

Waltrip would win five more times that season and five more as a driver/owner, finishing with 84 career victories. Following his retirement in 2000, Waltrip moved to the television booth as an analyst for FOX. He was nominated for an Emmy in 2007. In addition, he owns a Craftsman Truck Series team.

DERRIKE COPE (1990)

A major league baseball career seemed to be in Derrike Cope's career plans until he suffered a knee injury in college. The Spanaway, Wash., native then turned his sights on racing. After dominating the short-tracks in the Northwest, Cope made his NASCAR debut at Riverside in 1982. He finally landed a full-time in 1987 and scored four top-10 finishes two years later.

But nothing could have prepared him for what was about to happen in the 1990 Daytona 500. Starting 12th, Cope ran a steady race and kept in the lead pack for most of the day. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 180, only to see Dale Earnhardt snatch it away. Following a caution that saw Earnhardt pit for tires, Cope was out front but the Intimidator made quick work of him and appeared to be pulling away. With no more than a mile separating Earnhardt from his first Daytona 500 victory, the No. 3 Chevrolet ran over a piece of debris, which cut a tire. While Earnhardt's car was fish-tailing up the banking, Cope ducked low and took the checkered flag.

Cope won again at Dover that season. But he scored just four more top-five finishes over the next eight full-time seasons, and last competed in NASCAR's premier series in 2006.

ERNIE IRVAN (1991)

With $700 in his pocket and everything he owned in a homemade trailer, Ernie Irvan left his native California in 1982 for an uncertain future in North Carolina. To make ends meet, he welded grandstand seats at Lowe's Motor Speedway and built racecars. In his space time, he raced Late Models and befriended Marc Reno, who helped Irvan make his NASCAR debut in a Dale Earnhardt-sponsored car at Richmond in 1987. When Phil Parsons was injured during practice at Richmond in 1990, Morgan-McClure took a chance on Irvan, who responded with a win at Bristol.

But his biggest moment in the spotlight would come a year later. Following a sit-down discussion with Earnhardt after an incident in the qualifying race, Irvan played it safe in the 1991 Daytona 500, avoiding several major accidents that wiped out many of the contenders, including Earnhardt, who tangled with Davey Allison with two laps remaining to end the race under caution.

After Allison was killed in a helicopter accident, Irvan took his place at Robert Yates Racing and scored five wins over the next two seasons. However, in August of 1994, Irvan suffered a severe head injury during a practice session crash at Michigan International Speedway. After months of rehabilitation, he returned to the track with a sixth-place effort at North Wilkesboro late in the 1995 season. Irvan finished with 15 career wins. He is now an advocate for head-injury awareness.

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Bobby Allison, right, celebrates with his son Davey, who won the 1992 race.

DAVEY ALLISON (1992)

The oldest son of Bobby Allison, he began working for his father's race team after high school and began his own driving career in 1979. ARCA rookie of the year in 1984, Davey Allison made his Cup debut at Talladega the next season and finished 10th. As a rookie, he started on the front row for the 1987 Daytona 500 and ran second to his father the following year.

A new crew chief -- Larry McReynolds -- came on board in 1991 and that seemed to make all the difference for Allison. A 14-car pileup wiped out most of the contenders in the 1992 Daytona 500, leaving Allison to lead all but five of the remaining 102 laps for the victory.

Allison won five times in 1992, despite a hard crash in the mid-season exhibition race at Charlotte that left him with a concussion and bruised lung, and another serious accident at Pocono that resulted in a second concussion and broken arm. Needing to finish fifth or better to win the championship in the season's final race at Atlanta, he crashed into Ernie Irvan's spinning car and wound up 27th. Allison won at Richmond early in the 1993 season, his 19th career victory. On July 12, 1993, Allison was attempting to land his helicopter in the infield at Talladega when it crashed. He died of his injuries the following day.

DALE JARRETT (1993, 1996, 2000)

Faced with the choice of driving golf balls or racecars, Dale Jarrett stayed in the family business. Turning down a college golf scholarship, Jarrett began racing at his father's Hickory Motor Speedway in 1977. Jarrett finished no worse than sixth in his first six Busch Series seasons, earning him a full-time ride in Cup by 1987. He won his first race at Michigan in 1991, which earned him a job with the new Joe Gibbs Racing operation to begin the 1992 season.

Jarrett scored just two top-fives that season but things improved dramatically the following year when he qualified on the front row for the 1993 Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt dominated the race, leading 107 laps -- but it was Jarrett who used a shove from Geoffrey Bodine to get past the Intimidator on the final lap and take the win, with father Ned making the finish line call on television. The "Dale and Dale Show" would see a repeat performance in 1996, and Jarrett would capture his third Daytona 500 in 2000.

During a six-year span beginning in 1996, Jarrett never finished worse than fifth in the standings, winning the 1999 championship. Heading into the 2008 season -- where he is expected to run the first five races of the season for Michael Waltrip's team before retiring -- Jarrett has 32 victories, the last coming at Talladega in 2005. He plans to become a television analyst for ESPN.

STERLING MARLIN (1994, 1995)

Sterling Marlin was a star athlete in high school, playing football and basketball. He was also a star at Nashville Speedway USA, winning three track championships. When a shoulder injury sidelined his father Coo Coo in 1976, Sterling made his NASCAR debut. He made only a handful of starts until 1983, when he landed a full-time ride with Roger Hamby. Driving for Junior Johnson, Marlin captured seven poles over two seasons but couldn't find a way to lead the final lap. After one season with the Stavola Brothers, Marlin found himself taking over the ride vacated by Ernie Irvan the previous season.

By the time the 1994 Daytona 500 rolled around, the Marlin family was 0-for-443 in Cup starts. That would change very quickly. A fast car and a fuel gamble allowed Marlin to run the last 59 laps on one tank, as he beat Irvan to the line for his first Cup victory. Marlin then joined Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win consecutive 500s when he dominated the 1995 edition, leading 105 laps.

Marlin won eight more races following his back-to-back 500 victories, and was in contention for the 2002 championship when he suffered a severe neck injury in a crash at Kansas. He would post only four more top-five finishes from that point forward -- and lost his 2007 ride when Bobby Ginn's team merged with DEI.

JEFF GORDON (1997, 1999, 2005)

California-born and Indiana-bred, Jeff Gordon was an open-wheel prodigy who won USAC midget and Silver Crown titles. In 1990, Gordon came to the Buck Baker Driving School in Rockingham, N.C., and immediately fell in love with stock-car racing. After two successful years in the Busch Series, Gordon switched from Ford to Chevrolet and made his Cup debut in Richard Petty's final race. He won a qualifying race at Daytona in 1993, on his way to rookie of the year honors. He then captured the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.

All of 25, Gordon became the youngest Daytona 500 winner in history when he led a 1-2-3 sweep in 1997, with ailing owner Rick Hendrick calling on his cell phone in Victory Lane. Two years later, Gordon made a daring pass of Rusty Wallace to win the 500 a second time, and added win No. 3 in 2005 by holding off Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the race's first green-white-checkered finish.

With 81 wins and four championships, Gordon is the winningest active driver in the series. He wound up second to teammate Jimmie Johnson in the 2007 championship.

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Dale Earnhardt finished second four times before winning the Daytona 500.

DALE EARNHARDT (1998)

His father, a former NASCAR sportsman champion, didn't want his son to follow in his footsteps, but Ralph Dale Earnhardt was born to drive. Dale worked during the day, financing his own racing operation and racing in the Sportsman class throughout North Carolina. Ralph Earnhardt died in 1973, two years before Dale made his NASCAR debut at Charlotte in 1975, finishing directly ahead of future car owner Richard Childress. He was named rookie of the year in 1979 and won the first of his seven NASCAR championships the following season.

Earnhardt was dominant at Daytona. His 34 wins in all major championship and qualifying races there is nearly double that of runner-up Bobby Allison. He won 12 qualifying races, including 10 in a row, beginning in 1990. From 1990 to 1994, he won five consecutive Busch Series season-openers. But his bad luck in the Daytona 500 was legendary. Coming into the 1998 race, Earnhardt had led in 17 of 19 races and finished second four times -- but on this day, it was the black No. 3 that finally made its way into Victory Lane at the end of 500 miles. He led the final 61 laps and received a purse worth more than $1 million for the first time in 500 history.

Earnhardt scored his 76th win with a thrilling run through the pack at Talladega in 2000 and finished second in the standings, giving promise of perhaps an eighth title in 2001. But he was killed in a last-lap accident while following the cars he owned -- driven by eventual winner Michael Waltrip and son Dale Earnhardt Jr. As a result of Earnhardt's death, one of four over a nine-month period, NASCAR began an intense focus on safety, which resulted in several key initiatives, including the new generation NASCAR chassis.

MICHAEL WALTRIP (2001, 2003)

The younger brother of Darrell Waltrip proved to be a talented driver in his own right, winning a track championship at Kentucky Motor Speedway, then the Goody's Dash title in 1983. Michael Waltrip made his Cup debut in 1985 in the Coca-Cola 600 and landed a full-time ride with Bahari Racing the following year. Waltrip won The Winston in 1996 -- a non-points race -- and was consistent if not spectacular for the Wood Brothers and Mattei Motorsports.

In 2001, Waltrip got the break he was looking for. Dale Earnhardt hired him to drive the No. 15 Chevrolet -- and he immediately broke his 463-race winless streak with a victory in the 2001 Daytona 500. But Waltrip's joy was short-lived when Earnhardt was not there to celebrate with him in Victory Lane. Two years later, Waltrip and wife Buffy walked to the winner's circle after heavy rain ended the race at 109 laps.

Waltrip has proven to be masterful at restrictor-plate tracks, as all four of his victories have come at Daytona or Talladega, the most recent in 2003. In 2007, Waltrip struggled through first-year growing pains with his three-car Toyota team, making just 14 starts and recording two top-10 finishes. In addition, he serves as a part-time television commentator.

WARD BURTON (2002)

Ward Burton and younger brother Jeff took their sibling rivalry to another level when they climbed from their local short track, South Boston Speedway, all the way to NASCAR's highest level. After four full-time seasons in the Busch Series, Burton broke into Cup full time in 1984, winning his first race for Bill Davis at Rockingham the following year. Burton scored two victories at Darlington, including the 2001 Southern 500 as he recorded 43 top-10 finishes over a three-year span.

A strange series of events resulted in Burton's victory in the 2002 Daytona 500. With six laps remaining, Sterling Marlin and Jeff Gordon got together in Turn 1, with Gordon spinning into the infield. Marlin beat Burton back to the stripe by inches -- and then NASCAR threw the red flag to clean up the debris. While the field was stopped, Marlin got out of his car to inspect the damage, and pulled on the fender. That was enough of a violation to send him to the back, giving the lead to Burton, who beat Elliott Sadler to the line.

Burton's fifth win came at New Hampshire later that season, but he recorded only seven top-10s over the course of the next two seasons and sat out the 2005 season and ran only three races in 2006. In 2007, Burton made 16 starts for Morgan-McClure without a top-10 finish. Burton is an avid sportsman and conservationist and is president of the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation.

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Six years to the day after his father won the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned his trophy.

DALE EARNHARDT JR. (2004)

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the unenviable task of facing unrealistic expectations from the moment he first stepped foot in a racecar. He began his racing career at 17, first running street stocks and then Late Models in North Carolina. He won 13 races and two Busch Series championships over a two-year period beginning in 1998, earning him a chance to make his Cup debut in the 1999 Coca-Cola 600. He won twice in 2000, plus The Winston, but finished second in the rookie of the year race to Matt Kenseth. Primed for a breakout season in 2001, Junior lost his father in the season-opening race but won three times, including the Pepsi 400 at Daytona later that season. Two more victories followed in each of the next two seasons.

Six years to the day that his father finally won NASCAR's biggest race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed Tony Stewart on Lap 180 and led the final 20 laps to win the 2004 Daytona 500 in his fifth start. That was the first of six wins that season for Junior, who finished fifth in the final standings.

With 17 career victories and a loyal fan following, Junior is one of the most recognizable faces in the sport. However, he missed two of the last three Chases for the Nextel Cup, and in 2007, was winless for the first time since he began racing full time in Cup. During the summer, Earnhardt Jr. announced plans to leave his father's race team. He signed with Hendrick Motorsports and will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in 2008.

JIMMIE JOHNSON (2006)

Jimmie Johnson's racing career started off on two wheels. A top off-road motorcycle racer, Johnson switched to the four-wheel class and recorded more than 25 wins. Switching to paved ovals, Johnson's skill was quickly evident, as he finished third in the 1999 American Speed Association championship standings. He followed that with 15 top-10 finishes over a two-year period in the Busch Series, including a win at Chicagoland in 2001. He caught the eye of Jeff Gordon, who recommended him to Rick Hendrick.

Despite not having crew chief Chad Knaus atop the pit box, Johnson was one of the strongest cars in the 2006 Daytona 500, taking the lead from Brian Vickers on Lap 187 and surviving several late-race cautions to win. It was the first of five victories for Johnson that season -- including the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis and the Aaron's 499 at Talladega -- culminating in the first of two championships for the No. 48 team.

With 33 wins in six full-time seasons, Johnson has proven to be a worthy successor to Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports, edging his mentor for the 2007 championship. He is the only driver to have won three consecutive Coca-Cola 600s. And in 2007, he became the first driver since 1998 to win four races in a row.

KEVIN HARVICK (2007)

Kevin Harvick grew up idolizing another Bakersfield racing legend: Rick Mears. His parents bought him a go-kart as a kindergarten graduation gift and Harvick soon became accomplished at it. He was on the high school wrestling team in the winter and drove Late Models in the summer. He won the West Series championship in 1998, catching the eye of Richard Childress, who signed him to a developmental deal for 2000. When Dale Earnhardt was killed in the 2001 season-opener, Harvick's plans changed -- and he wound up as Earnhardt's replacement. In just his third start, Harvick edged Jeff Gordon at the line to win at Atlanta.

Starting 34th, Harvick drove a smart and consistent race, avoiding some of the incidents that took out other contenders. When Jamie McMurray, Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt Jr. tangled, bringing out the red flag, Harvick was mired in the pack. However, Harvick was able to charge from eighth with less than a lap to go to edge Mark Martin at the line by .020 seconds as Kyle Busch spun and set off a multi-car accident behind the two leaders.

Harvick made the Chase for the Nextel Cup for the second consecutive season but his win at Daytona was his only trip to Victory Lane in 2007. In total, Harvick has 10 wins, including the 2003 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, where Mears won four times. In addition, he can claim two Busch Series championships.