Unser tops memorable list of NASCAR debuts in D500

Since 1959, 119 drivers -- some famous, some not so much and others virtually unknown -- all share a common bond: their Cup debuts came in the Daytona 500.

The list includes several future champions and 500 winners, drivers who represent five foreign countries, a combined 15 Indianapolis 500 victories, two famous racing families and host of champions from different series and disciplines. It also includes several drivers who never returned to the speedway after their brief moment in the Florida sun.

Al Unser

Best in Show

Top finishes in D500 debut

Year	Driver	Finish
1968	Al Unser	4
1976	Terry Ryan	6
1963	Johnny Rutherford	9
1960	John "Bud" Burdick	11
1969	Vic Elford	11
1959	Raul Cilloniz	12
1975	Bruce Jacobi	12
1964	Jo Schlesser	13
1968	Bob Senneker	13
1983	Phil Parsons	13

The list shows just how hard it's been to do well in NASCAR's most prestigious race. Of the 119, only seven led a lap in their inaugural Daytona 500 appearance, and just three finished in the top 10 at the end of 500 miles. More than half raced before what's commonly referred to as the Modern Era, before tragedies in qualifying races caused series officials to tighten rules on big-track experience.

In addition, until 1971, the qualifying races counted toward the championship, so another 35 drivers technically made their debuts without advancing to the 500-miler later in the week. That list includes two-time Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward, dirt late model Hall of Famer Gene Petro -- perhaps the most famous driver from Columbus, Ind., not named Tony Stewart -- and Michigan's Cy Fairchild, who completed an unusual double when he finished 27th in the 1966 Daytona qualifying race, then failed his rookie test at Indianapolis in 1969.

But what of the 119? Here's a rundown, year-by-year:

The 2.5-mile, high-banked superspeedway west of downtown Daytona Beach debuted in 1959, and eight new drivers came to try their luck in the 500, including a pair of Peruvians, an Olympic bobsledder and the first -- and only -- Edsel ever entered in a Cup race to date. Billed as an "international sweepstakes," Peru was represented by rally driver Raul Cilloniz, who finished 12th, and Eduardo "Chachi" Dibos Chappui, who would later gain fame as mayor of Lima.

Road racer Bob Said, a native of Greenwich, Conn., who won the 1953 Rouen Grand Prix and competed at Sebring, finished 50th after spinning on the first lap. He never raced in NASCAR again, but later competed in two Winter Olympics as a bobsledder. His son, Boris, will be in Sunday's race.

Indianapolis' Paul Bass made a bit of unusual history when he drove an Edsel convertible to a 46th-place finish in his only NASCAR start. Others debuting in '59 include Jim McGuirk, who also raced in the '62 and '63 500s; Ohio's Harold Smith, who finished fourth at Rockingham in 1966; IMCA stock-car ace Bob Potter; and Colorado's Fred "Fritz" Wilson, who finished a stunning second in his qualifying race, only to have engine issues just 15 laps in, leaving him 56th.

The success of the 1959 race brought even more cars and drivers to the speedway in 1960, including a young, talented driver from Spartanburg, S.C., named David Pearson, who drove his own car to a 28th-place finish. He'd go on to win quite a few races, including the 1976 500 in one of the greatest finishes in the event's history.

Omaha's John "Bud" Burdick finished 11th in the car brother Roy built for Johnny Beauchamp a year earlier, loser to Lee Petty in a photo-finish. Iowa's Darrell Dake, a trio of drivers from Illinois -- William "Whitey" Gerken, Gene Marmor and Arnold Gardner -- and Florida fishing shop owner Charles "Reb" Wickersham all made it to the end.

Dick Dixon, who would be killed at Thompson Speedway in 1967, finished 42nd. Eleven-time Sunset Speedway champ bob Kosiski of Nebraska wound up 44th. Two-time NASCAR Midget champ (yes, NASCAR had a Midget series in its early days) Jim Whitman finished 47th. Atlanta's Johnny Sudderth, who never cracked the top 30 in six other Cup starts, was 48th, followed by Dave Hirschfield in 63rd and Mooresville, N.C., resident Homer "Burrhead" Nantz in 66th.

A pair of Pennsylvanians broke on the scene in 1961. Julian Buesink, owner of Bill Rexford's 1950 championship car, put Tom Dill behind the wheel and he responded with a 17th-place finish. He'd be replaced later in the season by a young Cale Yarborough. A former stunt driver named David Houpt -- who drove under the name "Gentleman Joe Kelly" -- finished 19th in a Don House Ford.

But it was a young driver from Hialeah, Fla., Bobby Allison, who made $200 for finishing 31st in his Daytona debut who would go on to bigger and better things as the founding member of the Alabama Gang.

Other 1961 debuts included Robert Roeber, who finished 28th in his only Cup start; Ed Livingston, perhaps better remembered for his career-best finish of fourth at Jacksonville in 1964, a race won by Wendell Scott; England's Brian Naylor, who raced in seven Grands Prix; and Chattanooga's Red Hollingsworth, who ran later at Darlington.

Daytona's debut class of 1962 included such luminaries as Dan Gurney, whose accomplishments in the sport are so numerous and varied that they deserve an entire column of their own, 1963 NASCAR rookie of the year Billy Wade -- who would be killed in a Daytona tire test in January of 1965 -- and Indy-car star Wally Dallenbach Sr., a five-time winner whose son would go on to race and work as a television analyst in NASCAR. Two Illinois natives, Paul Barrow and Art Brady, would also made their only NASCAR starts in that season's 500.

Watch the Duel

The two 150-mile qualifying races will determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500.

• 2 p.m. ET Thursday on SPEED

Driving for Smokey Yunick, young Texas sprint-car ace Johnny Rutherford -- a future three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 -- would make a major splash at Daytona in 1963 by winning his qualifying race and then finishing ninth in the 500. Midwestern supermodified champ Dick Good spun and finished 37th, while Virginia racing patriarch and Southside Speedway star Ted Hairfield -- father of Bugs and grandfather of Chris -- had clutch problems and wound up 49th.

The 1964 racing season was overshadowed by tragedy, and the Daytona 500 was no exception. In addition to the May crashes at Charlotte and Indy that would lead to the deaths of Fireball Roberts and Dave MacDonald, France's Jo Schlesser and Pennsylvania's Bobby Marshman would sadly share the same fate. Schlesser, tabbed by Bondy Long to drive his Ford, finished 13th. He would be killed four years later in a fiery accident in the French Grand Prix. Marshman, a rising open-wheel star and co-rookie of the year at Indy in 1961, had overheating problems in his Holman-Moody Ford and finished 35th. He would die in a tire test at Phoenix in December.

Two other drivers in the '64 field would go on to Hall of Fame careers. Nathan "Smokey" Boutwell is a member of the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame, while Jim McElreath, 1962 Indy 500 rookie of the year, was later inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

In addition, Houston native Ronnie Chumley, two days younger than A.J. Foyt, finished 34th in one of H.B. Bailey's Pontiacs, and Tennessee's Bill McMahan struggled with handling problems and wound up 41st. He'd make 21 career starts, including a fifth at Moyock later that season.

The influx of open-wheel stars would continue throughout the rest of the decade. Jerry Grant, who nearly won the 1972 Indy 500 in his Mystery Eagle, made his Cup debut in 1965, finishing 16th. One year later, future two-time Indy 500 champ Gordon Johncock would visit as the driver of Nord Krauskopf's brand-new No. 71 Dodge team. (Bobby Isaac would pilot it later to a NASCAR title.) It was Gary Bettenhausen's turn in 1967, finishing 31st in Harry Rainer's Ford. (Continued)