Most career starts before first NASCAR Cup Series win

After 358 starts, Michael McDowell finally landed in NASCAR Cup Series Victory Lane by winning the 63rd annual Daytona 500 in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. With the victory, McDowell is now second on the list of drivers with the most career starts before their first Cup triumph. See who else made the list (source: Racing Insights).

Ricky Craven

Starts: 174

Race: On Oct. 15, 2001, Craven took the No. 32 Tide Ford to Victory Lane in the fall race at Martinsville Speedway. Leading a race-high 94 laps, Craven fought off Dale Jarrett in the closing laps. Craven had just one second-place finish prior to the win, coming at Michigan International Speedway just seven weeks before after starting on the pole. The victory was one of two for Craven during his Cup career.

Joe Nemechek

Starts: 180

Race: On Sept. 19, 1999, Nemechek held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte following a late-race restart to win his first Cup race. Nemechek led 72 laps en route to the triumph, one of four in his career.

James Hylton

Starts: 187

Race: The first of two Cup Series victories for Hylton came in the fifth race of the 1970 season at Richmond Raceway. Hylton led 160 of the 500 total laps for the March 1 win, beating Richard Petty, the only other driver on the lead lap.

A.J. Allmendinger

Starts: 213

Race: Jeff Gordon and Allmendinger both led 29 of the 90 laps at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 10, 2014, but it was Allmendinger who emerged victorious that day. It served as not only the first victory for Allmendinger, but also the first for the JTG Daughterty Racing organization and the No. 47 Chevrolet.

Buddy Baker

Starts: 216

Race: Driving the No. 3 for Ray Fox, the future NASCAR Hall of Fame driver won his first race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 15, 1967. Baker led a race-high 160 of 334 laps, the only driver to finish on the lead lap that day. Bobby Isaac finished one lap down in second.

Johnny Benson Jr.

Starts: 226

Race: Low on fuel in the closing laps, Benson held off a hard-charging Mark Martin to win his first Cup race in the No. 10 MB2 Motorsports Pontiac. Benson took the lead away from Kurt Busch for the first time of the day with 28 laps to go and never looked back. The Nov. 3 , 2002 triumph at Rockingham was the only Cup victory of Benson's career.

Dave Marcis

Starts: 227

Race: Marcis beat Benny Parsons by three seconds to win at Martinsville Speedway on Sept. 28, 1975. Marcis led 52 of the 500 laps in the No. 71 1974 Dodge for his first of five victories in NASCAR's premier series.

Sterling Marlin

Starts: 279

Race: Marlin took the No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet to Victory Lane for his first career win in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1994. After starting fourth, Marlin led 30 of the 200 laps, holding off Ernie Irvan for his first of 10 victories at NASCAR's highest level.

Michael McDowell

Starts: 358

Race: On Feb. 14, 2021, McDowell earned his first Cup victory in the 63rd annual Daytona 500. Running third down the backstretch on the final lap, McDowell took the lead into Turn 3 after Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked in front of him, causing a vicious multi-car crash. When the caution came out, the running order froze and McDowell was leading, crossing the finish line in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford under the checkered and yellow flags to solidify his maiden victory in NASCAR's most prestigious race.

Michael Waltrip

Starts: 463

Race: In a day that ended in tragedy with the loss of Dale Earnhardt, Waltrip drove the No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet to victory in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, 2001. Teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. pushed Waltrip to his first win in the the famed No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. Waltrip went on to win four total races in the Cup Series -- all on superspeedways -- including the 2003 Daytona 500.