Stats Advance: Analyzing the Daytona 500

Check out the statistics for drivers in Sunday's race at 1 p.m. ET on FOX

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Below is a statistical look at some of the top performers at Daytona International Speedway, including both the Daytona 500 and the annual July race:

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Daytona
Kyle Busch                  96.9     
Tony Stewart                93.0
Matt Kenseth                92.6
Dale Earnhardt Jr.         89.7
Kurt Busch                   88.8
Jimmie Johnson            88.4
Jeff Gordon                   87.2
Clint Bowyer                 86.2
Denny Hamlin               83.7
Kasey Kahne                82.4
Note: Driver Ratings are compiled from 2005-2013 races (17 total) at Daytona. 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final 2013 Top 12 at Daytona International Speedway

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Jimmie Johnson	24	2	3	8	11	5	17.5	88.4
2	Matt Kenseth	28	1	2	6	13	5	17.5	92.6
3	Kevin Harvick	25	1	2	6	11	3	16.0	82.3
4	Kyle Busch	18	1	1	5	6	4	18.6	96.9
5	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	28	1	2	10	16	3	13.8	89.7
6	Jeff Gordon	42	3	6	12	19	6	16.6	87.2
7	Clint Bowyer	16	0	0	3	7	2	14.8	86.2
8	Joey Logano	10	0	0	2	3	2	20.9	79.0
9	Greg Biffle	22	1	1	3	6	2	19.7	79.1
10	Kurt Busch	26	0	0	10	13	1	17.9	88.8
11	Ryan Newman	24	0	1	4	6	5	20.0	81.8
12	Kasey Kahne	20	0	0	2	7	4	19.0	82.4

Note: Driver Rating from races at Daytona International Speedway from 2005-2013.

• The 2014 edition will be the 56th running of the Daytona 500.
• Although the first Daytona 500 was held in 1959, it has been the season-opener only since 1982.
• 523 drivers have competed in at least one Daytona 500; 311 in more than one.
• 35 drivers have won a Daytona 500.
• Youngest Daytona 500 winner: Trevor Bayne (2/20/2011 - 20 years, 0 months, 1 days)
• Oldest Daytona 500 winner: Bobby Allison (2/14/1988 - 50 years, 2 months, 11 days)
• 10 drivers have won more than one Daytona 500, led by Richard Petty with seven victories.
• The 10 drivers who have won the Daytona 500 more than once: Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four), Bobby Allison (three), Dale Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon (three), Bill Elliott (two), Matt Kenseth (two), Jimmie Johnson (two), Sterling Marlin (two) and Michael Waltrip (two).
• A driver has won back-to-back Daytona 500s three times. Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95).
• Active Daytona 500 winners and the number of NSCS starts in their careers when they won: Jeff Gordon won his third Daytona 500 on his 402nd career start (2005). Gordon also posted his second Daytona 500 win on his 190th career start (1999). Jimmie Johnson posted his second Daytona 500 win on his 400th career start (2013) and Matt Kenseth won his second Daytona 500 on his 437th career start (2012). Michael Waltrip posted his second Daytona 500 win on his 535th career start (2003).
• Seven drivers posted their career-first victory with a win in the Daytona 500: Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994), Michael Waltrip (2001) and Trevor Bayne (2011).
• Three other drivers posted their career-first victory in (points-paying) qualifying races: Johnny Rutherford (1963), Bobby Isaac (1964) and Earl Balmer (1966).
• Lee Petty, who won the inaugural Daytona 500, and Trevor Bayne, 2011 Daytona 500 champion, are the only two drivers to win the Daytona 500 in their first appearance.
• Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500 with five; Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers with four.
• Dale Earnhardt had 12 top fives in his 23 Daytona 500 starts, more than any other driver. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Terry Labonte lead all active drivers in Daytona 500 top-five finishes with six.
• Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty each posted a series leading 16 top 10s in the Daytona 500. Terry Labonte and Mark Martin lead all active drivers in Daytona 500 top-10 finishes with 12; followed by Michael Waltrip with nine.
• Only 12 drivers have an average finish of 10th or better in the Daytona 500, five of those competed in the Daytona 500 only once.
• Clint Bowyer has an 11.9 average finish in nine appearances, the best of the active drivers who have competed in more than one Daytona 500.
• 28 of the 35 drivers, who have won, participated in at least two Daytona 500s before visiting Victory Lane.
• Dale Earnhardt competed 19 times before winning his only Daytona 500 (1998), the longest span of any of the 35 race winners.
• Six drivers made 10 or more attempts before their first Daytona 500 victory: Dale Earnhardt (19), Buddy Baker (18), Darrell Waltrip (16), Bobby Allison (14), Michael Waltrip (14) and Sterling Marlin (12).
• The driver with the all-time most Daytona 500 starts without a victory is Dave Marcis with 33 races; the active drivers with the most starts without a Daytona 500 win is Terry Labonte (31 races), Mark Martin (29 races), Joe Nemechek (18) and Tony Stewart (15).
• Kevin Harvick’s 0.020-second margin of victory over Mark Martin in the 2007 Daytona 500 is the 12th-closest overall since the advent of electronic timing in 1993, and the closest in a Daytona 500.
• Nine of the 55 Daytona 500s (16.3%) have been won from the Coors Light pole. The last to do so was Dale Jarrett in 2000. Jeff Gordon is the only active driver to accomplish the feat (1999).
• Cale Yarborough (1968, 1984) and Bill Elliott (1985, 1987) are the only two drivers to win the Daytona 500 from the Coors Light pole more than once.
• 16 of the 55 Daytona 500s (29.0%) have been won from the front row.
• 27 of the 55 Daytona 500s (49.0%) have been won from a top-five starting position.
• 40 of the 55 Daytona 500s (72.7%) have been won from a top 10 starting position
• Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 from the 39th starting position in 2009, the deepest a race winner has started.
• Five reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions have gone on to win the Daytona 500 the following season: Lee Petty (1959), Richard Petty (1973), Cale Yarborough (1977), Jeff Gordon (1999) and Dale Jarrett (2000).
• Five drivers have won the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the same season, Richard Petty has done it four times: Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2013), Jeff Gordon (1997), Richard Petty (1964, 1971, 1974, 1979), Cale Yarborough (1977) and Lee Petty (1959).
• Danica Patrick on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2013 became the first female in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to win a Coors Light pole for the Daytona 500 posting a speed of 196.434 mph.
• Janet Guthrie previously held the record for top starting position by a female NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, starting ninth twice in 1977 - at Talladega Superspeedway on Aug. 7, 1977 and at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 28, 1977.
• In 2012, Danica Patrick became the third female driver to compete in a Daytona 500 joining Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson. Below are the previous female driver performances in the Daytona 500.
  

  Race	Season	Driver	Start	Finish
  Daytona 500	1977	Janet Guthrie	39	12
  Daytona 500	1980	Janet Guthrie	18	11
  Daytona 500	2002	Shawna Robinson	36	24
  Daytona 500	2012	Danica Patrick	29	38
  Daytona 500	2013	Danica Patrick	1	8

  
  
  ·        Driver Ratings for Winners – Pre-Race Daytona 500 Driver Ratings heading into 2013 for the past Daytona 500 winners (past 6 years)
  Driver – Year – Driver Rating
  o   Jimmie Johnson – 2013 – 82.8
  o   Matt Kenseth – 2012 – 89.0
  o   Trevor Bayne – 2011 – 68.9
  o   Jamie McMurray – 2010 – 80.2
  o   Matt Kenseth – 2009 – 89.0
  o   Ryan Newman – 2008 – 82.9
  o   Kevin Harvick – 2007 – 86.3
  o   Jimmie Johnson – 2006 – 87.5
   
  ·        Drivers who have won the Daytona 500 in more than one car manufacturer:
  Driver – Manufacturer (Number of wins in that manufacturer)
  o   Richard Petty – Plymouth (3), Dodge (2), Oldsmobile (1) and Buick (1)
  o   Cale Yarborough – Chevrolet (2), Mercury (1) and Pontiac (1)
  o   Bobby Allison – Buick (2) and Ford (1)
  o   Dale Jarrett – Ford (2) and Chevrolet (1)
   
  ·        Drivers who have won The Sprint Unlimited and the Daytona 500 in the same season:
  Driver – (Year)
  o   Bobby Allison (1982)
  o   Bill Elliott (1987)
  o   Dale Jarrett (1996 and 2000)
  o   Jeff Gordon (1997)
   
  ·        Car Numbers that have produced three or more Daytona 500 victories:
  Car Number – Drivers – (Years)
  o   No. 43 – Richard Petty (1964, ’66, ’71, ’73, ’74, ’79, ‘81)
  o   No. 21 – Tiny Lund (1963), Cale Yarborough (1968), A.J. Foyt (1972), David Pearson (1976) and Trevor Bayne (2011)
  o   No. 28 – Fred Lorenzen (1965), Buddy Baker (1980), Cale Yarborough (1983 and 1984) and Davey Allison (1992).
  o   No. 4 – Ernie Irvan (1991), Sterling Marlin (1994 and 1995)
  o   No. 15 – Bobby Allison (1978), Michael Waltrip (2001 and 2003)
  o   No. 17 – Darrell Waltrip (1989), Matt Kenseth (2009 and 2012)

           No. 24 – Jeff Gordon (1997, 1999 and 2005)
  

  At Daytona International Speedway
  History
  ·        Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.
  ·        The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
  ·        Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
  ·        Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the July race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under the lights ever since.
  ·        The track underwent a repave in 2010.
   
  Notebook
  ·        There have been 133 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 55 have been 500 miles, 51 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.
  ·        Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole at Daytona.
  ·        Bob Welborn won the first race at Daytona, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
  ·        Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959; he led 38 laps and won by 2 feet.
  ·        Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, the 1963 Firecracker 400.
  ·        57 drivers have posted poles at Daytona.
  ·        Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 12 poles at Daytona.
  ·        Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin lead all active drivers with three poles at Daytona.
  ·        56 drivers have won at Daytona.
  ·        Richard Petty leads all drivers in victories at Daytona with 10.
  ·        Jeff Gordon has six victories at Daytona, more than any other active driver.
  ·        The Wood Brothers have won 15 races at Daytona, more than any other car owner.
  ·        17 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole; the last to do it was Jimmie Johnson in the 2013 Daytona 500.
  ·        A driver has swept both the Daytona 500 and the July race only five times at Daytona International Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (2013), Bobby Allison (1982), LeeRoy Yarborough (1969), Cale Yarborough (1968) and Fireball Roberts (1962).
  
  
  NASCAR in Florida

  There have been 174 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Florida.
  
  

  Track Name	City	NSCS
  Daytona International Speedway	Daytona Beach	133
  Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead	15
  Daytona Beach & Road Course	Daytona Beach	10
  Palm Beach Speedway	W. Palm Beach	7
  Speedway Park	Jacksonville	6
  Five Flags Speedway	Pensacola	1
  Golden Gate Speedway	Tampa	1
  Titusville-Cocoa Speedway	Titusville	1

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Fireball Roberts	33	0	0
LeeRoy Yarbrough	14	0	0
Marshall Teague	7	0	0
Joe Nemechek	4	16	0
Bobby Johns	2	0	0
David Reutimann	2	1	1
Shorty Rollins	1	0	0
Rick Wilson	0	2	0
Aric Almirola	0	1	2
Joey Coulter	0	0	1

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