What’s Happening?
Winning the Daytona 500 is one of the greatest accomplishments in motorsports. Winning the Daytona 500 often makes a driver’s entire career, but, plenty of NASCAR’s greatest drivers have not won the “Great American Race”. Plenty of active drivers fall into this category, so, here are the active drivers with the most Daytona 500 starts without a win.
- For this list, we will include any driver currently entered in the 2024 Daytona 500. A driver does not need to intend to run the full season, nor do they have to have any recent full-time Cup Series experience.
- The Daytona 500 is notorious for being one of the most difficult races to win. Hall of Famers such as Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace, and Ned Jarrett have all failed to win the sport’s biggest race.
- Fans always follow the drivers who are looking for their first Daytona 500 win. It’s one of the most intriguing storylines of every Speedweeks.
Martin Truex Jr.: 19 Starts
Martin Truex Jr. came closer to a Daytona 500 win than anyone on this list. He lost the 2016 race to now teammate Denny Hamlin by 0.01 seconds. However, Truex Jr. has generally struggled in his 19 Daytona 500 starts.
In 19 career Daytona 500s, he has only 3 top-10 finishes, which came in 2010, 2015, and 2016. His average finish in the race is only 19.7. He has qualified on the front row twice, and both times he failed to finish outside of the top 10.
Kyle Busch: 18 Starts
Kyle Busch has come close to winning the Daytona 500 plenty of times. The closest he came was in 2019 where he finished 2nd, but, he also led 88 laps in 2009 before being taken out in a wreck. However, he has also had a few lackluster performances.
He has 6 DNFs and only 4 top-10s in his Daytona 500 career. It’s truly been feast or famine for him, but, he was leading heading into the first overtime attempt in 2023. He has been in a position to compete for a Daytona 500 win, but, he hasn’t closed the deal.
David Ragan: 16 Starts
David Ragan will make his 17th attempt at the Daytona 500 in 2024 with RFK Racing. The closest he came to winning the race was in 2011, when he was leading on a late restart but was penalized for switching lanes too soon. Ragan is an interesting dark horse for the Daytona 500.
He is known for his prowess on superspeedways with both of his wins coming at Daytona and Talladega. He has earned top-10s in his last two Daytona 500s. Both of those came with Rick Ware Racing.
Kyle Larson: 10 Starts
While not known for his prowess on superspeedways, Kyle Larson has run surprisingly well in his Daytona 500 starts. The closest he came to winning the race was in 2017, where he led at the white flag before running out of fuel on the last lap. Still, he has not come that close in any of his other Daytona 500 starts.
He has 4 top-10s and a pole in his Daytona 500 career, but, he hasn’t finished better than 7th. Due to racing in Hendrick equipment, he should qualify well, but, can he win the race?
A.J. Allmendinger: 10 Starts
A.J. Allmendinger may not be full-time in 2023, but, he has an opportunity to end his Daytona 500 drought. Twice he has finished 3rd in the race, which came in 2009 and 2017. He has had some success in the race, especially recently.
He has 3 consecutive top-10s in his last 3 Daytona 500 starts. This includes a 6th-place finish with Kaulig Racing in 2023. He has also had some ugly moments in the race, including failing to qualify for his first attempt in 2007 with Red Bull.
Which of these drivers with double-digit Daytona 500 starts without a victory will finally take home a win in the “Great American Race”? We are less than a month away from finding out.