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It’s that time of the summer again! NASCAR heads back to Daytona this weekend for some high-intensity pack-racing. It is often touted that superspeedway racing is more of a game of chance rather than a style that requires specific skills. There is a legitimate argument to be had that, sometimes, “surprise” winners keep their noses just clean enough to sneak away with the victory. But the reality is that the cream normally rises to the top when it comes to superspeedway-style racing. There are certain drivers in the NASCAR garage who are always in contention in these kinds of races. They may not always win, but they do consistently run up towards the front when many other drivers are consistently inconsistent in their performances at these types of tracks. Today, we’re going to spotlight a few of them. Here are the five best active drivers (plus one honorable mention) at superspeedway-style racing. Check it out!
As stated above, this is a list of the best active drivers who excel at superspeedway-style racing. This means that some fan favorites who notoriously tore it up on the big banks of Daytona and Talladega will not be on this list. Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Michael Waltrip are absent. Their talents are a given, but we’re focusing strictly on modern drivers who still run 38 weeks a year.
2024 is Todd Gilliland’s first full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, so I don’t want to put the card before the horse. Who really knows how his career will ultimately shape up? Our sample size for him is currently very small…but it’s also quite impressive! He led a handful of laps in the first two races of the year (the Daytona 500 and Atlanta). This could be chalked up to Front Row’s sheer speed on superspeedways, but he was able to outperform his predecessor mightily either way.
His finishes in both the 2024 Daytona 500 and the spring Atlanta race do not reflect just how strong that number 38 Ford ran. That said, he was able to eke out an 8th-place finish later on in the spring at Talladega. Add into the fact that he scored the outside pole for the summer Daytona race, it’s clear the he and that whole Front Row organization has the superspeedways figured out. Now, if they can only put together a full race, they could easily be in contention to sneak away with a win.
When fans think of great superspeedway racers, Chase Elliott likely is not the first name that comes to mind. But the fact is that he typically performs pretty well on these types of tracks. Yes, he has only won 3 points-paying races at superspeedways (Talladega in 2019 and 2022, Atlanta in 2022), but he has a 28% win percentage in his yearly Daytona Duel. That’s 4th on the all-time best list and is the best percentage of any active driver. Clearly, he can win at Daytona, but he hasn’t done it yet in a points-paying event. His numbers at ‘Dega and Hotlanta speak for themselves.
All in all, Kyle Busch has a pretty solid record at superspeedway races. When he’s not caught up in somebody else’s messes, he’s typically in the mix at the finish, especially after joining RCR. Richard Childress Racing historically has a strong superspeedway package, and Kyle Busch got his own opportunity to flex those muscles in the spring Talladega race in 2023. He was also in contention to win the 2023 Daytona 500, as he was the leader on lap 200. But a poorly timed caution forced the field into an overtime finish, and Busch unfortunately lost the race.
Before joining RCR, Busch was no slouch on superspeedways, either. Though he only has three points-paying superspeedway wins to his credit (two at Talladega and one in the summer race at Daytona), he has finished in the runner-up position on six separate occasions and in the top 5 many more times.
Bubba Wallace running up front is almost guaranteed when watching any superspeedway race. Even when starting toward the back of the pack, he can typically draft his way to the front in a hurry. Wallace, whether you love him or hate him, has a natural knack for this kind of racing. His first-ever race win was at a superspeedway (Talladega in 2021). While that is his only superspeedway win to date, Bubba is always in the mix in these races. His biggest issue is that he sometimes finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and then gets wrapped up in an incident.
In 2024, Bubba finished 5th in both the Daytona 500 and the spring Atlanta race. He led some laps in the spring Talladega race before being involved in an on-track incident, leading to a 36th-place finish. But that does not, in the slightest, reflect how strong they were. He finished runner-up in the 2018 and 2022 Daytona 500s and the 2021 summer Daytona race. When NASCAR heads to Daytona, Talladega, or Atlanta, look for that number 23 Toyota to be running near the front.
Strangely enough, Brad Keselowski is statistically much better at Talladega than at Daytona. To date, Keselowski has only 1 points-paying win at Daytona, which came in the summer race in 2016. However, he has a total of 6 wins at Talladega. That puts him in a three-way tie for the second-most wins at the track. The drivers he finds himself tied with are Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. That’s some pretty good company!
Keselowski’s last points win on a superspeedway came in 2021. It was his last win with Penske and it came at Talladega. But since joining RFK as an owner, he has finished runner-up at Atlanta in 2023, summer Daytona in 2023, and spring Talladega in 2024. He also won his Daytona duel race in 2022.
Keselowski’s number 6 Ford is consistently a contender in the superspeedway races.
Denny Hamlin’s name is often brought up as one of the more dominant drivers when it comes to superspeedway-style racing. In his 19-year career, he has won the Daytona 500 3 times (2016, 2019, and 2020) and has captured the checkered flag at Talladega twice. He has also won his duel races at Daytona a handful of times. These kinds of races have not been kind to Hamlin thus far in 2024, but that does not erase his previous success. He has finished in the top-5 at superspeedways 22 times in his career.
Hamlin’s number 11 is almost always in the mix at the superspeedways, Daytona in particular. Will he be able to capture his 4th Daytona 500 before hanging up his helmet and calling a career? Only time will tell. But I don’t hate his chances.
That does it for us on this end, Daily Downforce readers. Who do you think are the best superspeedway drafts currently in the NASCAR garage? Is there anyone we missed on this list? How would you change it? Let us know! And continue checking back here at DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news and fan discussions in the world of NASCAR!
