2012 Daytona 500 Facts and Stats

Daytona 500 Tidbits

• The 2012 edition will be the 54th running of the Daytona 500.
• Although the first Daytona 500 was held in 1959, it has been the season-opener only since 1982.
• 518 drivers have competed in at least one Daytona 500; 306 in more than one.
• 35 drivers have won a Daytona 500.
• Youngest Daytona 500 winner: Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011 - 20 years, 0 months, 1 days)
• Oldest Daytona 500 winner: Bobby Allison (02/14/1988 - 50 years, 2 months, 11 days)
• Eight drivers have won more than one Daytona 500, led by Richard Petty with seven victories.

·  The eight 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), Sterling Marlin (two) and Michael Waltrip (two).

• Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500 with five; Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in Daytona 500 second-place finishes with three.
• Dale Earnhardt finished in the top 10 in 16 of his 23 Daytona 500s.
• Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty each had 16 top 10s in the Daytona 500, more than any other driver.
• Dale Earnhardt had 12 top fives in the Daytona 500, more than any other driver.
• Only 13 drivers have an average finish of 10th or better in the Daytona 500, six of those competed in the Daytona 500 only once.
• Clint Bowyer has a 12.2 average finish in six appearances, the best of the active drivers who have competed in more than one Daytona 500.

·  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.

·  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 Marlin12).

• The most Daytona 500s all-time without a victory was Dave Marcis (33 races).

·   Mark Martin (27) leads active drivers without a victory.

·   Six 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 (point-paying) qualifying races: Johnny Rutherford (1963), Bobby Isaac (1964) and Earl Balmer (1966).

·  A driver has won back-to-back Daytona 500s three times. Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95)

·  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.

• 26 of the 53 Daytona 500s have been won from a top-five starting position.
• Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 from the 39th starting position in 2009, the deepest a race winner has started.
• Nine have been won from the pole. The last to do so was Dale Jarrett in 2000.
• 16 Daytona 500s have been won from the front row.
• Danica Patrick will become the third female driver to compete in a Daytona 500 joining Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson.

- NASCAR