NASCAR is filled with stories of drivers not being able to find the one last brick that would round off their careers in the top tier of stock car racing. As far as last bricks go, the Daytona 500 is the biggest and greatest of them all. Ahead of the 66th running of the Great American Race, here’s a curation of the best drivers who haven’t been able to get their hands on the Harley J. Earl trophy.
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Topping the list is 3-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. The icon has made 17 starts in the Daytona 500 and never visited victory lane. The closest he ever came to it was in 2004 when he finished second next to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Though he is one of the best to grace NASCAR, the Daytona 500 checkbox is one that he couldn’t tick off.
Mark Martin is widely regarded as the greatest driver to never win a championship. However, a championship isn’t the only thing that Martin did not win. The Hall of Famer ran in the Daytona 500 29 times and failed to make it to the victory lane on all tries. The closest he came to a win was in 2007 when he finished runner-up behind Kevin Harvick.
Some of the other big names that never won the event but are past the stage of competing in it anymore are Bobby Labonte, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, and Rusty Wallace. Coming to the drivers who are active in the competition for honors in the 2024 Daytona 500, six names stand out from the rest.
The greatest active drivers who can still win the Daytona 500
Joe Gibbs Racing star Martin Truex Jr. has the most number (19) of Daytona 500 starts in the current field. His closest finish to glory was in 2016 when Denny Hamlin beat him over a margin of 0.01 seconds. The driver with the second most starts is 2X Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (18). Heading into his second season in the colors of Richard Childress, he will be wanting to do better than his runner-up finish in 2019.
RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski will have the chance to beat his best finish of third (2014) this Sunday. The icing on the cake, he will also be ending his 92-race win drought should he win. Clearing space at the bottom of the line are Hendrick Motorsports stars, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. The former’s best finish was second in 2021, while Larson’s was seventh in 2016 and 2019. All these drivers are at the prime of their careers and will no doubt love getting a taste of victory this weekend.
