Historically speaking, the Daytona 500 is considered a championship unto itself.
It’s a life changing accomplishment because every previous winner will tell you it forever changes the way they are introduced and received around the world. Michael McDowell says all the time that no matter what else happens in his career, he will forever be introduced at events as ‘2021 Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell.’
There’s that word again: champion.
Winning the race once is a championship caliber accomplishment and its generally enough to permit entry into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. To wit, of drivers who are not currently active, only 10 winners are not in the Hall of Fame.
One of them is AJ Foyt, who is more known for his open wheel exploits, than his scant appearances in a Stock Car.
While there are certainly exceptions, generally speaking, Daytona 500 winners are amongst the elite of Stock Car racing or otherwise found some other way through a specialized skill or fortune to immortalize themselves in the history of the discipline regardless.
With all of that in mind, here are the 25 most decorated drivers in the history of the Great American Race.
25. Terry Labonte
The 1984 and 1996 Cup Series champion has three runner-up finishes in 1986, 1990 and 1997. Texas Terry scored 11 top-5s and 26 top-10s at Daytona International Speedway. He turned over 10,000 laps, the fifth-most ever. That longevity means a great deal.
24. Donnie Allison
Having scored two poles and two top-5s in 13 Daytona 500s, Donnie Allison cemented himself amongst the elite of his time on superspeedways but his participation in the last lap crash and subsequent fight in the 1979 Great American Race contributed to NASCAR’s arrival as a mainstream sport.
23. Geoff Bodine
His victory in the 1986 Daytona 500 signified the arrival of Hendrick Motorsports as a NASCAR powerhouse. In 21 starts in the Great American Race, the New Yorker posted five top-5s and eight top-10s with an average finish of 18.6.
22. Benny Parsons
Parsons won the 1975 Daytona 500 and scored top-5s in eight of 20 starts in the Great American Race. He also earned one pole and nine top-10s with an average finish of 17.0.
21. Darrell Waltrip
It took 17 attempts but Darrell Waltrip finally won the Daytona 500 in 1989. It was his only win at Daytona International Speedway in 55 starts but it wasn’t for a lack of skill nor opportunities. He earned 13 top-5s and 18 top-10s alongside a pole. His celebration in victory lane, which included the Ickey Shuffle and spiking his helmet, contributed to the legacy of the event.
20. Davey Allison
The son of Bobby and nephew of Donnie Allison was a decorated superspeedway racer, even though his untimely passing gives him the smallest sample size of stats. He won the 1992 Daytona 500 and finished second to his father in 1988.
19. Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch was a naturally gifted restrictor plate racer from the moment he made his Cup debut. He finished fourth and second in his first two starts in the Great American Race. He finally broke through in 2017 to win but overall has six top-5s and eight top-10s in the biggest race of the year.
18. Jimmie Johnson
The seven-time Cup Series champion won his first Daytona 500 and did so after crew chief Chad Knaus was suspended because the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet failed post-qualifying inspection. He captured a second Harley J. Earl in 2013. He has earned seven overall top-5s in the Great American Race.
17. Matt Kenseth
The 2003 Cup Series champion didn’t always have the best luck in superspeedways but he capitalized on two different occasions to win the Harley J. Earl. He won the 2009 Daytona 500 when he passed Elliott Sadler just moments before a thunderstorm moved in, forcing a premature end to the race. Kenseth won the Great American Race for a second time in 2012.
16. Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick’s ‘where did he come from victory’ in 2007 was one of the most memorable in race history and came at the expense of the legendary Mark Martin. He finished his career with two wins at the speedway, 11 top 5s and 16 top-10s. His average finish of 18.111 was sixth best all-time at Daytona.
15. Tony Stewart
Despite never winning the Daytona 500, the three-time Cup Series champion is one of the most decorated racers in track history with 17 victories, including three summer race wins, three victories in the Daytona Clash and seven wins in the Xfinity Series. Stewart ranks second all-time in Daytona race victories behind only Dale Earnhardt.
14. Fred Lorenzen
‘The Golden Boy’ became the first driver in NASCAR history to win over $100,000 in a single season in 1963. He won the Daytona 500 in 1965 but compiled seven top-5s and eight top-10s in just nine starts. His average finish of 6.9 is the best of any driver with at least five Daytona 500 starts.
13. Michael Waltrip
So much of the on-track legacy of Michael Waltrip is tied to Daytona. It took 462 starts for Waltrip to win his first Cup Series race but he made it count in the 2001 Daytona 500 in his debut for Dale Earnhardt Inc. The victory was overshadowed by the death of Earnhardt in the final corner of that race. He won again two years later and was always up front at Daytona during his tenure at DEI.
12. David Pearson
David Pearson won one of the most unforgettable races in Great American Race history when he and Richard Petty crashed on the last lap of the 1976 edition. Pearson’s heavily damaged Wood Brothers Mercury was able to get restarted before Petty could restart his car and limped to the finish line to win. That turned out to be the only Daytona 500 Pearson would win although he did post six top-5 finishes.
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Like his father, Earnhardt was a master at restrictor plate racing with Daytona 500 wins in 2004 and 2014 plus victories in the summer race in 2001 and 2015. Earnhardt Jr. has 13 top-5 and 19 top-10s in 34 points races at Daytona. He also is a two-time winner of the Clash at Daytona.
10. Buddy Baker
Baker won the 1980 Daytona 500 at an average speed of 177.602 miles per hour, a record that still stands as the fastest Daytona 500 in history. Baker also was the first driver to break the 200 mph barrier on a closed course. In addition to his win, he has top-5s in 1969, 1981, 1983 and 1987.
9. Bill Elliott
A two-time Daytona 500 winner, Elliott was victorious in the Great American Race in 1985 and 1987. With Ernie Elliott engines, he was always at his best at superspeedways with four poles, nine top-5s and 14 top-10s in the 500. In 1987, Elliott set the track qualifying record at Daytona, with a lap of 210.364 miles per hour.
8. Sterling Marlin
A testament to his longevity and acumen at the speedway, Sterling Marlin is remembered for the races he didn’t win at Daytona just as much as the three wins he does. He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner and won them back-to-back in 1994 and 1995. He spent the next decade contending for the win every time he unloaded. He infamously was leading the race under a late red flag in 2002 when he climbed out of his car and pulled the fender off his right front tire, which resulted in a penalty. He has four poles, 12 top-5s and 21 top-10s at Daytona International Speedway.
7. Dale Jarrett
What began as the Dale and Dale Show at Daytona simply became the Dale Jarrett Show for much of the 1990s. He won the Daytona 500 three times in 1993, 1996 and 2000 with three poles in 1995, 2000 and 2005.
6. Bobby Allison
Bobby Allison won the Daytona 500 three times in 1978, 1982 and 1988 with the last one coming in a 1-2 finish with son Davey. He was 40 when he won his first Harley J Earl trophy and seemed to get better with experience. His driving career came to a close the year he won his last 500 due to a violent crash at Pocono that wiped much of his memory from that season. Tragically, he still has no memory of finishing 1-2 with Davey.
5. Dale Earnhardt
Dale Earnhardt was only able to capture the one Daytona 500 in 1998 but his overall body of work in Speedweeks includes a record six victories in the Busch Clash and 12 wins in the Duel at Daytona including every year from 1990 to 1999.
He put himself in position to win the Harley J. Earl more than once. He earned five runner-ups. He ran out of gas, had flat tires in sight of the finish and even hit a seagull at full speed. It made 1998 all the sweeter.
4. Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin has become one of the best at Daytona all since turning 30. He has three victories in the Great American Race but his stats since 2014 are incredible — 2, 4, 1, 17, 3, 1, 1, 5, 36 and 17.
3. Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon’s decade of dominance in the 90s and 2000s included an exceptional run in the Great American Race. He won thrice in 1997, 1999 and 2005 with two poles in 1999 and 2015.
2. Cale Yarborough
Cale Yarborough is second on the all-time win list in Cup races at Daytona International with nine overall. Four of them are in the Daytona 500 in 1968, 1977, 1983 and 1984. He has 20 top-5s and 27 top-10s in 57 starts. He also has 12 overall poles in races at Daytona.
1. Richard Petty
He’s called The King for a reason. Richard Petty won the Great American Race seven times. He also participated in two of the most iconic finishes in race history. He and David Pearson crashed on the final lap in 1976 with Pearson limping across the line to take the win. Three years later, Petty won when Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison wrecked each other on the backstretch during the final lap. He had 28 top-fives and 37 top-10 finishes at Daytona.