Top 10 Driver Ratings at Daytona
Kyle Busch…………………………… 91.7
Ryan Blaney…………………………. 91.2
Kurt Busch…………………………… 90.2
Denny Hamlin……………………….. 89.4
Bubba Wallace……………………… 88.1
Joey Logano…………………………. 87.3
Jimmie Johnson…………………….. 86.3
Kevin Harvick……………………….. 82.7
Kasey Kahne………………………… 80.8
Brad Keselowski……………………. 79.8
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2018 races (27 total) among active drivers at Daytona International Speedway.
Daytona International Speedway:
History
· Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.
· The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959 – won by Bob Welborn.
· The first summer race at Daytona International Speedway was held on July 4, 1959 – won by Fireball Roberts (140.581 mph).
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
· Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the July race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under the lights ever since.
· The track underwent a repave in 2010.
· There have been 142 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 60 have been 500 miles, 55 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.
Starts
· 671 different drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway; 511 in more than one.
· 460 drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series July race at Daytona International Speedway; 289 in more than one.
· Richard Petty leads the series in July race starts at Daytona with 32.
· Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active series drivers with 17 starts each.
· A total of 178 drivers have made their first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona; only 19 have made their first start during the July race.
· Three active series drivers have made their first career start at Daytona International Speedway, though none were during the July race: Kasey Kahne (2/15/04), Alex Bowman (2/23/14), Daniel Suárez (2/26/17) and William Byron (2/18/2018).
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts leads the series in average starting position at Daytona with a 5.412 in 17 starts. He also leads the series in average starting position in the Daytona July race with a 2.200 in five starts.
· Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the series in average starting position at Daytona with a 6.400 in five starts. Jimmie Johnson leads the series in average starting position in the Daytona July race with a 10.375 in 16 starts.
Poles
· A total of 60 different drivers have posted at least one Busch pole in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona; 24 drivers have posted more than one.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough leads the series in poles at Daytona with 12 poles.
· Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson lead all active series drivers in Daytona poles with two each.
· 40 of the 60 drivers have posted Busch Pole Awards at Daytona for the July event, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough with eight; followed by Sterling Marlin with three.
· Only three active drivers have posted a pole for the Daytona July race: Kevin Harvick (2002), Paul Menard (2008) and Kyle Busch (2013).
· Fireball Roberts won the inaugural Busch pole for the July race at Daytona in 1959 with a speed of 144.997 mph.
· Three drivers have won consecutive Busch poles for the July race at Daytona: Cale Yarborough (1969-’70; 1980-’81, 1983-’84), Sterling Marlin (1991-’92) and Dale Earnhardt (1994-’95).
· Youngest Daytona July race pole winner: Jeff Gordon (07/06/1996 – 24 years, 11 months, 2 days); all-time track record belongs to Chase Elliott (02/21/2016 – 20 years, 2 months, 24 days).
· Oldest Daytona pole winner: Mark Martin (07/02/2011 – 52 years, 5 months, 23 days).
· 16 different drivers have posted their first series career Busch pole at Daytona International Speedway – nine during Speedweeks in February and seven for the July race.
· Five active drivers have posted their first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch pole at Daytona International Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (2/17/02), Kevin Harvick (7/6/02), Paul Menard (7/5/08), Austin Dillon (2/23/14) and Chase Elliott (2/21/16).
Wins
· 63 different drivers have posted at least one Monster Energy Series win at Daytona, 28 drivers have multiple series wins at Daytona.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in Daytona wins with 10.
· Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in Daytona wins with three. Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick are the only other two active drivers with multiple Daytona wins (two each).
· Of the 63 winning drivers, 37 of them have won the July race at Daytona International Speedway, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson with five wins.
· Eight active drivers are tied with a single series July race win at Daytona – Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
· Five drivers have posted consecutive July race wins at Daytona International Speedway: Fireball Roberts (1962-1963), A.J. Foyt (1964-1965), Cale Yarborough (1967-1968) David Pearson (1972 – 1974) and Tony Stewart (2005-2006).
· Youngest Daytona July race winner: Kyle Busch (07/01/2008 – 23 years, 2 months, 3 days); all-time track record – Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011 – 20 years, 0 months, 1 day).
· Oldest Daytona July race winner: Bobby Allison (07/04/1987 – 49 years, 7 months, 1 day); all-time track record – Bobby Allison (02/14/1988 – 50 years, 5 months, 23 days).
· The Wood Brothers have the most wins at Daytona in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with 15; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 14.
· Nine of the 59 (15.5%) July Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona have been won from the Pole or first starting position; six from the Pole and three from the first starting position when qualifying was cancelled. The most recent was the 2015 July race – winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
· The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (nine) than any other starting position in the July race at Daytona International Speedway.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Daytona is 42nd, by Tony Stewart in the 2012 July race.
· A total of 18 drivers have posted their first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona.
· Three active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Daytona International Speedway; two were during the July race: Aric Almirola (07/06/2014), David Ragan (07/02/2011) and Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011).
· Kasey Kahne leads the series among active drivers with the most Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona without visiting Victory Lane at 29.
Additional Finishing Position Stats
· A total of 38 different drivers have finished runner-up in the Monster Energy Series in the Daytona July race, led by Buddy Baker with five second-place finishes; followed by Richard Petty and Sterling Marlin with four.
· Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch lead all active drivers in runner-up finishes in the July Daytona race with three each.
· A total of 104 different series drivers have finished in the top-five in the July race at Daytona, led by David Pearson with 13 top fives; followed by Richard Petty with 12.
· Kurt Busch leads all active series drivers in top-five finishes in the July Daytona race with seven.
· A total of 176 different series drivers have finished in the top-10 in the July Daytona race, led by David Pearson with 19 top 10s; followed by Dale Earnhardt with 18.
· Kurt Busch leads all active series drivers in top-10 finishes in the July Daytona race with nine.
· Bubba Wallace and Vic Parsons lead the series in average finishing position at Daytona with an 8.5 in two starts each.
· Cotton Owens leads the series in average finishing position at Daytona in the July races with a 5.000 in two starts.
· Austin Dillon leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Daytona in the July race with a 13.75.
Track / Event Stats
· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway for the July race is the July 7, 2007 event won by Jamie McMurray over Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.005 second.
· Seven of the MENCS July races at Daytona have resulted with NASCAR Overtime.
· Only two of the 59 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series July races at Daytona International Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions.
· Qualifying for the July race has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway four times: 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2015.
· Dale Earnhardt leads the series in laps led at Daytona with 1,286 laps led in 46 starts. Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with 407 laps led in 25 starts.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough leads the series in laps led in the July races at Daytona with 644 laps led in 22 starts.
· Brad Keselowski leads the series among active drivers in laps led in the July race at Daytona with 152 laps led; followed Jimmie Johnson (141) and Denny Hamlin (140).
· Fewest laps led by a July race winner at Daytona is one lap led by Jimmy Spencer in 1994. The fewest laps led by an active July race winner at Daytona are three laps led by Jamie McMurray in 2007.
Female Competitor Stats At Daytona
· A total of six female drivers have competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona. Danica Patrick, Janet Guthrie, Christine Beckers, Lella Lombardi, Patty Moise and Shawna Robinson. All six have competed in the July race.
· Janet Guthrie was the first female competitor to race at Daytona International Speedway in 1976. She started 33rd and raced her way up to a 15th-place finish.
NASCAR in Florida
· There has been a total of 382 NASCAR national series races in the state of Florida among 10 different tracks.
· The first NASCAR premiere series race in the state of Florida was held at the Daytona Beach & Road Course on 7/10/1949. The 40 lap event was won by Red Byron (Oldsmobile, 80.883 mph).
Florida Drivers In NASCAR
· 181 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Florida; 11 of the 181 (6.1%) have recorded at least one victory in NASCAR national series competition.
· Eight Florida drivers have won in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; led by Fireball Roberts with 33 victories.
· Of the eight Florida native drivers who have won in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, only Fireball Roberts, LeeRoy Yarborough and Aric Almirola have won the July race at Daytona.
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