Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Coke Zero Sugar 400

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida going into the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale.

Daytona International Speedway Stats & Tidbits:

RACE SPECIFICS
Season Race #: 25 of 36 (08-23-25)
The Purse: $9,797,935
Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles
Stage 1 Length: 35 laps (Ends on Lap 35)
Stage 2 Length: 60 laps (Ends on Lap 95)
Final Stage Length: 65 laps (Ends on Lap 160)

TRACK SPECIFICS
Track Size: 2.5-mile
Banking/Turns: 31 degrees
Banking/Straights: 3 degrees
Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 3,800 feet
Backstretch Length: 3,000 feet

QUALIFYING & RACE RECORDS

Track qualifying record (Summer race): Cale Yarborough, Ford, 203.519 mph, 44.222 secs., July 2, 1986
Track race record (Summer race): Bobby Allison, Mercury, 173.473 mph, (02:18:21), July 4, 1980
2024 Summer Daytona pole winner: Michael McDowell, Ford, 183.165 mph, 49.136 secs., August 23, 2024
2024 Summer Daytona race winner: Harrison Burton, Ford, 135.413 mph, (03:01:40), August 24, 2024

HISTORY

• The groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was November 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 track is located in the heart of Daytona Beach, Florida and stretches a total 2.5-miles with 31 degrees of banking in the four turns and 18 degrees of banking in the tri-oval where the start/finish line is located.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on February 20, 1959 – the race was won by Bob Welborn.
• The first summer race at Daytona International Speedway was held on July 4, 1959 – won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts (140.581 mph) driving a 1959 Pontiac for car owner Jim Stephens. The race was just 250 miles in length. The first 400-mile summer Daytona event was on July 4, 1963, also won by Fireball Roberts.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona International Speedway – a record for wins in the NASCAR Cup Series to this day.
• Lights were installed in the spring of 1998 at the track. 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 Daytona International Speedway underwent a repave in 2010.
• The 2016 season marked the next phase in the existence of Daytona International Speedway as the DAYTONA Rising project was completed, ushering in the first ‘motorsports stadium,’ a 400-million-dollar project.
• There have been 156 NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 67 have been 500 miles, 62 were 400 miles and four were 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.

STARTS

• A total of 711 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway; 544 have competed in more than one.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Daytona International Speedway with 74 starts.
• Top five (All-time) in Cup Daytona starts: Richard Petty (74), Dave Marcis (67), Buck Baker (64), Terry Labonte (63), Bill Elliott (60), Ricky Rudd (60).
• Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Daytona appearances with 40 starts.
• Top five (Active) in Cup Daytona starts: Kyle Busch (40), Denny Hamlin (39), Joey Logano (33), Brad Keselowski (32) and Michael McDowell (28).
• A total of 190 different drivers have made their first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona International Speedway – the most recent are Helio Castroneves (2/16/2025), Riley Herbst (2/19/2023) and Travis Pastrana (2/19/2023).
• Of the 190 drivers that made their first start at Daytona, 19 made it during the summer Daytona races.

Drivers that made their first career Cup start in the Summer race at Daytona

• Of the 19 drivers that made their first start during the summer Daytona races, Lionel Johnson posted the best finish of 10th after starting 30th on July 4, 1965. Johnson was driving a 1964 Ford for car owner Clay Eastridge.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Daytona International Speedway with a 5.412 in 17 starts.
• Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Daytona International Speedway with a 10.684 in 19 total starts.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

POLES

• A total of 66 different drivers have won the pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway.
• A total of 26 different drivers have won more than one pole in the Cup Series at Daytona.
• Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole for the summer race at Daytona International Speedway in 1959 with a speed of 144.997 mph driving a 1959 Pontiac.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Daytona with 12 (Feb. 1968, July 1969, 1970 sweep, 1978 sweep, July 1980, July 1981, July 1983, 1984 sweep, July 1986).
• Chase Elliott (Feb. 2016, Feb. 2017, and July 2018) and Alex Bowman (Feb. 2018, Feb. 2021 and Feb. 2023) lead all active series drivers in poles at Daytona with three each.
• This weekend, 10 of 66 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona pole winners are active.

• Eight of Cale Yarborough’s 12 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona poles are from the summer race, which is also the series-most for that event (1969, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986).
• Three drivers have won consecutive poles for the summer race at Daytona: Cale Yarborough (1969-’70; 1980-’81, 1983-’84), Sterling Marlin (1991-’92) and Dale Earnhardt (1994-’95).
• Youngest Cup summer Daytona race pole winner: Chase Elliott (July 7, 2018 – 22 years, 7 months, 9 days); the all-time track record is also held by Chase Elliott (February 21, 2016 – 20 years, 2 months, 24 days).
• Oldest Cup summer Daytona race pole winner: Mark Martin (July 2, 2011 – 52 years, 5 months, 23 days).
• A total of 17 different drivers have posted their first series career pole at Daytona International Speedway – 10 during Speedweeks in February and seven during the races held in the Summer months.

• A total of 39 different organizations in the NASCAR Cup Series have won a pole at Daytona International Speedway.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads all organizations in poles at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series with 23 poles – 16 DAYTONA 500 poles and seven summer race poles.
• Hendrick Motorsports has won 16 DAYTONA 500 poles, the series-most: Ken Schrader (1988, 1989, 1990), Jeff Gordon (1999, 2015), Jimmie Johnson (2002, 2008), Mark Martin (2010), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2011), Chase Elliott (2016, 2017), Alex Bowman (2018, 2021, 2023), William Byron (2019), Kyle Larson (2022).
• Hendrick Motorsports has seven summer race Daytona poles (series-most) among six drivers: Darrell Waltrip (7/2/88), Greg sacks (7/7/90), Jeff Gordon (7/6/96 and 7/3/04), Mark Martin (7/2/11), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7/1/17), Chase Elliott (7/7/2018).
• Nine different manufacturers have won the pole at Daytona, led by Chevrolet (53) and followed by Ford (28), Pontiac (15), Mercury (10), Dodge (nine), Oldsmobile (six), Plymouth (two), Toyota (two) and Buick (one).
• Chevrolet holds the record for the most consecutive poles in Cup Series Daytona races with nine straight from 2017-2023.

WINS

• A total of 71 different drivers have posted at least one NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona International Speedway.
• A total of 32 different drivers have won multiple times in the Cup Series at Daytona.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Daytona International Speedway with 10 wins (Feb. 1964, Feb. 1966, Feb. 1971, Feb. 1973, Feb. 1974, July 1975, July 1977, Feb. 1979, Feb. 1981, July 1984).
• Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Daytona wins with three (Feb. 2016, Feb. 2019, Feb. 2020).
• NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the Cup Series in summer race victories at Daytona with five wins (1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978).
• This weekend, 13 of the 71 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona International Speedway race winners are active.

• Youngest Daytona Summer race winner: Justin Haley (07/07/2019 – 20 years, 2 months, 9 days); the all-time track record is held by Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011 – 20 years, 0 months, 1 day).
• Oldest Daytona Summer race winner: Bobby Allison (07/04/1987 – 49 years, 7 months, 1 day); the all-time track record is held by Bobby Allison (02/14/1988 – 50 years, 5 months, 23 days).
• Five drivers have posted consecutive summer race wins at Daytona International Speedway: Fireball Roberts (1962-1963), J. Foyt (1964-1965), Cale Yarborough (1967-1968) David Pearson (three: 1972-1974) and Tony Stewart (2005-2006). None of the active drivers have multiple summer race Daytona wins.
• Five drivers have swept both NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona in a single season – the DAYTONA 500 and the summer race:
  • Fireball Roberts – 1962 (Daytona 500, Firecracker 250);
  • Cale Yarborough – 1968 (Daytona 500, Firecracker 400);
  • LeeRoy Yarborough – 1969 (Daytona 500, Firecracker 400);
  • Bobbie Allison – 1982 (Daytona 500, Firecracker 400);
  • Jimmie Johnson – 2013 (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola)
• A total of 24 different drivers have posted their first NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona International Speedway; 12 of the 24 drivers posted their first win in the summer race.
• Of the 24 different drivers that posted their first NASCAR Cup Series career win at Daytona International Speedway; Justin Haley started the deepest in the field at Daytona to win his first race, with a 34th-place starting position.

NASCAR Cup Series First-Time Winners at Daytona International Speedway (All-Time)

• Five of the last 11 races in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway have produced first-time winners in the series – Justin Haley (2019-2), William Byron (2020-2), Michael McDowell (2021-1) and Austin Cindric (2022-1), Harrison Burton (2024-2).
• Five of the last seven NASCAR Cup Series Daytona summer races were won by drivers getting their first win of the season.
• A total of 29 different starting positions have produced winners in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway.
• A total of 26 of the 156 NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway have been won from the pole or first starting position (16.8%) – the most proficient starting position in the field.
• The youngest driver to win from the pole or first starting position at Daytona in the summer races was Fireball Roberts at the age of 30 years, 5 months and 3 days and did so on July 4, 1959.
• The most recent driver to win from the pole or first starting position at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series was NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2015 July race (Qualifying was cancelled for this event).
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Daytona is 42nd, by Tony Stewart in the 2012 July race.

NASCAR Cup Series Wins by Starting Positions at Daytona

• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series with 17 victories.

Hendrick Motorsports Wins at Daytona

• Wood Brothers Racing has the second most wins at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series with 15 among seven drivers.

Wood Brothers Racing Wins at Daytona

• Nine different manufacturers have won points-paying races in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona, led by Chevrolet with 52, followed by Ford (42), Dodge (15), Pontiac (14), Mercury (13), Buick (6), Plymouth (6), Toyota (5), Oldsmobile (3).

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes:

• A total of 73 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have finished runner-up at Daytona.
• Buddy Baker leads the NASCAR Cup Series in runner-up finishes at Daytona with eight second-place finishes.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Daytona with five (2025, 2019, 2016, 2007, 2006).

Top Five in Runner-Up Finishes at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

Top-Five Finishes:

• A total of 169 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have finished in the top-five at Daytona.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Daytona with 28 top fives.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active Cup Series drivers in top-five finishes at Daytona with 11.

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

Top-10 Finishes:

• A total of 288 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have finished in the top-10 at Daytona.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in top-10 finishes at Daytona with 37 top 10s.
• Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch leads all active Cup Series drivers in top-10 finishes at Daytona with 12 each.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

Average Finish:

• Vic Parsons leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Daytona with an 8.5 in two starts.
• John H. Nemechek leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Daytona with a 9.800 in five starts.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 208 different drivers have led at least one lap in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Daytona with 1,286 laps led out of 7,485 laps completed (17.1%) in 46 starts.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active series drivers in laps led at Daytona with 682 laps led out of 6,544 laps completed (10.8%) in 39 starts – he is ranked eighth on the all-time list.
• The most laps led in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway by the race winner is 184 of the scheduled 200 laps (92%) by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty in the 1964 Daytona 500.
• The most laps led in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway by a driver that did not win the race is 170 of the 187 scheduled laps (90.9%) by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts in the 1961 Daytona 500 – he finished 20th in the event.
• Nine times the NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Daytona International Speedway has led just the final lap; most recent was the 2024 Summer Daytona race:

Top 10 Lap Leaders at Daytona races (All-time & Active)

TRACK / EVENT STATS

• Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway is the July 7, 2007 event won by Jamie McMurray over Kyle Busch with a margin of victory of 0.005 second.

Top Five Closest Margins of Victory in the NASCAR Cup Series Race at Daytona

• A total of 25 NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway have resulted with Overtime finishes:

• The NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions eight times:

• Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway six times: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019 and 2022.
• Qualifying at Daytona was also cancelled due to the pandemic restrictions – starting lineups were set by Metric Qualifying in 2020 and 2021.

FEMALE COMPETITORS

• A total of six female drivers have competed in the 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.
• The best finish by a female driver in the NACAR Cup Series in the summer race at Daytona was Danica Patrick’s eighth-place finish in 2014.

NASCAR IN FLORIDA

• A total of 375 NASCAR national series points-paying races have been held in the state of Florida among 11 different tracks.

• The first NASCAR Cup Series race in the state of Florida was held at the Daytona Beach & Road Course on July 10, 1949 – the inaugural season for the series. The 40-lap event was won by Red Byron (Oldsmobile, 80.883 mph).

FLORIDA IN NASCAR

• A total of 199 different drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Florida.
• With 13 of the 199 having recorded at least one victory in NASCAR national series competition.
• Of the nine Florida native drivers who have won in the NASCAR Cup Series, only Fireball Roberts, LeeRoy Yarborough and Aric Almirola have won the summer race at Daytona.

— NASCAR —