Posted on January 31, 2008

Best And Worst Daytona 500 Drivers Of The Past 10 Years

by Ron Thornton About The Author	Email   Print

There are all sorts of methods and criteria one could use to determine just who were the best, and the worst, drivers at the Daytona 500 over the past decade.  Wins and finishes versus being broke down at the back of the back.  Some whiz bang points system formulated through minutes and minutes of hap hazard calculation.  Actually, I went with a more traditional method, and stuck with a driver's average track finish.  

I did take the liberty of putting a minimum of three Daytona 500's to qualify for the list, so I offer my apologies to David Ragan and David Gilliland right off the top.  Those two boys did so well last year, finishing 5th and 8th respectively in their first attempts at the Great American Race that they would have topped our charts.  Conversely, the nine worst ran only a single Daytona 500, so I went with longer term track records of excellence and, well, not so good results.

That leaves us with 58 drivers who were in the field for at least three Daytona 500 events over the past ten years, and the guys who top, or bottom, our list.  Which brings us to Jamie McMurray, who  simply has never been able to start his season with a bang, unless you include the sound of his car  crumpling up in his past four attempts.  His best finish is 31st, he has yet to finish on the lead lap, and though he managed to make it through 487 miles each of the past two years, he wrecked both times. He isn't alone. More than a handful of drivers who hope to be in the field in 2008 have an average finish of worse than 25th.  

Here is a look at the drivers who ran at least three Daytona 500's over the past ten years, including the number of races they ran over that time, and their average finish.  It makes some interesting reading.
    
58 - Jamie McMurray - 5 - 33.40
57 - Steve Park - 5 - 33.20
56 - Derrike Cope - 4 - 31.50
55 - Dave Marcis - 3 - 31.33
54 - Jeff Green - 6 - 30.83
53 - Kenny Wallace - 6 - 30.33
52 - John Andretti - 8 - 29.63
51 - Jimmy Spencer - 6 - 29.50
50 - Darrell Waltrip - 3 - 29.00
49 - Kyle Busch - 3 - 28.33
48 - Kevin Lepage - 6 - 26.33
47 - Martin Truex, Jr. - 3 - 26.33
46 - Carl Edwards  - 3 - 26.00
45 - Jerry Nadeau - 6 - 25.83
44 - Bobby Labonte - 10 - 25.80
43 - Dave Blaney - 8 - 25.38
42 - Scott Riggs - 3 - 25.00
41 - Bobby Hamilton - 5 - 24.80
40 - Geoffrey Bodine - 3 - 24.33
39 - Joe Nemechek - 10 - 23.80
38 - Mike Skinner - 7 - 23.71
37 - Ryan Newman - 6 - 23.67
36 - Ricky Rudd - 9 - 23.56
35 - Kyle Petty - 10 - 23.20
34 - Greg Biffle - 5 - 22.80
33 - Rick Mast - 3 - 22.67
32 - Jeff Burton - 10 - 22.50
31 - Brian Vickers - 3 - 22.33
30 - Ken Schrader - 10 - 22.30
29 - Matt Kenseth - 8 - 22.13
28 - Ricky Craven - 6 - 21.50
27 - Robert Pressley -     5 - 21.40
26 - Ward Burton - 7 - 21.14
25 - Terry Labonte - 8 - 21.13
24 - Stacy Compton - 3 - 21.00
23 - Tony Stewart - 9 - 20.89
22 - Sterling Marlin - 10 - 20.60
21 - Kurt Busch - 7 - 20.57
20 - Kasey Kahne - 4 - 20.25
19 - Robby Gordon - 7 - 19.57
18 - Jeremy Mayfield - 9 - 19.33
17 - Brett Bodine - 4 - 19.00
16 - Mike Wallace - 8 - 18.88
15 - Johnny Benson, Jr - 6 - 18.83
14 - Michael Waltrip - 10 - 18.30
13 - Mark Martin - 10 - 18.10
12 - Dale Jarrett - 10 - 17.80
11 - Casey Mears - 5 - 17.80
10 - Elliott Sadler - 9 - 16.56
9 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr - 8 - 15.50
8 - Bill Elliott - 7 - 15.29
7 - Jeff Gordon - 10 - 14.70
6 - Kevin Harvick - 6 - 14.50
5 - Chad Little - 3 - 13.00
4 - Rusty Wallace - 8 - 12.75
3 - Kenny Irwin, Jr - 3 - 12.00
2 - Jimmie Johnson - 6 - 11.33
1 - Dale Earnhardt - 4 - 9.00

The Intimidator won it all in 1998, finished second to Jeff Gordon in 1999, was 21st the next year, and was officially listed in 12th in the last race of his life.  

Though Johnson did not do so well in 2007, he shouldn't be a surprise here when you consider that he has a win and four Top Five finishes in six attempts.  Irwin might be a surprise.  He finished third in 1999, finishing 14th and 19th in his other two races.  Rusty Wallace never won the big race, but he had 5 Top Tens over the final eight of his career.  As for Chad Little, he was 7th, 9th, and 23rd in his final three bids between 1998 and 2000.

Time moves on and next year, when the 1998 stats drop from this chart, we will likely have a new leader, though Earnhardt did average 11.66 over his last three contests. Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr would improve their averages with Top Ten finishes, while Jeff Burton (40th in 1998), Mark Martin (38th), Dale Jarrett (34th), and Joe Nemechek (26th) need only to do better in 2008 than they did a decade ago.  

Still, I think it apropos that ten years after he won the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt tops our list for, possibly though not definitely, the final time.

You can contact Ron at thornton@speedwaymedia.com

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