NASCAR: The Five Greatest Drivers To Never Win The Daytona 500

Rusty Wallace

The 1989 Cup Champion has many accolades in his career, but unfortunately, a victory in the Daytona 500 is not one of them. One of the primary reasons why Rusty may have never won this event was his lack of success on the restrictor-plate tracks. Rusty never picked up a victory at Daytona or Talladega in his career, and has been remembered more for his wrecks at these races than any successes.

His best finish in 23 races in the Daytona 500 was a third in 2001, but he was never really a contender in that infamous finish. He was only able to achieve a top-five in three of his Daytona 500 starts and led only four 500 starts. Rusty’s best shot at winning the 500 was in the 1999 running, where he led the most laps but was shuffled out of contention late, finishing eighth in the second of Jeff Gordon’s three Daytona 500 victories.

Rusty is the driver with the most victories in Cup history who was not able to reach the hallowed grounds of Daytona’s Victory Lane with 55 career victories. His Cup Series title and status as a legend of the short tracks most likely make up for the lack of a Daytona 500 victory, but I am sure Rusty Wallace wishes he could have one more shot at winning the Great American Race.

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