NASCAR: Top 10 drivers at Daytona of all-time
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Races: 36
- Wins: 4
- Top 5 finishes: 13
- Top 10 finishes: 19
- Average finish: 14.78
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had an interesting career, a career that has possibly been the most drama-filled of all-time. Earnhardt Jr. may have never been able to win a championship, but he drove like a champion anytime he came to Daytona.
Daytona was always like Christmas to JR Nation, and Santa Dale gifted them with two Daytona 500 victories in his career. He is arguably the best restrictor plate driver of this generation.
I ranked Earnhardt Jr. over Jeff Gordon mainly because he has ten fewer starts at Daytona and while Gordon has two more wins, Earnhardt Jr.’s statistics are nearly identical to Gordon’s and he has a better average finish.
Also, over the last ten years, Earnhardt Jr. is the driver with a bigger reputation at Daytona when compared to that of Gordon.
With his statistics being what they are, I feel confident giving the edge to Earnhardt Jr. over Gordon under the assumption that if given ten more Daytona starts, Earnhardt Jr. would bolster those statistics and possibly even add two more wins.
5. Fireball Roberts
- Races: 17
- Wins: 7
- Top 5 finishes: 8
- Top 10 finishes: 10
- Average finish: 15.82
The only times Fireball Roberts finished outside of the top 10 at Daytona were when he had mechanical issues. He nearly won the race every other time and never finished outside of the top 10.
His starts at the track are minuscule compared to others, which makes it hard to rank him in the top 5, but considering that he won nearly half of the races in which he competed at the track, I’m going to have to make an exception.
Sadly Roberts perished in a crash at Charlotte Motor Speedway when he was 35 years old. By NASCAR standards, he was in his prime years. I believe much more success would have awaited the great Fireball Roberts had he not passed away when he did.