NASCAR: Top 10 drivers at Daytona of all-time

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CHARLOTTE, NC – JANUARY 22: Cale Yarborough (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR) /

3. Cale Yarborough

Races: 57
Wins: 9
Top 5 finishes: 20
Top 10 finishes: 27
Average finish: 17.44

Now we’re getting into the heavy hitters. These next three men have success at Daytona that will quite possibly never be matched.

His fight with Donnie Allison in the infield grass is what he’s remembered for at Daytona but he should be remembered as a 4x Champion of the Daytona 500.

Cale Yarborough is second all-time in wins at Daytona with nine but ranks 3rd on my list. The reason for this is the fact that his DNF rate is very high, which is reflected in his average finishing position.

With 25 DNF’s, Yarborough came close to not even completing half of his trips to Daytona. That’s ultimately what keeps him from claiming the top spot on this list.

Outside of that, every race that did not end in a DNF for him other than one, he finished in the top 20. Engine problems and being unable to avoid accidents were essentially his biggest obstacles along with his iconic fight with Donnie Allison.

You can’t look past nine wins at the track, though. For all of his bad luck, he found a lot of success and was able to win the Daytona 500 four times, a record only bested by the next man on this list.

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