NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago

RFK Racing are set to bring back the No. 60 for David Ragan in the 2024 Daytona 500, a number not used in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2011.

RFK Racing confirmed that they are set to add a third car for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

After his 17-year streak of competing in the Cup Series in some capacity — and his 16-year streak of competing in the Daytona 500 — came to an end in 2023, David Ragan is set to drive the No. 60 Ford in the “Great American Race”, provided he qualifies via either the single-car qualifying session or the Bluegreen Vacations Duels.

Should the 37-year-old Unadilla, Georgia native successfully qualify for the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval, it will mark the first appearance of a No. 60 car in the Cup Series since 2011.

Mike Skinner was the most recent driver of a No. 60 car in the NASCAR Cup Series.

There have been just 352 races throughout Cup Series history in which a No. 60 car has been entered. The number’s lone win came in 1950, when Bill Rexford won at Canfield Speedway.

The No. 60 was most recently used in 2011 by Germain Racing. Mike Skinner is the most recent driver of a No. 60 car, having driven it that October at Kansas Speedway, when he failed to qualify. Dave Blaney is the driver who most recently drove a No. 60 car in a race, when he competed that September at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

No. 60 is actually a former RFK Racing (Roush Racing) number that they never got to use in the Cup Series, despite having run it for many years in the Xfinity Series.

They added the No. 60 Ford to their Cup Series lineup 1998, but Matt Kenseth failed to qualify for the April race at Talladega Superspeedway. Kenseth returned to the team part-time in 1999, but the car was renumbered to No. 17.

From 2000 to 2012, Kenseth drove the No. 17 Ford full-time, winning the championship in 2003 and the Daytona 500 in both 2009 and 2012. The No. 17 Ford has seen just two drivers since, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. driving it from 2013 to 2019 and Chris Buescher taking over in 2020.

Buescher won three races en route to a round of 8 appearance in what was a resurgent 2023 season for the team.

The 66th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 18. Single-car qualifying is scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, and the Bluegreen Vacations Duels are scheduled for Thursday, February 15.