10 Best Drivers Never To Win Daytona 500

For every NASCAR driver, their dream is to win the Daytona 500.
Many of the sport's legends like Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and Jeff Gordon won it multiple times while others like Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, and David Pearson had to wait several years to capture the checkered flag in the "Great American Race".
Then there are those other legends who never got to achieve that dream of driving to victory lane after NASCAR's Super Bowl, which has complied me to come up with a list of the 10 greatest drivers who never won the Daytona 500.
Before the countdown, a few ground rules: First, the driver can't be still racing, so drivers like Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski are not included on the list; Second, the driver must have competed in multiple Daytona 500s and had the bulk of his career success from 1959, when the inaugural race was held, onward so drivers like Tim Flock and Herb Thomas are not included on this list.
With that explained, here now are the 10 best drivers to never to win the Daytona 500(though it's actually 11):
 10. Ricky Rudd

"The Rooster" won 23 Cup races over his three-decade career, but none of them were to victory lane in Daytona.
Rudd raced in 30 Daytona 500s, finishing in the top-10 ten times, with those four of those coming in the top 5.
Rudd's best career finish in the 500 was a third-place finish in 1981, but his most memorable effort came in 1984 where he finished 8th as he raced with tape on his face to open his swollen eyes and a flat jacket after suffering torn cartilage in his rib cage after a crash one week before in the Busch Clash.

9. Carl Edwards

Twenty-eight times in his career, Edwards did a backflip in celebration after a Cup win, but he never got to perform his signature celebration at Daytona.
Edwards ran in the Daytona 500 every year from 2005 to 2016, with his best career finish coming in 2011 when he finished 2nd to 20-year-old rookie Trevor Bayne.
8. Rex White

White was one of top drivers in NASCAR in the late 1950s and early 1960s as he won 28 races in a five-year span from 1958-1962 and won the 1960 Cup championship.
White participated in the first five Daytona 500s with his best finish being eighth in 1963, which was his last 500 as he would retire from the sport one year later.
7. Joe Weatherly

Like White, Weatherly was one of the best drivers in the NASCAR Cup series in the early 1960s as he would win 25 races and back-to-back championships in 1962 + 63.
And just like White, Weatherly raced in the first five Daytona 500s, complying three top-5s as he finished 5th in 1959, 3rd in 1962, and a career best in 1961.
Weatherly seemed destined to be a favorite for the 1964 Daytona 500, but was tragically killed in a accident during the race  at Riverside International Raceway on January 19, 1964, one month before that year's Daytona 500.
6. Terry + Bobby Labonte

The Labonte brothers were so good that I decided to combine them as one to put on this list.
Terry and his younger brother Bobby combined to win 43 Cup races(Terry-22, Bobby-21) and three championships(Terry-1984 + 96, Bobby-2000) but neither one made it to victory lane at Daytona.
Terry raced in 32 Daytona 500s finishing 2nd three times(1986, 1990, 1997) while Bobby raced in 22 finishing 2nd in 1998 to Dale Earnhardt.
5. Bobby Isaac

Along with Richard Petty and David Pearson, Bobby Isaac was one of the top drivers in NASCAR in the late 1960s and early 1970s as he amassed 35 career wins and the 1970 Cup Championship.
Isaac had success at Daytona winning four times in the qualifying races for the 500 and the 1971 Firecracker 400, but never in the 500.
Isaac qualified on the front row three times for the 500, including starting on the pole in 1972, but could not capture checkered flag in the Great American Race as his best career finish would come in 1973 when he finished 2nd to Petty.
4. Mark Martin

Martin is considered the best driver in NASCAR history to never win a Cup championship as he finished 2nd in points five times over his long career which featured 40 Cup wins.
Martin participated in 29 Daytona 500s, including every one from 1988-2013, where he amassed seven top-5 finishes and 12 top-10 finishes, with his best finish being a close 2nd in 2007 where he was beat out by a few feet by Kevin Harvick.

3. Rusty Wallace

Rusty is the winningest driver to never win the Daytona 500 as he notched 55 wins over his career and won the 1989 Cup championship.

However, the 500 eluded him in his 23 tries which included a frightening crash in the 1993 race.

Wallace finished with three top-5s and eight top-10 finishes in his Daytona 500 career, with his closest call coming in 1999 when he finished 8th after leading a race-high 104 laps, only to be passed by Jeff Gordon with 11 laps to go.

2. Ned Jarrett

"Gentlemen Ned" was a 2-time Cup champion(1961 + 65) and won 50 Cup races but none of them came in the Great American Race.
Jarrett ran in seven Daytona 500s finishing in the top 10 in all but one and finishing in the top five twice, with best showing coming in 1963 when he came in 3rd place and led 26 laps.
While Ned never won the 500, he was in the broadcast booth for all three of his son Dale's wins, including the memorable 1993 500 when Jarrett passed Dale Earnhardt on the final lap.

1. Tony Stewart

Stewart was one of the best drivers in NASCAR history as he won 49 Cup races and three championships during his Hall-of-Fame career.
But "Smoke" never got the win in NASCAR's Super Bowl despite 17 career wins at Daytona(7 Xfinity Series wins, 4 400-mile wins, 3 qualifying race wins, and 3 Busch Clashes)and some notable close calls.
In 2004, Stewart finished 2nd after he was passed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 20 laps to go after leading a race-high 98 laps.
The following year, Stewart would once again lead the most laps, this time leading 107 laps, only to be passed by Earnhardt Jr with five laps to go as Jeff Gordon would go on to win the race while Stewart faded to a 7th-place finish.
After a 5th place finish in 2006, Stewart seemed poised to finally grab his first career Daytona 500 in 2007 as he was leading the race on lap 152 when his car got loose and crashed in turn 4, knocking him out of the race.

Then in 2008, Stewart grabbed the lead with three laps to go and was leading on the final lap only to be passed by Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch on the backstretch as Newman would go on to win while Stewart finished 3rd.

Stewart would never get this close again as he would finish outside of the top 10 in last six Daytona 500s from 2010-2015, though he did got to experience a Daytona 500 win as a car owner as Kurt Busch drove to victory in 2017 driving for Stewart.