DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — To win the Daytona 500, drivers and their teams need to get as close to a perfect performance as possible — and even then, it doesn’t always work out. Just ask Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch or Martin Truex Jr.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ season opener and biggest race of the year is also one of the most unpredictable and challenging to win, largely because of the chaos and multi-car (and sometimes terrifying) wrecks that are practically a given throughout the 200 laps on Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. Besides having talent, a fast car and a strong pit crew, drivers also need a little bit of luck to avoid becoming collateral damage in wild crashes where they’re simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Luck can also come with experience. But despite each having more than a decade of Cup experience, Keselowski, Busch and Truex are three of NASCAR’s best drivers, and they’ve never taken the most coveted checkered flag on the schedule.
So ahead of Sunday’s 2021 season opener, here’s a breakdown of the stats behind three top veteran drivers who have never won the Daytona 500.
