Some great info on jayski about the D500.....
Daytona 500 Tidbits:
· The 2015 edition will be the 57th running of the Daytona 500.
· Although the first Daytona 500 was held in 1959, it has been the season-opener only since 1982.
· 530 drivers have competed in at least one Daytona 500; 314 in more than one.
· 35 drivers have won a Daytona 500.
· Youngest Daytona 500 winner: Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011 - 20 years, 0 months, 1 days)
· Oldest Daytona 500 winner: Bobby Allison (02/14/1988 - 50 years, 2 months, 11 days)
· 11 drivers have won more than one Daytona 500, led by Richard Petty with seven victories.
· The 11 drivers who have won the Daytona 500 more than once: Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four), Bobby Allison (three), Dale Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon (three), Bill Elliott (two), Matt Kenseth (two), Jimmie Johnson (two), Sterling Marlin (two), Michael Waltrip (two) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two).
· A driver has won back-to-back Daytona 500s three times. Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95).
· Seven drivers posted their career-first victory with a win in the Daytona 500: Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994), Michael Waltrip (2001) and Trevor Bayne (2011).
· Three other drivers posted their career-first victory in (points-paying) qualifying races: Johnny Rutherford (1963), Bobby Isaac (1964) and Earl Balmer (1966).
· Lee Petty, who won the inaugural Daytona 500, and Trevor Bayne, 2011 Daytona 500 champion, are the only two drivers to win the Daytona 500 in their first appearance.
· Active Daytona 500 winners and the number of NSCS starts in their careers when they won:
o Jeff Gordon won his first Daytona 500 on his 125th career start (1997). His second Daytona 500 win was on his 190th career start (1999) and the third Daytona 500 was on his 402nd career start (2005).
o Jimmie Johnson won his first on his 148th (2006) start and posted his second Daytona 500 win on his 400th career start (2013).
o Matt Kenseth won his first on his 329th start (2009) and his second Daytona 500 on his 437th career start (2012).
o Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first Daytona 500 on 148th start (2004) and his second on his 506th (2014).
o Kevin Harvick posted his Daytona 500 win on his 215th career start (2007).
o Ryan Newman posted his Daytona 500 win on his 225th career start (2008).
o Jamie McMurray posted his Daytona 500 win on his 259th career start (2011).
o Michael Waltrip won his first on his 463rd start (2001) and posted his second Daytona 500 win on his 535th career start (2003).
· Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500 with five; Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers with four (Earnhardt Jr. is tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough for second all-time with four).
· Dale Earnhardt had 12 top fives in his 23 Daytona 500 starts, more than any other driver. Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers in Daytona 500 top-five finishes with seven (eighth most all-time).
· Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty each posted a series leading 16 top 10s in the Daytona 500.
· Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip lead all active drivers in Daytona 500 top-10 finishes with nine.
· Only 10 drivers have an average finish of 10th or better in the Daytona 500, five of those competed in the Daytona 500 only once.
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a 12.7 average finish in 15 appearances, the best of the active drivers who have competed in more than one Daytona 500.
· 28 of the 35 drivers, who have won, participated in at least two Daytona 500s before visiting Victory Lane.
· Six drivers made 10 or more attempts before their first Daytona 500 victory: Dale Earnhardt (19), Buddy Baker (18), Darrell Waltrip (16), Bobby Allison (14), Michael Waltrip (14) and Sterling Marlin (12).
· The driver with the all-time most Daytona 500 starts without a victory is Dave Marcis with 33 races; the active drivers with the most starts without a Daytona 500 win is Joe Nemechek (19) and Tony Stewart (16).
· Kevin Harvick's 0.020-second margin of victory over Mark Martin in the 2007 Daytona 500 is the 12th-closest overall since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993, and the closest in a Daytona 500.
· Nine of the 56 Daytona 500s (16.3%) have been won from the Coors Light pole. The last to do so was Dale Jarrett in 2000. Jeff Gordon is the only active driver to accomplish the feat (1999).
· Cale Yarborough (1968, 1984) and Bill Elliott (1985, 1987) are the only two drivers to win the Daytona 500 from the Coors Light pole more than once.
· 16 of the 56 Daytona 500s (28.5%) have been won from the front row.
· 27 of the 56 Daytona 500s (48.2%) have been won from a top-five starting position.
· 41 of the 56 Daytona 500s (73.2%) have been won from a top 10 starting position
· Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 from the 39th starting position in 2009, the deepest a race winner has started.
· Five reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions have gone on to win the Daytona 500 the following season: Lee Petty (1959), Richard Petty (1973), Cale Yarborough (1977), Jeff Gordon (1999) and Dale Jarrett (2000).
· Five drivers have won the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the same season, Richard Petty has done it four times: Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2013), Jeff Gordon (1997), Richard Petty (1964, 1971, 1974, 1979), Cale Yarborough (1977) and Lee Petty (1959).
· Danica Patrick on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2013 became the first female in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to win a Coors Light pole for the Daytona 500 posting a speed of 196.434 mph.
· Janet Guthrie previously held the record for top starting position by a female NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, starting ninth twice in 1977 - at Talladega Superspeedway on Aug. 7, 1977 and at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 28, 1977.
· In 2012, Danica Patrick became the third female driver to compete in a Daytona 500 joining Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson
