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At the 358th attempt, Michael Mcdowell finally scored his first NASCAR Cup victory on the biggest stage of them all, the Daytona 500. Here’s how the Front Row driver’s long wait stacks up
JOHNNY BENSON JR (226)
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Mark Martin is one of the most respected names in NASCAR, so MBV Pontiac driver Benson Jr’s first Cup Series win at Rockingham (North Carolina, not Corby) in 2002 was made all the more special for fending off the veteran, leading only the last 28 of 393 laps. The champion of the second-tier Busch Series in 1995 never managed another Cup victory, but achieved more success in the Truck Series, winning the 2008 title. DAVE MARCIS (227)
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The fourth-most experienced driver in Cup history with 883 starts, the indie stalwart had technically claimed his first victory five years prior to his first officially recognised win at Martinsville in 1975. After making his Cup debut at the 1968 Daytona 500 – his first of 33 in all – Marcis had won by two laps at Bristol in 1970 after relieving Bobby Allison. He scored five Cup wins before finally retiring, aged 61, in 2002.
STERLING MARLIN (279)
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The analogy of waiting all day for a bus only for two to arrive at once is familiar to Marlin, the 1994 Daytona 500 winner repeating his success the following year. Although he made his debut in 1976, Marlin didn’t become a Cup regular until the following decade, earning the first of nine runner-up finishes at Daytona’s Firecracker 400 in 1986. His first of 10 Cup wins finally arrived on his Morgan-mcclure Motorsports debut in 1994.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL (358)
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A talented road-course racer who won a Grand-am sportcar race in Mexico City in 2005, Mcdowell was an in-demand Xfinity ringer in the last decade, but has struggled to establish himself in largely mid-pack teams in Cup. His best showings have been on superspeedways and the 36-year-old was, arguably, still best-known for his scary 2008 qualifying crash in Texas until the final-lap Daytona shunt cleared his path to victory.
MICHAEL WALTRIP (463)
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What should have been one of the best days of Waltrip’s life, as he at last broke his duck in the 2001 Daytona 500, was totally overshadowed by the fatal crash of his car-owner Dale Earnhardt. The younger brother of three-time champion Darrell prevailed in a 20-lap sprint on his DEI debut following a red flag and led Dale Earnhardt Jr to the flag, unaware of the unfolding tragedy behind him until he reached Victory Lane.