Daytona 500 winners by year: Every driver who has won NASCAR's most famous race

Ellen J. Horrow, USA TODAY

February 15, 2023 at 6:50 PM·2 min read

The Daytona 500 has produced kings, kicked off championship dynasties, cemented legacies and lifted relative unknowns into the biggest spotlight.

The "Great American Race" has been held 66 times, with the patriarch of the Petty family, Lee Petty, taking the first Daytona 500 checkered flag in 1959. His son, Richard "The King" Petty, holds the record for most Daytona 500 victories, winning the first of his seven Harley J. Earl trophies in 1964.

Five other drivers have won NASCAR's premier event at least three times: Cale Yarborough (four), Bobby Allison (three), Dale Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon (three) and Denny Hamlin (three).

Jimmie Johnson, who won twice, began a run of five consecutive Cup Series championships after winning the 2006 race, while his Daytona triumph in 2013 kicked off a season that led to his sixth Cup title at the end of the year (Johnson would later add a record-tying seventh Cup championship in 2016).

William Byron won the 2024 Daytona 500, joining Gordon, Johnson and three others to win as Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Byron's victory was Hendrick's ninth as an owner, tying Petty Enterprises for most Daytona 500 wins by a team.

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William Byron (24) poses with the Harley J. Earl Trophy after winning the 2024 Daytona 500.

Here are the Daytona 500 winners by year:

1959: Lee Petty

1960: Junior Johnson

1961: Marvin Panch

1962: Fireball Roberts

1963: Tiny Lund

1964: Richard Petty

1965: Fred Lorenzen

1966: Richard Petty

1967: Mario Andretti

1968: Cale Yarborough

1969: LeeRoy Yarbrough

1970: Pete Hamilton

1971: Richard Petty

1972: A.J. Foyt

1973: Richard Petty

1974: Richard Petty

1975: Benny Parsons

1976: David Pearson

1977: Cale Yarborough

1978: Bobby Allison

1979: Richard Petty

1980: Buddy Baker

1981: Richard Petty

1982: Bobby Allison

1983: Cale Yarborough

1984: Cale Yarborough

1985: Bill Elliott

1986: Geoff Bodine

1987: Bill Elliott

1988: Bobby Allison

1989: Darrell Waltrip

1990: Derrike Cope

1991: Ernie Irvan

1992: Davey Allison

1993: Dale Jarrett

1994: Sterling Marlin

1995: Sterling Marlin

1996: Dale Jarrett

1997: Jeff Gordon

1998: Dale Earnhardt Sr.

1999: Jeff Gordon

2000: Dale Jarrett

2001: Michael Waltrip

2002: Ward Burton

2003: Michael Waltrip

2004: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2005: Jeff Gordon

2006: Jimmie Johnson

2007: Kevin Harvick

2008: Ryan Newman

2009: Matt Kenseth

2010: Jamie McMurray

2011: Trevor Bayne

2012: Matt Kenseth

2013: Jimmie Johnson

2014: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2015: Joey Logano

2016: Denny Hamlin

2017: Kurt Busch

2018: Austin Dillon

2019: Denny Hamlin

2020: Denny Hamlin

2021: Michael McDowell

2022: Austin Cindric

2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2024: William Byron

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daytona 500 winners by year: Every driver who has won the NASCAR race

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Here are the Daytona 500 winners by year:

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