What’s in a number? The numerology of Daytona 500 winners

A number is everything in NASCAR. From car number to place in the field to podium-decider — some carry with them nearly 80 years of stock car racing history, evoking strong emotions whenever they appear on the track. Others have yet to find their place in the pages of stock car racing greatness, but numerology has always been an interesting trend to follow in a sport where the car numbers are an integral part of each driver and team’s identity.

Historically, no number has earned more victories than the No. 11, while none have run more races than the No. 43, and some have reached a level of idolatry that most drivers can only dream of — like the iconic No. 3, which still graces the back windows of passenger vehicles across America today.

In modern NASCAR numerology, Ross Chastain became the first driver to ever win more than four Cup races in the No. 1 car, with several drivers reaching four but never more. Beyond that, Joey Logano can only make the Championship 4 in even-numbered years, and the No. 22 even won the crown in ‘22. Chase Elliott and his father Bill both won Cup titles in the No. 9, while Austin Dillon won the 2018 Daytona 500 in the RCR No. 3, — 20 years after Dale Earnhardt’s triumph, who himself only won it himself after 20 years of trying. 

Is it interesting? Yes! But does it really mean much? No, not particularly. But as someone who loves parallels and finding curious trends, we just had to dive into the numerology of NASCAR’s biggest race – the Daytona 500. Specifically, the numbers driven by the race winners in the previous 66 editions of this prestigious event. To put it all in perspective, 22 Daytona 500-winning numbers are present in this year’s field, and potentially 23 if Justin Allgaier makes the cut in the No. 40. Only seven numbers formerly victorious in the 500 are not part of this year’s rather large entry list. 

The ‘King’ of Daytona numbers

The winningest number in the Daytona 500 should come as no surprise to anyone. Seven times the No. 43 has driven to Victory Lane at Daytona, and all seven occasions were courtesy of ‘The King’ Richard Petty. The longtime rival of that Petty No. 43 is of course the Wood Brothers-owned No. 21, which trails just behind with five victories in the 500. But unlike Petty winning seven all on his own in the No. 43, five different drivers have wheeled the No. 21 to victory between Tiny Lund in 1963 and Trevor Bayne in 2011. Perhaps that’s an even more impressive feat. The No. 28 also has five wins in the 500 but none since 1992, and as it’s no longer actively used in the Cup Series, that’s not likely to change anytime soon. The No. 11 is another with five victories in the 500 — and three in the last decade thanks to the success of Denny Hamlin.

The spread between wins is something else the No. 11 can take pride in with 53 years between its first and most recent 500 victories [1967 – 2020]. No number crosses a greater period of time but interestingly, the No. 22 has achieved the same feat with 53 years between its first and most recent 500 win as well [1962 – 2015]. Both have a very good chance of visiting Victory Lane yet again this weekend with Hamlin and Logano representing these iconic palindromic race numbers. Now, these records could be toppled by other numbers if they win it all this year and they are the Nos. 20, 21 , 42, 40, and 43. For Christopher Bell, he’s trying to lead the No. 20 to victory in the 500 for the first time since Marvin Panch in 1961, but the No. 42 of John-Hunter Nemechek (shockingly) hasn’t won the big prize since the inaugural race with Lee Petty in 1959.

Predicting the winner, via a car number?

The palindromic numbers aren’t done holding certain records either as the No. 11 and No. 88 are the only numbers to have actually won a 500 in four separate decades. But do the recent trends give any nod to who may be crowned winner at the end of this week? Well, we did uncover something that one might dare to call a trend. The 1995, 2005, and 2015 Daytona 500 were all won by numbers that had previously won the 500 before, which doesn’t really narrow it down until you realize the winning number in each of these instances collected its third 500 win that year. Should that trend somehow continue in 2025, the only possible winners are as follows: Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, or Austin Dillon. They are the only drivers with numbers that enter this year’s 500 with two wins and in search of a third. 

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

While 30 different car numbers have won the Daytona 500, a number in the 50s or 60s has never actually done it. While the numerology favors the likes of Elliott and Blaney, it is working against drivers such as Ty Gibbs [No. 54] and Ryan Preece [No. 60].

When digging through all of this, one quickly notices the growing unpredictability in recent winning numbers, which follows a very real trend of shock victors in the modern Daytona 500. The race has become radically unpredictable in recent years, and three of the last four 500s have been won by numbers that have never won it before (Nos. 2, 34, 47). Just look at the numbers that earned a 500 win for the first time during the 21st century as only one of them has gone on to win multiple times over the past two-and-a-half decades — the No. 48 with Jimmie Johnson. So perhaps we should be looking to a number that hasn’t yet won the 500 on Sunday.

So close to victory…

What about those unfortunate numbers that remain relevant in the field each weekend, but still have never known Daytona 500 glory? Of them, the Nos. 6, 16, and 99 have been the closest over the years with two runner-up finishes apiece. They, along with the No. 97 (which isn’t being used), are the only numbers to have more than one runner-up finish in the 500 without ever actually winning the big race. We’ll see if Brad Keselowski [No. 6], A.J. Allmendinger [No. 16], or Daniel Suarez [No. 99] can change that this year.

But of course, the true keys to victory in NASCAR’s crown jewel event isn’t the number on the door, but the execution by the driver, team, and sometimes intercession of Lady Luck. The history of the Daytona 500 is written by these numbers – some far more famous than others – and each one has a driver behind them hoping to write their own bit of history this weekend.

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta Chevrolet Camaro

Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images

The winning numbers of the Daytona 500