HARRISBURG, N.C. – Darrell Waltrip’s car number when he entered the NASCAR Cup Series as an owner-driver in 1972 was 95.
However, prior to the 1975 season, Waltrip worked out a deal with Holman Moody to take control of the No. 17, which had a championship pedigree in NASCAR’s premier division.
Waltrip switched numbers because of a superstition held by his veteran crew chief, Jake Elder.
“Jake said we couldn’t win with a high number,” Waltrip revealed several years later.
Just 10 races after following Elder’s advice, Waltrip and his No. 17 Chevrolet went to victory lane at the Nashville Fairgrounds, beating Benny Parsons to the checkered flag by two full laps. It was the first of Waltrip’s 83 Cup Series victories.
With the 64th running of the Daytona 500 just around the corner, Elder’s superstition started us thinking about the winning car numbers in the sport’s marquee race — and we discovered some interesting facts:
• Cars with 28 different numbers have won the Daytona 500, ranging from No. 1 (Jamie McMurray, 2010) to No. 98 (LeeRoy Yarbrough, 1969).
• Thanks to Richard Petty and Petty Enterprises, 43 leads the list of Daytona 500-winning car numbers with seven victories.
• Bill Elliott in 1985 was the first driver to win the Daytona 500 in a car carrying a single-digit number — 9.
• Five different drivers have won the Daytona 500 in Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 entry — Tiny Lund, 1963; Cale Yarborough, ’68; A.J. Foyt, ’72; David Pearson, ’76; and Trevor Bayne, 2011.
• Cale Yarborough earned three of his four Daytona 500 wins in cars with different numbers — No. 21, 1968; No. 11, ’77; and No. 28, ’83 and ’84.
n Richard Petty was the first driver to win consecutive Daytona 500s (1973 and ’74) in cars with the same number — 43.
• Only three car numbers higher than 48 have visited victory lane at the Daytona 500. Benny Parsons drove car No. 72 to victory in 1975. The No. 88 car has won four times with Bobby Allison in 1988; Dale Jarrett in ’96 and 2000; and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. LeeRoy Yarbrough won with car No. 98 in 1969.
• Four drivers have won the Daytona 500 five times in car No. 28 — Fred Lorenzen, 1965; Buddy Baker, ’80; Cale Yarborough, ’83 and ’84; and Davey Allison, ’92.
• The single digit with the most Daytona 500 wins is car No. 4 — Ernie Irvan, 1991; and Sterling Marlin, ’94 and ’95. Cars carrying numbers 2, 6 and 7 have never won the 500.
• Cars with single-digit numbers have only won two Daytona 500s in the last 20 years — Jamie McMurray, 2010; and Austin Dillon, ’18.
• Three drivers have won a total of five Daytona 500s in cars carrying No. 11 — Mario Andretti, 1967; Cale Yarborough, ’77; and Denny Hamlin, 2016, ’19 and ’20.
• In addition to Richard Petty’s seven wins, Petty Enterprises also won the Daytona 500 with cars numbered 40 (Pete Hamilton, 1970) and 42 (Lee Petty, ’59).
• Hendrick Motorsports has won the Daytona 500 eight times with five different car numbers — No. 5, Geoff Bodine, 1986; No. 17, Darrell Waltrip, ’89; No. 24, Jeff Gordon, ’97, ’99 and 2005; No. 48, Jimmie Johnson, 2006 and ’13; and No. 88, Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2014.
• The top-five car numbers based on Daytona 500 victories are 43 (7), 11 (5), 21 (5), 28 (5) and 88 (4).
What do these Daytona 500 statistics tell us about Elder’s unique superstition? Obviously, a driver can definitely win the sport’s biggest race with a high car number, but the odds appear much better if the number is between 20 and 30.
With that knowledge in hand, we are going against the grain by predicting Kyle Larson will win the 64th running of the Daytona 500. If the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion does in fact top the sport’s biggest race, it will be the second time a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet carrying the No. 5 has pulled into victory lane at the Daytona 500.