Only Yesterday: The Hunt for 3 Consecutive Daytona 500 Victories

By winning a second consecutive Daytona 500, William Byron joined some rather exclusive company. Only four other drivers have won the sport’s biggest single-day prize twice in a row.

Richard Petty was the first in 1973 and 1974. Cale Yarborough matched the accomplishment a decade later in 1983 and 1984. Sterling Marlin was a surprising addition with his first two career Cup victories being the 1994 and 1995 editions. More recently, Denny Hamlin wound up holding the Harley J. Earl trophy after the 2019 and 2020 versions.

Since it’s never too early to look ahead, Byron is only a year away from having a shot at making history. None of the other four were able to capture a third straight triumph. Not for a lack of effort certainly. So just what went wrong for each in their quest for the elusive trifecta?

Richard Petty came to Daytona in 1975 fresh off a championship season and with five Daytona 500 wins already. He had scored a seventh-place showing in the opener at Riverside International Raceway. Back then, the Daytona 500 was the second event of the year.

Strong early, Petty led 51 of the first 74 laps and looked to be the car to beat yet again. Attrition built up too, dropping rival after rival out of the race. Only 14 of the 40 starters were running at the finish.

But as the race wore on, Benny Parsons and David Pearson seized control and the No. 43 simply couldn’t keep pace. By the time the checkered flag fell for Parsons’ lone 500 win, Petty was a distant seventh, eight laps down.

All was not lost though, as Petty rallied to claim his second consecutive Cup championship. He then went on to claim two more Daytona 500 wins in 1979 and 1981.

Cale Yarborough had a similarly promising start to his quest for a third straight 500 win in 1985, qualifying second alongside Bill Elliott. He went on to lead 32 of the opening 60 laps.

Then he unexpectedly slowed while running second on lap 63. He reported to pit road where the crew tried to get the engine refired. But once they looked the car over, it was determined that the engine had given up and their day was done.

With his strongest competitor in the garage, Elliott dominated en route to the first of his two Daytona 500 victories. After that day, Yarborough finished no better than 10th in The Great American Race.

Sterling Marlin entered the 1994 season with zero career Cup wins but his first attempt with the Morgan McClure Racing No. 4 was more fruitful than anyone could have imagined. He barely beat out the team’s former driver Ernie Irvan and followed that first career win with his second the very next year.

Naturally, all eyes were on Marlin in 1996. After watching two all-time greats come up short in the hunt for a trio of consecutive wins, the difficulty involved was much more apparent by that point.

The 38th annual 500 was one of those races that was particularly harsh on many of the pre-race favorites. Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon and Irvan were all victimized by accidents during the first quarter of the event.

Then fate struck in a most cruel manner for Marlin. While leading on lap 80, he suddenly moved out of line as the field thundered into turn 1. By the time he reached the backstretch, the CBS broadcast was already conveying that it was an engine issue.

The team attempted to diagnose and repair the issue but after he ran a couple more laps, it became clear that the motor was finished, taking Marlin’s dream of a third straight 500 win with it. He ended his career having never finished another 500 higher than fifth in 1997.

In recent years, the Daytona 500 has become much more random when it comes to what driver could potentially win. This isn’t exclusive to Daytona either. Any driver who starts a superspeedway race can potentially win it. The cars have become so equal that it’s almost a matter of luck.

Almost.

Hamlin has become a bit of an anomaly, winning three Daytona 500s in a span of five years. That includes going back to back in 2019 and 2020. No other driver has more than two wins in any Cup points race at the 2.5-mile tri-oval since the beginning of the 2007 season. If anyone was going to finally break through, Hamlin could have been the guy in 2021.

Things started out well enough in that year’s running, as Hamlin led 98 laps despite starting 25th. He surrendered the lead to Joey Logano with 26 laps remaining but remained within striking distance of the leaders.

He was in ninth at the white flag, much closer than the previous three drivers to attempt the hat trick. As the field entered turn 3, the type of grinding crash that has come to feel inevitable took place. Third-place Michael McDowell bumped Brad Keselowski, who bumped Logano and sent the Penske teammates into the outside wall.

Several other cars were collected but Hamlin was able to squeak past the melee. The caution flag was displayed, ending the race and depriving Hamlin of any chance to win. As McDowell celebrated his first career win, Hamlin cruised to a fifth-place finish. It was respectable but not enough to make history.

Next year, the attention will shift to Byron as he becomes the fifth driver to pursue a third consecutive Daytona 500 win. But there will be another field of drivers eager to deny him, each thinking that they are capable of winning it for themselves.

Unfortunately for Byron, they probably are.