5 NASCAR drivers who have won back-to-back Daytona 500s ft. William Byron

The Daytona 500 is arguably the most prestigious NASCAR race of the Cup Series season, with over half a century of history, and held at the iconic Daytona Motor Speedway. Many drivers make an exception to race at the Daytona 500 and participate in it as a one-off entry like Helio Castroneves did this year.

Just like IndyCar drivers do for the Indy 500, where the full-time retired drivers come back to participate at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the same is the case with the Daytona 500. Jimmie Johnson is one such driver, as the seven-time NASCAR champion retired from his full-time role but participates in the Daytona 500.

NASCAR: NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Source: Imagn

Holding the Harley J. Earl Trophy is possibly one of the greatest moments for a driver during his career. Given the prestige of the event, drivers go the extra mile to win the race, often leading to multiple crashes and cautions at the Daytona 500, making it extremely unpredictable to choose a winner.

The 2025 race is a perfect example of the same, where Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric crashed on the last lap from the lead of the race, while William Byron won from outside the top 5.

While winning a single Daytona 500 is considered an achievement, let's have a look at the drivers who won back-to-back races at the Daytona.

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#5 Sterling Marlin

Sterling Marlin drove the No. 4 Chevrolet for Morgan-McClure Motorsports after joining the team in 1994. In his very first year with them, Marlin started the Daytona 500 P4 on the grid and went on to win the iconic race.

The next year in 1995, Sterling started inside the top 3 and again took the win to become a back-to-back Daytona 500 winner.

#4 Cale Yarborough

Cake Yarborough holds the record for the second-most wins at the Daytona 500 with four, behind Richard Petty. The last two Daytona 500 wins for Yarborough were back-to-back victories, winning in 1983 and 1984.

Cake moved to Ranier Racing for the 1983 season and won the Daytona on his first race with the team, and took the pole position for the 1984 race, led the most laps, and took the win.

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#3 Denny Hamlin

NASCAR: DAYTONA 500 - Source: Imagn

Denny Hamlin was the most recent back-to-back Daytona 500 winner before Williams Byron took that feat away from him.

Hamlin has won three Daytona 500s, out of which the last two were back-to-back victories, in 2019 and 2020. Hamlin was in contention to win the 2025 race before an almighty crash on the penultimate lap.

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#2 Richard Petty

Richard Petty holds the record for most wins at the Daytona 500, with seven victories.

The fourth and fifth victories in 1973 and 1974 were back-to-back ones. On both occasions, Petty started inside the Top 10 and made his way up to P1. Petty also became the first driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back Daytona 500.

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#1 William Byron

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William Byron became the most recent back-to-back winner at the Daytona 500 after winning the 2025 event. The Hendrick Motorsports driver won the prestigious race in 2024 and wasn't looking in contention for a win in the 2025 race until the penultimate lap.

Byron was running outside the Top 5 when Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric crashed. William Byron avoided the mayhem and crossed the chequered flag first to become the newest member of the back-to-back Daytona 500 victories.