Longest winless superspeedway droughts in the NASCAR Cup Series

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — 20 of the 37 drivers entered for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona have never won a points-paying superspeedway race in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Daytona and Talladega are traditionally considered the series’ superspeedway tracks. At these tracks, the cars utilize tapered spacers, which heavily restrict the overall power displaced by the engines and, in tandem with the high banking, cause the cars to race in large packs.

Here are five entrants with the most superspeedway starts in the NASCAR Cup Series but no wins:

Alex Bowman (26 starts)
Bowman has made a Cup superspeedway start every year since 2014, except for 2017.

Since joining Hendrick Motorsports full-time in 2018, Bowman has seven top-10 finishes on superspeedways. His best finish was in April 2019 at Talladega when he finished second to teammate Chase Elliott.

Other superspeedway highlights for Bowman include two Daytona 500 poles (2018 and 2021) and 65 laps led across all his superspeedway starts.

Chris Buescher (27 starts)
While Buescher won a Daytona-qualifier race, the Texas native has yet to win an official superspeedway race.

Buescher has earned three Top-5 finishes, seven Top-10 finishes and led 37 laps. His best finish is third in the 2020 Daytona 500.

Kyle Larson (31 starts)
Larson is one of two past NASCAR Cup Series champions on this list.

The 2021 champion has one Top-5 finish and eight Top-10 finishes since 2014.

Larson’s highlights on superspeedway racing include winning the pole for this year’s Daytona 500.

Larson’s best superspeedway finish is fourth this April at Talladega.

Landon Cassill (36 starts)
Cassill has raced for seven different teams on the superspeedways in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Cassill has led eight laps, with a best finish of fourth at Talladega in October 2014, driving for team owner Joe Falk.

Cassill has raced the No. 77 Spire Motorsports entry in each of the superspeedway races in 2022, with lead lap finishes in the Daytona 500 (15th) and the April Talladega race (19th).

Martin Truex Jr. (69 starts)
A full-time fixture in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2006, Truex has been close but has never closed the deal on a points-awarding Cup Series superspeedway race.

Truex has six Top-5 finishes, 14 Top-10 finishes, and 205 laps led in his superspeedway starts.

During his stint at Furniture Row Racing, Truex finished runner-up to Denny Hamlin in a photo finish to the 2016 Daytona 500 and second again to Erik Jones at Daytona in July 2018.

Entering Daytona, Truex can still make the playoffs on points as he is 25 points behind Ryan Blaney for the final spot. However, his first superspeedway win would guarantee his eighth straight NASCAR Playoff appearance.

OUTLOOK
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be televised live on Saturday, August 27 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.

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