Two drivers have chance at NASCAR history Sunday
If either driver finds Victory Lane in the 2020 Daytona 500, Christopher Bell or Brennan Poole will become the seventh driver in the history of NASCAR’s premier series to win in their debut.
Bell and Poole will each make their NASCAR Cup Series debut, looking to become the first drivers to win in their first start in nearly 57 years.
“I think we have a legitimate shot,” said Bell, who is piloting the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota. “Unfortunately at Daytona, you can ask anybody in the garage area, they all do have a legitimate shot if they don’t crash.
“That’s what makes Daytona special, though, is you never know who is going to win. I think our car is wonderful.”
Six drivers have won in their Cup Series debut, according to statistics across two racing databases.
The feat was accomplished five times across NASCAR’s first three seasons; twice in 1949 and 1950, and once in 1951.
The last driver to record a victory in their debut was Johnny Rutherford in February of 1963, winning in a Daytona 500 qualifier race.
The last drivers to make their MENCS debuts in the Daytona 500 were Tyler Reddick and Matt Tifft in 2019, who finished 27th and 36th respectively.
Live television coverage of the Daytona 500 will be on FOX Sunday (Feb. 16) at 2:30 p.m. E.T.
DRIVERS WHO WON IN THEIR DEBUT
Jim Roper (Charlotte Speedway, 1949)
Jack White (Hamburg Speedway, 1949)
Harold Kite (Beach & Road Course, 1950)
Leon Sales (North Wilkesboro Speedway, 1950)
Marvin Burke (Oakland Stadium, 1951)
Johnny Rutherford (Daytona International Speedway, 1963)
SOURCES
mcubed.net/nascar/
Racing-Reference.info
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.