CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Every NASCAR fan knows that drivers such as Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin have won the Daytona 500.
However, it’s the drivers you likely have never heard of that may have the best stories to tell.
We decided to dive into the Daytona 500 history books and research some drivers who made a handful of Daytona 500 starts or, in some cases, one Daytona 500 start to find out a little more about them.
• Marion (Bubba/Bubber) Farr — Known by either Bubba or Bubber depending on the source, Marion Farr made one start in the Daytona 500 in 1963, finishing 43rd after starting 31st. In 1960, he won the 250-mile sportsman modified race at Daytona. He owned a restaurant in his native Augusta, Ga., until his death in 1985. He made headlines in July of 1973 when a broken propeller left him stranded in his boat off the South Carolina coast for two days.
• Claude Ballot-Léna — Born in Paris, France, Claude Ballot-Léna enjoyed a great deal of success in sports car racing. He captured seven class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans during his lengthy racing career, which included NASCAR Cup Series starts driving for G.C. Spencer. His lone Daytona 500 start came in 1978, where he started 35th and finished 22nd. He also won the Rolex 24 in 1983 as part of a team that included A.J. Foyt, Preston Henn and Bob Wollek.
• James (Bunkie) Blackburn — A five-time Daytona 500 starter in the 1960s, Bunkie Blackburn’s best finish came in the 1962 Daytona 500 when he finished 13th. He was part of Smokey Yunick’s land-speed team and helped set a world speed record in 1967 with Yunick at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He also won the 1968 Daytona 300 (now Xfinity Series) from the pole in 1968. He also nearly won the Dixie 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1961 in relief of Junior Johnson, but ran out of gas on the final lap and lost the win to David Pearson.
• Rene Charland — A native of Massachusetts, Rene Charland made a name for himself in the Northeast before heading to the Mid-Atlantic region to race with some of NASCAR’s best in the 1960s. He won four-straight NASCAR National Sportsman division (the precursor to the NASCAR Xfinity Series) championships from 1962 to ’65. He made his lone Daytona 500 start in 1966, starting 41st and last in the 50-car field. He turned one lap in the race.
• Eduardo Dibós Chappuis — Known by his nickname “Chachi,” Eduardo Dibós Chappuis was a Peruvian race car driver who competed in the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959. He started ninth and finished 48th. He later became the mayor of Lima, the capital city of Peru, from 1970 to ’73. His father, Eduardo Dibós Dammert, also served as the mayor of Lima twice during his lifetime.
• Don Tilley — From Huntersville, N.C., Don Tilley only made six NASCAR Cup Series starts. One came in the 1965 Daytona 500, where he started 33rd and finished 22nd. He spent years working in the motorsports industry, but his true love was motorcycles and motorcycle racing. He eventually opened and ran Tilley Harley-Davidson in Statesville, N.C., which he operated until his death in 2014.
• Gene Daves (Stick Elliott) — Gene Daves was best known by his racing pseudonym Stick Elliott, which is the name he raced under when he made 93 NASCAR Cup Series starts in the 1960s and early 1970s. From Shelby, N.C., he made a name for himself on dirt tracks in the Southeast, winning several track championships and earning countless victories. He made two Daytona 500 starts — one in 1963 and another in 1966. His best finish came in ’63, when he finished 20th in a car owned by Toy Bolton.
• Chet Fillip — A native of Texas, Chet Fillip made two Indianapolis 500 starts before turning his attention to stock cars. He failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 in 1986, but succeeded the following year. In his lone Daytona 500 appearance, he started 26th and finished 39th. He continued to race at the short-track level, winning a USAC Silver Crown Series race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in 2008.
• Freddy Fryar — One of the most legendary short-track competitors in racing history, Freddy Fryar qualified for one Daytona 500. Driving a car owned by Buster Davis, Fryar started 34th and finished 15th. It was one of only six NASCAR Cup Series races for Fryar, who also won the Snowball Derby twice. His grandson, Jared Fryar, competes with the CARS Tour and is a two-time series champion.
• Andy Houston — From Hickory, N.C., Andy Houston broke into NASCAR by competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He won three races between 1998 and ’00 while also making a handful of Xfinity Series starts. His big break came in 2001, when he landed a deal with Cal Wells to run in the NASCAR Cup Series. He made his lone Daytona 500 start that year, starting ninth and finishing 38th. He is the son of legendary Xfinity Series driver Tommy Houston.
• Julius (Slick) Johnson III — Julius Johnson III, better known as “Slick” Johnson, raced at Carolina short tracks before getting the opportunity to race in the NASCAR Cup Series in the 1970s and ’80s. He made two Daytona 500 starts, with the first coming in 1980, where he finished 14th. He failed to qualify in 1982 and ’84, but made the field again in ’85 and finished 20th. He was killed in a crash during the ARCA event at Daytona in 1990.
• Butch Mock – A native of North Miami, Fla., Butch Mock is better known as a car owner than as a driver. However, Mock made three NASCAR Cup Series starts in the 1970s, with his last coming in the 1979 Daytona 500. He formed Rahmoc Enterprises alongside Bob Rahilly and the team earned four NASCAR Cup Series victories, all with Neil Bonnett, before Rahilly and Mock split after the 1992 Daytona 500. Mock continued as a car owner at the top level of NASCAR through the end of the 1999 season.
• Pedro Rodriguez — Born in Mexico City, Mexico, Pedro Rodriguez was a skilled and versatile racer who competed across the world. He made six NASCAR Cup Series starts, including the 1971 Daytona 500, where he finished 13th. He enjoyed most of his success in Formula 1, scoring wins in the 1967 South African Grand Prix and the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix. He also helped Porsche win the World Sportscar Championship in 1970 and ’71. He was killed in a racing crash in Nuremberg, Germany in July of 1971.
• Maynard Troyer — Recognized more for his exploits as a chassis builder, Maynard Troyer qualified for the Daytona 500 on two occasions. The first came in 1971, when he finished 38th after being involved in a violent crash where his car flipped more than a dozen times. He suffered serious injuries in the crash, but returned two years later and finished 23rd in his second and final Daytona 500. He founded Troyer Engineering, a leading chassis building company for asphalt and dirt modifieds in the Northeast.