DERRIKE COPE — 1990
Derrike Cope, a former college baseball player from Spanaway, Wash., scored what longtime SPEED SPORT writer Benny Phillips called “stock car racing’s biggest upset” when he won the 32nd Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, 1990.
Dale Earnhardt led 155 of the 200 laps that afternoon and appeared as if he would finally win the sport’s marquee race.
However, going into turn thee on the final lap, Earnhardt ran over a piece of bell housing while leading. The debris cut his right-rear tire and Earnhardt could only watch as Cope motored by for his first victory in 73 series starts.
“I heard it hit the bottom of the car, and then it hit the right-rear tire,” Earnhardt said. “The tire popped, and I drove on in there high, trying to stay out of their way.”
“I’m just as stunned as anybody,” said Cope. “I wasn’t figuring on beating Earnhardt. In fact, going down the backstretch, I was watching Terry Labonte. He was making my car real loose and I knew I had to stay with Dale or Terry was going to come around me.”
TREVOR BAYNE — 2011
One day after celebrating his 20th birthday, Trevor Bayne surprised race fans around the world when he drove the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to victory in the 53rd running of the Daytona 500.
Bayne, a short-track racing phenom from Knoxville, Tenn., was making only his second NASCAR Cup Series start on Feb. 20, 2011, when he beat Carl Edwards to the stripe by .118 seconds in a second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish.
“I keep thinking I’m dreaming. Our first 500 – are you kidding me?” Bayne said during post-race festivities. “To win our first one in our second-ever Cup race, I mean this is just incredible.”
Bayne started 32nd and led only the final six laps in a race that featured a record 74 lead changes among 22 drivers. He assumed command on lap 203 of NASCAR Overtime when David Ragan was forced to pit road due to a restart penalty.
Once in front, Bayne was able to fend off Edwards and David Gilliland during the final restart and over the final two trips around the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL — 2021
Michael McDowell, a 36-year-old journeyman racer from Glendale, Arizona, recorded one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR Cup Series history on Feb. 14, 2021, when he emerged from a last-lap, multi-car wreck to win the 63rd running of the Daytona 500.
Driving the No. 34 Ford fielded by Front Row Motorsports, McDowell registered his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in his 358th career start.
McDowell was running third heading into turn three on the final lap of the sport’s premier event when Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski tangled at the front of the pack. The ensuing multi-car accident resulted in NASCAR throwing the caution flag and after a video review officials declared McDowell the winner.
“I just can’t believe it. I’ve just got to thank God,” McDowell said in victory lane. “So many years just grinding it out and hoping for an opportunity like this. … I’m so thankful. Such a great way to get a first victory — a Daytona 500. Are you kidding me?”
It was the third NASCAR Cup Series win for Front Row Motorsports, which is owned by Bob Jenkins.