From Richard Petty's 200th win to Danica Patrick's Daytona pole, plenty of results in NASCAR history have given fans cause for pause.
RacingOneGetty Images RacingOneGetty Images July 4, 1984: Richard Petty’s 200th WinRichard Petty nipped Cale Yarborough at the start-finish line as the yellow flag came out late in the running of the 1984 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. With only three laps remaining, Petty cruised to his 200th career NASCAR Cup win under caution with President Ronald Reagan in attendance.
Things that make you go hmmm: President Reagan’s presence at the 1984 Firecracker 400 marked the first time that a sitting President had attended a NASCAR Cup Series race. The race was held on July 4. Richard Petty never won another race over the final 245 starts of his NASCAR career.
Chris GraythenGetty Images Februrary 17, 2013: Danica Patrick’s Daytona 500 Pole
Danica Patrick kicked off her first full season in the NASCAR Cup Series with a historic pole at the season-opening Daytona 500 in 2013. She became the first, and to date only, woman to win the pole position for a NASCAR Cup race. “I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl,” she said that day.
Things that make you go hmmm: Patrick’s pole was just what the TV folks needed to hype the Daytona 500 and the rest of the 2013 season for that matter. Patrick started 191 Cup races in her career, and this was her only pole. And how did Patrick do in the July race at Daytona in 2013 (same field, same car)? She qualified 11th, and failed to qualify inside the top-10 in any other race that season.
RacingOneGetty Images July 7, 2001: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Pepsi 400 Win
Less than five months after Dale Earnhardt died in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Pepsi 400 in NASCAR’s first return to Daytona.
Things that make you go hmmm: The race was the first NASCAR Cup race at Daytona International Speedway since the death of Dale Earnhardt. The 2001 season was a watershed year for NASCAR on TV, as the series was in the first year of a mammoth $2.8 billion TV package. This result was one of the more emotional in NASCAR history and a boon for TV ratings at the same time.
Icon SportswireGetty Images April 22, 2022: Jeffrey Earnhardt’s Xfinity Series Pole
Jeffrey Earnhardt, a 32-year-old journeyman in NASCAR, made the most of a one-race deal with Richard Childress Racing at Talladega, winning the pole for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Earnhardt nearly won the race the next day, finishing second for his best finish in 136 career starts in the series.
Things that make you go hmmm: Earnhardt, grandson of Dale Earnhardt Jr., was making his first start for Richard Childress Racing (Dale Sr.’s former team) and it was his first race in the No. 3 (Dale Sr.’s former car number).
And, as well has Jeffrey Earnhardt did at Talladega that weekend—the pole and near victory—it was a one-race deal, and there was no scrambling to extend the deal. Apparently, once was enough.
NASCAR IllustratedGetty Images February 16, 2014 – Austin Dillon Wins Daytona 500 Pole
Austin Dillon, grandson of team owner Richard Childress, kicked off his first full season in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the pole position for the Daytona 500. The run came in the first race back to the track for the No. 3 car in the Cup Series since the death of Dale Earnhardt on that same track 13 years earlier.
Things that make you go hmmm: Well, it was the first race for the 3 car in 13 years and it just happened to be on the same track where Earnhardt died. Many fans were critical of the decision to even race the 3, thinking the car number should just be retired.
Looking back, the pole felt a little like Danica Patrick’s run to the pole a year earlier, as Dillon failed to win another pole the rest of the season (he qualified 24th the next race and just 23rd when NASCAR returned to Daytona in July that season).
Jerry MarklandGetty Images February 15, 2015: Jeff Gordon’s Daytona 500 Pole
For a few years, anyway, it was getting pretty easy to predict the pole winner for NASCAR’s biggest race. All one had to do was look at the field, pick the best story line, and figure there’s your pole winner (2013, Danica Patrick; 2014, Austin Dillon). That system of picking the pole winner worked again in 2015 as Jeff Gordon began his final full season in Cup with the pole at Daytona.
Things the make you go hmmm: Jeff Gordon had not won a pole for the Daytona 500 since 1999, yet he covered the field nicely in 2015 to give the media a great story for the 500. When Gordon returned to Daytona for the summer race, he qualified just 23rd. In fairness, Gordon did have a fast car that season and won four poles that year. The Daytona 500 pole also extended Gordon’s record of consecutive seasons with at least one pole to 23. You can put that mark in the category of records that won’t be beat.
Chris GraythenGetty Images October 4, 2021: Bubba Wallace Wins at Talladega
Bubba Wallace earned his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series in a rain-shortened 2021 race at Talladega. The win was the first for a Black driver in the Cup Series since Wendell Scott in 1963. The race came at the same track that one year earlier a Wallace crew member said he found a noose (later determined by the FBI to be a pull-down rope with a loop attached to an overhead door) in Wallace’s garage. That led to an emotional show of support given to Wallace by the NASCAR community.
Things that make you go hmmm: While allegations of a hate crime were defused by the FBI investigation, there was still much sentiment in Wallace’s favor as he returned to Talladega for subsequent races.
The win came after NASCAR called the race early following a rain delay with Wallace in the lead. It turned out to be a good call because it kept raining, but that didn’t stop some conspiracy chasers from complaining that NASCAR didn’t wait out the rain long enough and that the series was determined to give Wallace a win.
Jerry MarklandGetty Images February 14, 2016: Chase Elliott’s Pole for the Daytona 500
Chase Elliott’s first full season in the NASCAR Cup Series started with, you guessed it, the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500. It marked the fourth consecutive year that many fans were left shaking their head after the 500 qualifying.
Things that make you go hmmm: Chase is the son of NASCAR great and longtime series most popular driver Bill Elliott. Chase’s first career pole in his first Daytona 500 also came in his first race driving the No. 24 car previously driven by Jeff Gordon. Perfect made-for-TV drama.
Chris TrotmanGetty Images October 4, 2015: Kevin Harvick’s Burnout in Dover
Kevin Harvick led 355 of 400 laps at Dover in 2015 to win in dominating fashion. The win came during one of the best stretches in Harvick’s NASCAR career. He won the Cup championship in 2014 and won eight races over the 2014-15 seasons. This time, the conspiracy comes AFTER the race.
Things that make you go hmmm: The conspiracy theorists got fired up here after the race when Harvick rear-ended the wall during his post-race burnout. It’s not the first, or the last, time a driver just happened to bang into the wall or during a celebration. Conspiracy theorists say that drivers will bottom out in the grass or use the hit-the-wall trick to purposely damage their car and thus make a fair post-race inspection a lot harder for the sanctioning body.
RacingOneGetty Images August 6, 1994: Jeff Gordon Wins Inaugural Brickyard 400
Jeff Gordon came into the 1994 season with just one NASCAR Cup Series win, yet he owned the day at the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He played give-and-take with Ernie Irvan over the final 25 laps before finally taking the lead for good with five laps remaining when Irvan’s car blew a tire. Brett Bodine closed the gap late, but Gordon held him off by 0.53 second for the win.
Things that make you go hmmm: Gordon, a local legend who grew up in Pittsboro, Indiana, was hardly the favorite at Indianapolis for the historic first NASCAR race at the Brickyard. It’s a good bet, however, that the series officials were beaming after the local hero brought home the hardware before a packed house. Gordon’s success helped temper some of the heat IMS officials took from some traditionalists for opening up the Indy car mecca to stock cars in the first place.
Keyword: 10 NASCAR Results That Inspired Conspiracy Theories