NASCAR Crown Jewels Claimed by Only Winners
In NASCAR's history, there are four races considered 'Crown Jewels': the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Collectively, these four races have been run over 240 times since the first Southern 500 in 1950. Seven drivers achieved their only NASCAR Cup Series victories on these stages and never won another race.
The list includes Johnny Mantz, who won the inaugural Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in 1950 after starting last with a lightweight Plymouth. His victory came 9 laps ahead of second-place Fireball Roberts. For his career, Mantz made only 12 Cup Series starts and four top-five finishes.
The others are Larry Frank, who won the 1962 Southern 500 for Ratus Walters' No. 66 Ford after a protest reversed Junior Johnson's initial victory. Mario Andretti claimed the 1967 Daytona 500 in his only NASCAR Cup Series win with Holman Moody Racing. Casey Mears earned his sole Cup Series victory at the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 with Hendrick Motorsports on fuel mileage. Trevor Bayne took the 2011 Daytona 500 for Wood Brothers Racing, scoring a shocking upset as he celebrated his 20th birthday the day before.
Last but not least, Paul Menard won the 2011 Brickyard 400 after decades of effort from his father John Menard to win the Indianapolis 500 as a team owner.