The list is very impressive but it also includes names like Ken Schrader, Ricky Rudd, Kyle Petty, Mike Skinner, David Gilliland, Jeff Green, and Loy Allen, Jr. all of whom NEVER won a Daytona 500 and in some cases won a NASCAR Grand National (Sprint Car) Race. 
List of Daytona 500 pole position winners – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Trevor Bayne were have you gone? No really, what the fuck happened to you? Since winning the 2011 Daytona 500 in what could go down as one of the most surprising win ever he’s now sitting on the sidelines due to sponsor issues. Really it says a lot what winning the 500 does for one’s career. Other than Jimmy Johnson’s win in 2006 which he used to propel himself to a #NASCAR championship most of the winners haven’t really stood out. 2009 & 2012 winner Matt Kenseth on his out at Roush, 2008 winner Ryan Newman left Penske and has struggled since, 2010 Jamie McMurray also won Indy but not much since. 2007 winner Kevin Harvick has had some good seasons but has been able put championship season together. 2002 winner Ward Burton’s career basically ended and within 5 years was out of the sport completely. Jeff Gordon the current the winningest active driver and 3rd overall alltime has struggled to find wins since his 2005 win. Then there’s Micheal Waltrip. His 2001 is very much overshadowed by the death of his team owner and fellow driver Dale Earnhardt the 1998 winner, but he used it win a few other races and start his own team but never again did he match what he did in 2001 and this year crashed while trying to race his way into the 500.
AUTO RACING: Stenhouse embraces promotion to Sprint Cup in 2013 » Standard-Times.
via AUTO RACING: Stenhouse embraces promotion to Sprint Cup in 2013 » Standard-Times.
NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine racing in 1985 at Pocono. Photo By Ted Van Pelt (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Digard owned Miller High Life Buick of Bobby Allison at the 1983 Van Scoy 500. Allison went on to win this race and the season championship. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Unknown if this is a replica or the original Bobby Allison #29 Long Lewis Ford NASCAR racecar. Allison drove for Long only during the 1968 Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) season http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=longbo01 . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
1983 Daytona 500 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 
But #NASCAR is. It’s a number 200. Now it’s not the number itself the legal and –repercussions of a car getting airborne and getting into a crowd. Now as walking along today and saw 1983-86 series Monte Carlo. It reminded me of how NASCAR used to be and how speed and performance used to part of the game. NASCAR stockers used to be basically unrestricted yes they tried to make sure they had some resemblance to production models, but in the late 70’s the big 2 (yes Dodge left and Toyota was still 30 years away) V6 and front wheel drive was the way to go, but the rules required rear wheel and V8. So the teams adapted and as a result record speeds were the result until 1987. Now NASCAR knew they had the problem with flying race cars (still does by the way) when in qualifying Cale Yarborough and Waddell Wilson‘ s Monte Carlo turned into a flying brick while Yarborough was trying to improve his 205 (Cale explain it all to you) mile an hour lap in the 1983 Daytona 500 qualifying. Later in the 125, Bruce Jacobi would loose control and barrel roll into the infield suffering a coma that would lead to his death. Speeds would increase when Ford like the did in the late 60’s when introduced one of the most aerodynamic cars ever and as result Bill Elliot and his brother Ernie would build a car that would set the then speed record and then they had to come in a change spark plugs going 2 laps down and still won the race but that wasn’t the end of the story. (Awesome Bill no really) In 1986 GM had redesigned or introduced new cars to catch up to Fords ‘Jello mold’ Bobby Allison had raced every model 
NASCAR legal car during 85 to try and find an edge, He would switch from his standard Buick Regal, to Monte Carlo, then a Ford Thunderbird and back to give GM engineers the data they needed. However it wasn’t enough case Ford redesign it’s Thunderbird to give and more ‘trunk’ room and down force. The 1987 Winston 500 was to be one strangest Talladega races ever and the end of a era. Now in Qualifying Bill Elliot would set the all-time NASCAR record of over 212, but wouldn’t win the race. ( Back when ESPN was worth watching) Bobby Allison would explode a tire on lap 22 in front of Dale Earnhardt Sr and the car did a half spin and the rear lifted off the ground flew in the air backward into debris fence on the front grand stand and tore a good portion of it out. No driver was injured but a fan was lost a eye in the impact. NASCAR finally was scared into action and a whole series of engine restrictions and aerodynamic changes were enacted since then. However while this kept speeds down at Daytona and Talladega it didn’t keep Dale Earnhardt Sr, Neil Bonnett among others from losing there lives at Daytona and other tracks and the cars keep flying. Now while one thing that hasn’t changed is speeds at tracks other than the big 2 keep climbing. The 1st of the sub 2.5 mile tracks to see a huge speed increase was when 1.54 Atlanta which was reconfigured and repaved and in 1997 Geoffrey Bodine hit 197, then new Texas Motor Speedway, drivers turned laps over 196 in 2006 both of would be faster than the pole at Talladega or Daytona for many years. Then a funny thing happened, NASCAR introduced Electronic Fuel Injection on its engines and a repaved Daytona and on January 12, 2012 Kyle Busch turned the fastest speed since 1983 at 202 and as per usual pulled back on the reigns. as a result the cars ran there usual 196 and as usual the big one occurred. The big one is when a group of 20 cars all running at 190 plus and someone makes a mistake takes 10 or more cars with them in pretty good size wreck. When now fast forward to June Poncono was repaved subsequently faster than before, then the next week was Michigan also repaved. In 2011 Greg Biffle won the pole at 190. The Thursday before this years race Biffle and several others ran over 200 on 2.0 mile oval with him topping out a 204. Goodyear panicked cause the tires it brought where not up to snuff and were about to pop after 10 laps. After a record setting qualifying run in which over 10 divers where over or near the 200 mile a hour mark the tire compound was changed and the cars slowed. It is very interesting to note that at the tracks that now have speeds at or near the 2 big tracks none of them seem to have the issue with cars lifting off and big pack accidents, just something think about 
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