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Tony Stewart rips importance of winning Daytona 500: 'Anybody can win'

Nick Profile Picby: Nick Geddes05/02/25NickGeddesNews
Tony Stewart
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Daytona 500 has been and will continue to be NASCAR‘s marquee event. With that being said, Tony Stewart believes the event does not mean the same now as it did before.

Appearing on the “Rubbin is Racing” podcast, Stewart said that the Daytona 500 “doesn’t mean the same now as it did 15-20 years ago.” Stewart added that any driver can win the race, taking the prestige away from it.

“When it comes to Daytona, now I’m going to be crucified by a lot of people for this. In my eyes, it doesn’t mean the same now as it did 15-20 years ago,” Stewart said. “Anybody can win, I mean, you look at some of the guys that won the Daytona 500. I don’t want to go into the list of guys because they’re guys that I do respect and have friendships with, but they’re not guys that should have won the Daytona 500 and they’ve won the Daytona 500 and that’s all they’ve won.

“They may have won one or two races outside of that. We won 49 Cup races, Jeff Gordon won 75 cup races, Richard Petty [won] 200 Cup races. Anybody in the field can win the Daytona 500 now. As much as it’s a crown jewel, I would still go back, and I would trade some of my race wins to get the Daytona 500.”

Tony Stewart breaks down why Daytona 500 has changed

There have been 67 Daytona 500s, the first taking place in 1959. Stewart, the three-time Cup Series champion, is one of the more notable drivers to never win the “Great American Race.” Derrike Cope won the 1990 Daytona 500, one of just two victories in his Cup career. Trevor Bayne took the checkered flag in 2011, his only victory at NASCAR’s top level.

Yes, the Daytona 500 can produce some surprise winners. But then there’s Petty, with seven wins to his name. There’s Denny Hamlin, with three wins. William Byron has won the last two Daytona 500s. Stewart never won it, and he wouldn’t trade any of his titles to have it on his resume.

“No, absolutely not okay, no way, I wouldn’t trade a Championship for three Daytona 500 trophies,” Stewart said. “Even though I don’t feel like it carries as much weight as it used to, it still carries the weight because it’s still the Daytona 500. It is still the marquee event on the NASCAR schedule, it still has that rich history.

“The cars have got so equal that and you look at guys that are winning some of these, they’re not the ones that led the most laps, they’re not the ones that were up front. They were the guy that was second or third or fourth when the last lap crash happened and NASCAR hit the button to freeze the field, and they were they’re the winner. I don’t hold as much stock now [in the Daytona 500].”