How have previous Daytona 500 winners fared since NASCAR implemented its current playoffs?

Jimmie Johnson began his 2013 season with a Daytona 500 victory and ended it as the NASCAR Cup Series champion.

The recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee had a new Chevrolet as he chased the sixth of his record-tying seven NASCAR championships. His team knew it needed to get that Chevrolet SS ready to run at Daytona, and that was the first of six victories in his title run.

But Johnson is one of only nine drivers who have won the NASCAR Cup Series championship after winning the Daytona 500.

“It’s tricky, as we all know,” Johnson told reporters inside the Daytona International Speedway media center. “The thing that I see, in recent years, is just how important track position is. It doesn’t mean that the big one won’t happen, and somebody that maybe wasn’t in the front of the field is being more cautious, setting themselves up for a good finish with a potential chance to win.”

That following season, NASCAR expanded its playoff field to 16 drivers, primarily selected by wins in the regular season. A victory at any point in the season — whether that elusive first-place finish happens in February or August or anywhere in between — locks that driver into the postseason.

“We’ve won a lot of races on a lot of tracks, but the 500 is the only missing thing for me,” said Brad Keselowski, the 40-year-old driver and 2012 Cup champion. “To win it would check a big bucket list.”

Let’s take a look at how previous Daytona 500 winners have fared during the season, since NASCAR moved to this format.

2014: Dale Jr. has a deep playoff run

Ten years after winning the 2004 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. held off Denny Hamlin and won a rain-delayed Great American Race.

It was the first of four wins (both races at Pocono and Martinsville), marking his best season in 10 years. Earnhardt Jr., who also boasted 12 top-five finishes and 20 Top 10s that season, finished eighth in the standings.

That ended up being his final year with crew chief Steve Letarte. The two now work together in the broadcast booth with NASCAR on NBC.

2015: Logano becomes first driver to sweep a playoff round

Joey Logano, coming off what had been his best season in the Cup Series, won his first Daytona 500 in 2015.

He took the checkered flag at NASCAR’s most prestigious race after holding off Kevin Harvick — the defending Cup champion — in overtime. The win sparked an unforgettable season for Logano, who led the Cup Series with six wins, six poles, 22 top-five and 28 Top 10 finishes.

Logano didn’t win again until Watkins Glen in late August, but the bulk of his success came later in the season. He had an 11-race streak of finishing 10th or better down the stretch, including the Bristol night race.

During the playoffs, he became the first NASCAR driver to sweep a playoff round. Logano won consecutive races in the Round of 12 at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega. But his championship hopes diminished after Logano bumped Matt Kenseth out of the way to win at Kansas — and then Kenseth retaliated with a crash into Logano at Martinsville.

2016: Hamlin has three-win season

After a late pit stop, Hamlin bolted past Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. to win his first Daytona 500. He beat Truex at the finish line by a scant one-hundreth of a second, making it the closest margin in race history.

It was the first time a Toyota had ever won the Daytona 500, along with being the first 500 victory for Joe Gibbs Racing in 23 years at the season opener.

Hamlin won again at Watkins Glen, which marked the first road course win of his career, and the second race at Richmond. But he faltered late in the playoffs, including a 30th-place finish at Charlotte.

2017: Kurt Busch struggles after finally winning 500

Kurt Busch led one lap and won the 2017 Daytona 500. He edged Ryan Blaney to emerge victorious after pole-sitter Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson ran out of fuel during the final laps.

It was the 29th career victory and first at the 500 for Busch, the 2004 Cup champion and older brother of Kyle.

Busch was a member of Ford-driving RFK Racing — then known as Roush Racing — when he won his only title. Stewart-Haas Racing switched from Chevrolet to Ford ahead of the 2017 season.

Busch, who last competed full-time in 2022 with 23XI Racing, struggled the rest of the season, finishing 14th in the Cup standings.

2018: After Daytona triumph, Dillon doesn’t capitalize

It had been 20 years since Dale Earnhardt drove his No. 3 car to Victory Lane following his only Daytona 500 victory.

Austin Dillon, the grandson of Richard Childress, was honored to take over the historic car. And during the last lap of the 2018 Daytona 500, Dillon passed Aric Almirola and etched his name into history.

The storybook victory placed the 27-year-old driver into the playoffs, but Daytona was the highlight of his season. He only finished in the top-five one more time and was eliminated after crashing twice at the Charlotte Roval.

2019: Hamlin has his best season in nine years

Hamlin held off Logano and Kyle Busch in a Daytona 500 that saw three wrecks in its final 10 laps.

On the heels of the first of Logano’s two Cup championships, Hamlin topped him to claim his second win at the Great American Race. That came after a winless 2018 campaign for Hamlin, who boasted his best season since 2010 with six victories.

But, as has been the case throughout his career, it wasn’t enough for a championship. He seemed poised for a breakthrough until a final-stage engine issue kept him a lap down late in the championship at Homestead.

2020: Hamlin repeats — but a championship still eludes him

In a Daytona 500 overshadowed by Ryan Newman’s crash, Hamlin beat Blaney in a photo finish.

Hamlin boasted an even better season than his strong one the year before, winning seven races. He finished fourth in the Cup championship at Phoenix, lacking the speed needed throughout the race as Elliott won his first title.

2021: McDowell stuns field with first Cup win at Daytona

After 358 starts in the Cup Series, Michael McDowell got a win, and it couldn’t have been much bigger.

After a last-lap crash involving former Cup champions Logano and Brad Keselowski, McDowell took the checkered flag, though it took NASCAR another day to confirm the victory after the wreck.

McDowell, in his 14th season at the time and known to be a down-to-earth grinder, became the second-oldest driver to win his first Cup race after Michael Waltrip finally won in his 463rd start.

That sparked three straight Top 10 finishes early in the season for McDowell, the first time he’d done that in his career. But he didn’t make any noise in the playoffs and was eliminated after Bristol.

2022: Cindric starts rookie year with a statement

In his eighth start as a Cup Series driver, Austin Cindric won the Daytona 500.

The Team Penske driver became the first rookie to win the Great American Race by holding off Bubba Wallace. It was the first of Cindric’s nine Top 10 finishes as he was named the Cup Series’ Rookie of the Year.

He wrecked late at the Charlotte Roval and was eliminated from the playoffs early, but it was a promising rookie campaign for the 23-year-old.

2023: Stenhouse’s turn

Last year’s Daytona 500 produced another unpredictable overtime finish.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the pole-sitter there in 2020, spent most of the race in the back of the field. He worked toward the front and held the lead in the final lap, when a race-ending caution came out.

It was the third victory of Stenhouse’s career, coming six years after winning the Daytona summer race. He didn’t make it past the Round of 16.

Shane Connuck

The Charlotte Observer

Shane Connuck is a former journalist for The Charlotte Observer