Dale Earnhardt. Photo courtesy of NASCAR

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Only two days remain until the green flag for the 2025 DAYTONA 500 and in racing the number “two” is often a hard pill to swallow – as in runner-up. When it comes to near-misses, the late NASCAR Hall of Famer and 1998 DAYTONA 500 winner Dale Earnhardt leads all drivers with five runner-up finishes (1984, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1999). Second place finishers, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace (2018 and 2022) and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (2017 and 2020) lead that category among active drivers.

Tune-in to the 2025 DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.