Who was the first driver to win the Daytona 500 from the pole position?

Fireball Roberts was the first driver to win the Daytona 500 from the pole position.

Roberts achieved the milestone in the 1962 Daytona 500, held on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway. Driving the No. 22 Pontiac for Jim Stephens, he started first, led 144 of 200 laps, and finished 27 seconds ahead of Richard Petty. The race ran without a caution flag, making Roberts's control of the event especially notable.

The result came during Roberts's peak years. He had already won the 1961 Firecracker 250 at Daytona and was one of NASCAR's biggest stars before his 1962 Daytona 500 victory. His qualifying speed for the 500 was 156.999 mph, and he turned the pole into a dominant win.

A common mix-up is confusing the first Daytona 500 winner, Lee Petty, with the first pole-starting winner. Petty won the inaugural 1959 race, but he did not win from the pole. Roberts's 1962 victory was the first to combine both achievements.