20 Greatest drivers in nascar history
20. terry labonte
It was a bit of a surprise to see Terry Labonte make this list. But once the resumes are compared, Labonte belongs in the pantheon. A consummate good guy who never seemed to ruffle any feathers, Labonte was a model of consistency during a historic era for NASCAR popularity. Labonte was able to fend off legends like Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Mark Martin and Bill Elliott for two championships--1984 and 1996--and 22 wins. He was particularly impressive in 1996, earning 21 top fives.
19. rusty wallace
The last harbinger of the good old days when race car drivers had the most unique names since 1900s baseball players, Rusty Wallace turned the “blue deuce” into a racing staple. One of many all-time great drivers in the same boat, Wallace competed in the Earnhardt Era; that’s a major hurdle for anyone to overcome, but Wallace was able to collect 55 Cup wins.
The pinnacle of his storied career came in 1989 when he earned his Cup championship. He also started a mind-boggling 706 races in 25 years.
18. bill elliott
The 16-time “Most Popular Driver” winner, Awesome Bill from Dawsonville was as talented as he was beloved. The archetype for a NASCAR driver, Elliott was a tremendous representative for the sport for more than 30 seasons. His 44 wins rank 18th all time. He added a Cup championship to his collection in 1988.
His consistency was nearly unrivaled, highlighted by nine top-five finishes in the point standings during some of NASCAR’s most competitive years.
17. kevin harvick
Kevin Harvick is a driver’s driver. Some drivers succeed thanks moreso to their crew chiefs and teams, while others drive the wheels off every car they get. Harvick is the latter; he can drive and win with any car, on any track, in any circumstance. Harvick’s career began in less than ideal circumstances, as he was called up by Richard Childress Racing following the death of Dale Earnhardt.
However, it wasn’t long before he began carving his own path. Harvick has won 58 cup races and finally reached the top of the mountain in 2014. Harvick looks to have plenty of gas in the tank and will likely climb in the record books in the coming years.
16. herb thomas
NASCAR’s first star, Herb Thomas was the best in the business during the nascent days of the sport. He’s most notable for being the first multi-time champ in history with titles in 1951 and 1953. He was particularly dominant in 1953, winning 12 of the 37 races he started.
Thomas and his fabled “Fabulous Hudson Hornet” enjoyed a relatively short career. The first of his 48 wins came in 1950 and the last came in 1956. Thomas still owns the highest win percentage in series history.
15. joe weatherly
One of NASCAR’s earliest stars, Weatherly dominated in the late 1950s and early 1960s. His first win came at Darlington in 1952, and he would go on to collect 24 more checkered flags over a 12-season career. He became the second back-to-back series champion with his wins in 1962 and 1963.
Weatherly was beloved by fans and notorious for his fun-loving personality and exciting lifestyle. Unfortunately, he passed away following an accident during a race in 1964. He was only 41 years old and in the prime of his racing career.
14. Tim flock
Before the Earnhardts, Allisons or Wallaces, there was the Flock family; Tim, Bob and Fonty Flock, along with their sister Ethel Mobley, formed the top circuit’s first dynasty. However, it was Tim who rose highest in the Cup Series. He won his first championship in 1952—the fourth season in the history of the sport. He then became the second two-time with his title in 1955; in that season, he also won 18 races, the most by any championship winning driver in a single season not named Richard Petty.
His 39 wins are 21st all time.
13. Ned jarrett
The gentleman of auto racing, Ned Jarrett came out on fire and conquered the sport in historically short fashion. Jarrett was a two-time champion and won 50 Cup races. Perhaps most surprisingly, he retired from active racing at 34 years old!
Jarrett would likely have claimed far more wins and championships had he continued to race. Instead he would go on to serve in many off-track roles in the sport and become a synonymous figure with the sport.
12. Kyle Busch
The title “most hated driver in NASCAR history” is a bold statement, but Kyle Busch is definitely in the running. Not many drivers could handle that level of scorn from the fans, but Busch embraces it. He plays the bad guy and does it best to get the ire of the fanbase. The key to it all—he wins. Nobody hates a loser. It’s Busch’s dominance that makes him so polarizing.
Busch is a two-time Cup champion, with victories in 2015 and 2019. He has a strong claim to driver of the decade for the 2010s and is primed to repeat the feat in the 2020s. His 57 wins are 10th in history.
11. buck Baker
The second two-time champ in Cup Series history, Buck Baker did seemingly everything imaginable in a race car. He spent nearly 30 years in the series and started an astounding 635 races. His career peaked in the mid-1950s when he won titles in 1956 and 1957. In each season he won one out of every four races he started.
Baker would finish his career with 46 Cup wins, 17th most in history
10. Tony Stewart
Speaking of hated drivers, there was a time when Tony Stewart was not beloved by a vast majority of NASCAR fans. However, as time has gone by, “Smoke” has become one of the respected elder statesmen of the sport. There are nine drivers in NASCAR history with three or more Cup wins, and Stewart is one of them; Stewart captured his crowns in 2002, 2005 and 2011.
Throughout his career Stewart won 49 races and amassed 308 top 10s in 618 Cup races. Stewart may be the best pure driver in history, winning in nearly every series and on every track.
9.Bobby Allison
The next two drivers cannot be mentioned without the other; their legacies are forever intertwined. The most famous fight in a sport that loves a good feud, Allison and Cale Yarborough got into a scuffle at the 1979 Daytona 500. However, Bobby Allison is far more important to NASCAR than just this fight.
Over 25 years he earned 58 poles, 446 top tens and 84 wins. His win total currently ranks 4th in history. He was also the series champion in 1983.
8. Cale Yarborough
It took Cale Yarborough quite a while to hit his stride, but once he did, he dominated the 1970s in a way few can match. In 1973, his 16th season, he finally cracked the top five in points. He would finish in the top five every season through 1980, except for 1975 when he finished ninth. His hot streak peaked in the late 1970s; he won three consecutive titles in 1976, 1977 and 1978.
Yarborough is still one of only two drivers to win three or more straight titles—Jimmie Johnson matched the feat during his five-peat. Yarborough also holds 83 Cup wins throughout his lengthy 31 year career.
7. Lee Petty
The Petty’s are still the first family of NASCAR, and it all started with Lee. He was there at the inception of the sport in 1949. Over the next 16 seasons, he would become one of the greatest stars in history and likely the greatest driver of the first 20 years. Petty was the first three-time champion in history with titles in 1954, 1958 and 1959.
He won 54 races in his career, a record that stood until David Pearson topped it a decade later.
6. Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip versus Dale Earnhardt may be the biggest rivalry in NASCAR history. That along should say something about Waltrip’s prowess—a rivalry is not a rivalry if it’s not an even battle. Waltrip went toe-to-toe with the sport’s biggest icon and often came away with his share of wins.
Waltrip raced in 29 Cup seasons and collected 84 wins. From 1975-1994, he finished top 10 in points 18 out of 20 seasons. His apex came in 1981, 1982 and 1985—when he won his three championships.
5. David Pearson
If there is any driver in NASCAR history who deserves more credit from modern fans, it is David Pearson. There are only two drivers in history win 100 or more Cup wins—Richard Petty and David Pearson. Every great driver needs a rival, and two of the greatest had each other. Petty and Pearson duke it out throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
In the late 1960s, Pearson was the undisputed king. He won his three championships in 1966, 1968 and 1969. In 1966 and 1968, Pearson won one-third of all the races he entered and in 1969 finished in the top 10 of 44 out of 51 races.
4. Jeff Gordon
Racing is built on feuds and rivalry. In most cases, these feuds are between drivers. In Jeff Gordon’s case, it was between he and the fans. However, he did nothing to deserve this hatred, other than win. Jeff Gordon came into the racing scene like a tornado, a California pretty boy tearing through the competition.
He knocked Dale Earnhardt from the top of the mountain with his first championship in 1995; he would add three more in 1997, 1998 and 2001. His 93 wins rank third all time.
3. Jimmie Johnson
“Seven Time” is the steadiest performer in racing history. He doesn’t have the fire of Dale Earnhardt or Tony Stewart. He’s not the charismatic talker like Jeff Gordon or Darrell Waltrip. However, he is a diehard racer who proved that slow and steady can win the race. He has owned racing in the new millennium, including his five consecutive championships from 2005-2009.
Johnson added titles in 2013 and 2016, and has recorded 83 wins in his 21-season career.
2. Dale Earnhardt
He is the icon. Ask the average American to name a race car driver, Earnhardt will be the answer. The black number 3 is the NASCAR answer to Michael Jordan’s 23. Earnhardt’s reputation and adulation is well deserved. He owns 76 career wins and 428 top tens in 676 starts.
Most notably, he is a seven-time champion, a feat only matched by Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty.
1. Richard Petty
He is still the king. While most other sports supplant their G.O.A.T., Petty still reigns over the NASCAR world. His 200 wins is absurd—95 more than second place driver, David Pearson. Petty was the first driver to win seven championships, including his historic runs in 1967 when he won 27 races and 1971 when he won 21. He still holds the record for largest gap from first to second in points for his work in 1967; he also stands second in the same category for his 1964 campaign.
The red and blue #43 is still one of racing’s most iconic cars.